New York State Tax Rulings
Free plain-English summaries of state tax letter rulings and advisory opinions issued in New York, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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Are an online provider's legal-document services (wills, entity formation, registered agent, trademarks, legal plans) subject to NY sales tax?
No -- none of these services is subject to sales tax, because each one's primary function is producing documents or providing a legal or agent service, not furnishing information, and legal and regist…
Is a tumor-treating-fields cancer-treatment device, with its supplies and replacement parts, exempt from NY sales tax as medical equipment?
Yes -- the device, its supplies, and replacement parts are exempt medical equipment when the patient is the buyer. The device produces alternating electrical fields, applied through scalp electrodes, …
Is reformatting electronic data and transmitting it to third parties taxable, and must a mailing-list vendor collect tax from a customer who resells the information?
Reformatting and transmitting data isn't taxable; selling mailing-list information is a taxable information service, exempt only when bought for resale. The combined service of changing the format of …
Is a company providing temporary housing to students and interns in a former dorm operating a taxable 'hotel' for NY sales tax?
No. The accommodations don't qualify as a hotel, so the room charges aren't subject to State or local sales tax. The company rents rooms in a former college residence hall only to enrolled students or…
Are an online marketing company's customer-review platform and its separately billed SaaS analytics product subject to NY sales tax?
The review platform isn't taxable but the analytics product is. The Core Offering -- which captures, moderates, and displays customer feedback on the client's and other retailers' websites -- compiles…
If one company sells the food and a separate subsidiary provides the cooking and serving labor, are the labor charges taxable catering in NY?
No, the subsidiary's food-preparation labor isn't taxable catering -- provided the two companies stay genuinely separate. Food-preparation services alone aren't a taxable service under section 1105(c)…
Are single-use osmolarity test cards used to diagnose dry eye disease subject to NY sales tax when sold to eye-care practitioners?
Yes, when sold to providers who use them for compensated care. The osmolarity test cards qualify as medical equipment or supplies under section 1115(a)(3) because they are used to diagnose a medical c…
Does the operator of a coin-operated game room with no admission fee and no other sales need a NY sales tax Certificate of Authority?
No -- the operator is not required to obtain a Certificate of Authority, because he isn't a 'person required to collect tax.' Receipts from coin-operated amusement devices (here a pinball machine, juk…
If a social or athletic club opens membership to the public on a first-come basis, do its dues, initiation fees, and assessments stop being subject to NY sales tax?
No -- the club's dues, initiation fees, and assessments stay taxable. Removing the exclusivity-of-membership clause and admitting the general public does not change the club's status as a 'social or a…
If I bill taxable and exempt goods together as a single bundled charge, can I tax only the taxable portion or treat it as an exempt service?
No -- the entire bundled charge is subject to sales tax if any item in it is taxable. Billing taxable and exempt tangible personal property as one combined per-day charge does not transform the sale i…
Is the fee to enter walk-through haunted funhouses an exempt charge to use a 'device,' or a taxable admission to a place of amusement?
It is taxable. The fee is an admission charge to a 'place of amusement' under Tax Law section 1105(f)(1). Patrons pay to enter the physical space of the funhouses, move through them by their own locom…
Is assistive software that lets a severely disabled person operate a computer with a single switch (eye blink, breath puff) exempt as a prosthetic device?
Yes -- it qualifies as a prosthetic device exempt from sales and use tax under Tax Law section 1115(a)(4) when bought by a person with a disability. The software replaces the lost motor function the p…
Is an online food-ordering platform a vendor or co-vendor of the restaurant meals, and are its fees to restaurants taxable?
No -- the platform is not a 'vendor' of the restaurant meals under Tax Law section 1101(b)(8), and it cannot be designated a co-vendor jointly liable for the sales tax. It provides internet advertisin…
Is a flat fee to use a golf simulator a taxable admission to a place of amusement, or a non-taxable charge to use a device?
It is not taxable. The flat fee is a charge for the use of the golf simulator -- a device -- not an admission charge to enter the place where the simulators are located. A charge to use an amusement d…
Are wasabi and soy seasoned almonds taxable candy/confectionery, or exempt food, when the seasoning contains some sugar?
They are exempt food under Tax Law section 1115(a)(1), not taxable candy or confectionery. Nuts that are not glazed or sugar-coated are exempt food. These almonds are dusted with a spicy, salty wasabi…
Are fines charged for violating parking rules taxable as parking-service charges under New York sales tax?
No -- parking fines are not subject to sales tax. While New York taxes charges for providing parking, garaging, or storing motor vehicles (and that tax applies even to many exempt organizations), a fi…
Is transferring tangible personal property to an LLC in exchange for a membership interest a taxable retail sale?
No -- contributing property to a limited liability company in exchange for a pro rata membership interest is not a taxable retail sale, so no sales or use tax is due. The Tax Law specifically excludes…
Is a service that facilitates obtaining FBI criminal-history records for an employer -- acting only as a conduit -- subject to sales tax as an information service?
No -- the service is not subject to sales or use tax. The provider merely acts as an authorized channeling agency, transmitting an employer's fingerprint/authorization request to the FBI and forwardin…
Are canned coffee-based energy drinks taxable soft drinks, or exempt coffee, when sold to go?
They are exempt. Sold in cans for off-premises consumption, Starbucks Doubleshot Energy coffee drinks are treated as coffee, not as a taxable soft drink. Coffee is the first listed ingredient and the …
Are tickets to a narrated sightseeing bus tour -- which includes brief staged street performances -- subject to NY sales tax?
No -- the bus tour tickets are not taxable. The tax on transportation services doesn't reach bus service (a bus seats 15+ and is excluded from taxable 'livery service'), so the tour isn't a taxable tr…
Are receipts from branded 'mind body' fitness classes (yoga-based but marketed for toning) subject to New York City sales tax?
Yes -- when the classes are aimed at improving bodily appearance (building strength, toning, sculpting), the facility is a 'weight control salon, health salon, gymnasium or similar establishment,' and…
If I arrange HVAC repair and maintenance through subcontractors and bill my clients directly, are my charges (including my management fee) taxable?
Yes -- you are the retail vendor of taxable repair and maintenance services, so all of your receipts from those services, including your separately stated management fee, are subject to sales tax. The…
Is medical equipment loaned 'free' to hospitals along with catheters taxable, and does the medical-equipment exemption apply?
The loaned equipment is treated as part of the taxable sale of the catheters, not as a separate exempt item -- and it does NOT qualify for the medical-equipment exemption because it is sold to hospita…
Does a high-security facility that hosts customers' websites qualify as an 'internet data center,' making its equipment purchases exempt?
Yes -- the facility qualifies as an 'operator of an internet data center' under Tax Law section 1115(a)(37)(i). It is a purpose-built, high-security data center that houses customers' website servers …
Is a company that applies coatings to manufacturers' parts a 'producer,' and is its coating equipment and fuel exempt from sales tax?
Yes, with conditions. Applying coatings that change the nature of a customer's parts is 'processing,' and the coater is engaged in production for sale -- as long as the coated parts are, or become a c…
Is a private NYC gym a taxable 'athletic club' on its dues, and is it a NYC-taxable gymnasium whose fees owe city sales tax?
It is not a taxable social or athletic club -- the members don't control the activities, management, or selection and hold no proprietary interest, so the dues tax under section 1105(f)(2) doesn't app…
Is a fitness facility that includes a swimming pool a NYC-taxable gymnasium, and how are its food/drink and locker charges taxed?
As decided in 2014, no -- because the facility included a participatory-sports facility (a swimming pool), it was NOT a New York City-taxable 'weight control salon, health salon, or gymnasium,' and it…
Is a heart mitral-valve repair clip -- sold with its single-use guide catheter and delivery system for one price -- exempt as a prosthetic device?
Yes -- the system is exempt from sales and use tax as a prosthetic aid under Tax Law section 1115(a)(4). The implanted clip permanently restores the function of a leaking mitral valve, so it is a pros…
Is a nursery 'farming' for the sales-tax exemption, and is its equipment exempt -- even for plants already ready to sell?
The nursery is engaged in farm production only for plants it is still growing toward saleable size -- not for plants that already arrive (or already are) in the form it will sell, which is administrat…
Can a bike-share operator buy all its equipment tax-free for resale, or only the bikes it actually rents to riders?
Only the bikes. The operator's purchase of the bikes is exempt as a purchase for resale, because riders rent the bikes -- they get custody, control, and direction of use during the rental. But the doc…
Is a diaper bundle priced over $110 still exempt if each component, sold separately, is under the $110 clothing threshold?
Yes -- the $269.95 diaper bundle is exempt from sales and use tax. Children's diapers and their components are exempt clothing when sold for less than $110 per item. Because each of the four component…
Is a copper-coated IUD taxable, or exempt as a drug or medicine like birth control pills?
It is exempt as a drug or medicine under Tax Law section 1115(a)(3). This opinion corrects an earlier 2010 ruling: the copper-coated intrauterine device works like a contraceptive drug (its copper rel…
On a new car, which amounts are taxed -- the trade-in credit, manufacturer's rebate, doc fee, DMV title/registration fees, and the extended warranty?
A trade-in credit reduces the taxable price (it's not taxed) if the dealer takes the trade-in for resale. A manufacturer's rebate does NOT reduce the taxable price -- the full sale price is taxed even…
If I use a grantor trust's swap power to trade tangible personal property I own for trust property of equal value, is that subject to NY sales or use tax?
Yes. Even though a grantor (defective) trust is ignored for income tax, the trust and the settlor are separate taxpayers for sales tax. Swapping tangible personal property to the trust in exchange for…
Is buying a commercial charter vessel subject to NY sales/use tax if it's in NY under six months a year, or if its hailing port reads 'New York, NY'?
The purchase is exempt from NY sales and use tax if the vessel is a commercial vessel used primarily in interstate or foreign commerce -- meaning 50% or more of the receipts from its activities come f…
Are ticket sales for a nonprofit's dining events subject to NY sales tax, and does calling the charge a 'Suggested Donation' change that?
Yes -- this organization must collect sales tax on its dining-event tickets. An otherwise-exempt organization that holds food-and-drink events with enough regularity, frequency, and continuity is trea…
Is a single-sign-on platform that consolidates and lets users search third-party research a taxable NY information service?
Yes. Although it offers single sign-on, the platform's primary function is to collect, consolidate, and present research from multiple providers -- with search, sorting, and saving tools -- which is t…
Are a jeweler's charges for certificates of authenticity for its own pieces subject to NY sales tax?
No. Issuing a certificate of authenticity is an information service, but it falls within the exclusion for information that is personal or individual in nature and is not substantially incorporated in…
Which of an organization's four downloadable products qualify as tax-free e-books in NY, and do multiple-device use or a time-limited license change that?
Only one of the four (the study-guide curriculum) qualifies as an e-book and is therefore not taxable as an information service under Department policy -- and that stays true even though it can be rea…
Are fees an S corporation collects for an ordained minister's services (weddings, funerals, sermons, counseling) subject to NY sales tax?
No. New York taxes only specific, listed services, and ministerial services -- conducting religious services, sermons and public speaking, weddings, blessings, funerals, and spiritual counseling -- ar…
Are a NY company's R&D services for its out-of-state parent taxable when the resulting reports or samples are delivered outside New York?
No NY sales or use tax is due. The Department didn't need to decide whether the work is a taxable information service or nontaxable research and development, because sales tax is a destination tax: th…
Is the charge to install a large water slide at an amusement park a tax-exempt capital improvement, even on leased land?
Yes. The water slide is a capital improvement, so the charge to install it is exempt from sales and use tax. It substantially adds value, is permanently affixed (bolted to concrete piers, with in-grou…
Is a license to web-hosted prewritten software taxable in NY, and what happens to bundled training and support charges?
Yes -- a license to use web-hosted prewritten software is a taxable sale of tangible personal property, sourced to where the customer uses it, even though nothing is downloaded. Bundled, nontaxable se…
Do New York State or New York City sales taxes apply to a kinesiology practitioner's wellness-counseling services in NYC?
No -- neither New York State nor New York City sales tax applies, as long as the services aren't provided in a weight-control or health salon, gym, sauna, or similar establishment listed in the NYC ta…
Must an out-of-state internet wine retailer with a NY direct shipper's license collect NY sales tax despite having no physical presence here?
Yes. An out-of-state wine retailer that holds a New York direct shipper's license must collect New York sales tax on its New York sales, even with no employees, agents, property, or place of business …
Is a bottled puree drink of vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds subject to NY sales tax, or is it exempt food?
It's exempt. A thick bottled puree of water, vegetables, nuts, fruits, seeds, and spices is exempt food and beverage under the general food exemption. It isn't one of the taxable carve-outs -- it's no…
Does an electronic-only investing journal qualify for NY's electronic periodical exemption instead of being a taxable information service?
Yes. An electronic-only investing journal qualifies for the electronic periodical exemption, so the publisher need not collect sales tax. It meets the statutory tests: its predominant purpose is prese…
Is a license to access hosted law-office practice-management software subject to NY sales tax, and how is it sourced?
Yes. A monthly license to access the developer's hosted practice-management software is a taxable sale of prewritten computer software -- taxable even though nothing is downloaded or copied to the cus…
Is a used-car dealer's standalone 'Transfer Fee' to ship a vehicle to another location for inspection subject to NY sales tax?
No. A standalone fee to transport a used vehicle to a more convenient location so the customer can inspect and test-drive it isn't taxable. Transporting property, by itself, isn't a taxable service, a…
Is an online assessment software tool taxable, and are the custom reports it generates from a customer's own data taxable?
Two different answers. Licensing the online assessment tool to third-party consultants is a taxable sale of prewritten computer software (sourced to where it's accessed), and the developer's own use o…
Can a tax-exempt PTA sell school supplies to students without collecting NY sales tax, and under what conditions?
Mostly no -- but there's a narrow exception. An exempt organization's exemption doesn't cover retail sales it makes from a 'shop or store,' meaning sales of goods from display with regularity, frequen…
Is a travel-club membership fee taxable in NY when it only covers out-of-state hotel stays and a cruise, and does the customer's NY residency matter?
No. The membership fee isn't subject to New York sales tax, and the customer's New York residency doesn't matter. New York's hotel-occupancy tax applies only to stays that occur in New York, and none …
Is a credit rating service subject to NY State sales tax or NYC sales tax, and where is it sourced?
It's not a State-taxable information service, but it is taxable under New York City's credit-rating-services tax. Because the firm rates the client's own financial products rather than furnishing info…
Are synthetic bone-graft drug-device products exempt in NY as prosthetic aids or as products for the preservation of health?
They're exempt -- but as preservation-of-health products, not prosthetic aids. Two synthetic bone-graft products that promote bone regeneration after surgery don't qualify as prosthetic aids because t…
Are incidental repairs during a capital improvement taxable, and does a good-faith capital improvement certificate protect the contractor?
It depends on whether the repair is integral to the capital improvement. Repairs that are part of the improvement -- fixing masonry so a new facade attaches, prepping a subfloor for new flooring, or r…
Is a service that processes and submits a medical provider's own Medicare quality-reporting data to CMS a taxable NY information service?
No. Validating, analyzing, and submitting a provider's own Medicare quality-reporting data to CMS is an information service, but it's excluded from sales tax because it's personal or individual in nat…
When does a NYC livery company collect sales tax -- on its own affiliated-livery trips or when it refers a job to a black car?
A livery base doesn't collect sales tax on trips its own affiliated livery vehicles provide in New York City -- those are excluded from taxable transportation service, even if the base was formerly a …
Is selling customers online access to fill-in forms templates on my web site -- with no software copy delivered -- subject to NY sales tax?
Yes. Charging customers to access forms templates on your server, fill them in with their own data, and download the populated forms is a sale of prewritten computer software, which NY treats as taxab…
Are a mobile medical company's charges for imaging/treatment equipment it brings to a facility and operates a tax-exempt medical service, or a taxable equipment rental?
The equipment charges are taxable. Although the company delivers, sets up, operates, and maintains its own equipment, the attending physician at the customer's site directs the company's technician on…
Is an equipment agreement that requires the customer to buy the property for $1 at the end a lease (tax each month) or a conditional sale (tax all up front)?
It is a conditional sale, not a lease. Because the customer takes possession at the start, must make payments over 36 months, and is then REQUIRED (not merely given an option) to purchase the equipmen…
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These are official tax letter rulings and advisory opinions issued by New York's revenue authority in response to questions from specific taxpayers about how the tax law applies to their facts. A ruling is binding on the department only for the taxpayer who requested it and cannot be relied on by anyone else, but it is strong evidence of how the state reads the law. Every ruling above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original source.