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 membership dues charged by a business-development networking organization taxable as social or athletic club dues?
No. New York taxes dues paid to a social or athletic club (Tax Law 1105(f)(2)), but this organization is not one. While it qualifies as a 'club or organization' under the regulations, it is not a soci…
Are charges for towing and transporting motor vehicles subject to NY sales tax?
It depends on what's being moved and why. Towing a disabled or inoperative vehicle so it can be repaired or maintained is TAXABLE as a constituent part of repair/maintenance under Tax Law 1105(c)(3) -…
New York Advisory Opinion TSB-A-10(4)C/(23)S: Are charges to use an online virtual-call-center network (and related billing and call-handling services) subject to New York sales tax?
Partly. Charges to access the LiveXchange virtual-call-center network are taxable receipts from the sale of prewritten computer software, sourced to where the users are located. PaySource's billing an…
Are sales of low-vision equipment (magnifiers, telescopes, filters, video magnifiers) to and by vision care professionals subject to NY sales tax?
No -- when sold for use by people with low vision, this equipment is exempt. The hand-held, stand, and spectacle magnifiers, video magnifiers and closed-circuit TVs, monocular telescopes, and absorpti…
Can a taxpayer amend timely sales-tax refund claims after the refund statute of limitations has expired, if the amendment just reduces the amount sought?
Yes. A taxpayer that filed timely sales-tax refund claims may amend them to reduce the refund amount even after the three-year limitations period has expired, and the claims stay valid and timely -- a…
Are litigation support / e-discovery services -- and the discs, drives, and files used to deliver them -- subject to NY sales tax?
No, the services aren't taxable, regardless of the media they're delivered on. The provider indexes, sorts, de-duplicates, and adds searchable identifiers to a client's own documents -- which makes it…
New York Advisory Opinion TSB-A-10(5)C/(24)S: Are roaming charges for foreign carriers' customers (with a place of primary use outside New York) subject to New York sales or telecom excise tax?
No. A facilities-based carrier that supplies roaming service to the customers of foreign mobile carriers -- customers whose home addresses (places of primary use) are outside New York -- owes no New Y…
Are a company's tenant-screening / credit-reporting services subject only to NYC local sales tax, or to State and local sales tax across New York?
They're taxable as information services under Tax Law 1105(c)(1) (or 1105(c)(9) if delivered electronically), statewide. The company is a consumer reporting agency that resells data from the three nat…
Is an optional, separately stated 'rental protection' charge — a theft and damage waiver that isn't insurance — subject to sales tax when you rent equipment?
No. An optional, separately stated charge a lessee pays its equipment lessor for a 'rental protection plan' — a waiver limiting what the lessee owes for theft of or damage to the rented equipment, exp…
Is renting a self-storage unit that you lock and control yourself subject to New York's sales tax on storage services?
No. Renting a self-storage unit is not subject to the sales tax on storage services under Tax Law § 1105(c)(4) when the arrangement is a lease of real property rather than a storage service. Here the …
Is a public university's mandatory annual vehicle registration fee taxable when the same fee also lets the registrant park on campus?
Yes. A State University of New York campus's mandatory $9.65 annual vehicle registration fee is subject to sales tax as a parking service under Tax Law § 1105(c)(6), because the single fee and permit …
A campus dining contractor buys student meals from an off-campus hotel housing overflow students — does it owe sales tax on those purchases, and can it recover the tax?
The purchases are taxable, but the tax is recoverable. A food-service management company that contracts with a public college to provide meal-plan meals, and that buys meals from an off-campus hotel t…
Are receipts for managed IT support services -- monitoring, management, backup, security -- subject to NY sales tax?
It depends what's sold. The integrated IT monitoring and management packages are not taxable (their primary function -- helping a customer operate and manage its IT system -- is an unenumerated servic…
Are sales of aloe vera leaves subject to NY sales tax?
No -- aloe vera leaves sold for consumption (cut from the plant and displayed in the produce section) are exempt from sales tax under Tax Law 1115(a)(3) as a product consumed for the preservation of h…
Is a food producer's sale of branded food to a stadium concessioner taxable when related companies serve and oversee that food?
Yes. Even though the petitioner only produces and delivers the food unheated and performs no services at the stadium itself, sales tax applies under Tax Law 1105(d)(i)(2) because other entities in its…
Are admission charges to haunted houses -- and a combined concert/haunted-house ticket -- subject to NY sales tax?
Yes. A haunted house is a place of amusement, so admission charges to it are taxable under Tax Law 1105(f)(1). And a single ticket that admits a patron to a concert and also lets them enter the haunte…
Are sales of an automated speech-application program -- delivered as licensed, hosted, or managed-on-premise -- subject to New York sales and use tax?
Yes. The company's automated speech applications (used by clients to handle phone calls -- routing, self-service, product/warranty support) are sold under three models: licensed for the client's inter…
Are sales of the Mirena intrauterine contraceptive to healthcare providers exempt from New York sales tax?
Yes. Mirena is a levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system used for contraception and to treat heavy menstrual bleeding; it releases a hormone (a drug) gradually into the body. Because Mirena and l…
Is a SUNY college's mandatory $30 vehicle registration fee subject to NY sales tax when the same fee also grants on-campus parking privileges?
Yes. The college charges one $30 fee that covers both registering a vehicle and the privilege of parking it on campus. Although a SUNY college is an exempt governmental entity (Tax Law 1116(a)(1)), a …
Are a sandwich manufacturer's wholesale sales of sandwiches to convenience stores subject to New York sales tax?
No. The company manufactures sandwiches and sells them at wholesale to convenience stores in NY, NJ, and PA for off-premises resale; it provides no catering. Sandwiches are taxed under Tax Law 1105(d)…
Are website data-mining/warehousing reports and online advertising services subject to NY sales tax?
No -- neither is taxable. The data warehousing/mining reports relate exclusively to the client's own website and the vendor is barred from reselling them, so they qualify for the personal/individual e…
Is Pedialyte subject to NY sales tax?
No -- Pedialyte is exempt from sales tax under Tax Law 1115(a)(3) as a product consumed for the preservation of health. It is specifically formulated and sold for use (under a physician's supervision)…
Does a contractor owe NY tax on the waste portion of granite/marble/stone slabs used in a capital improvement?
Yes. A contractor's purchase of stone slabs to use in a capital improvement is a taxable retail purchase (sales tax if delivered in NY, use tax if bought outside and used here), and the tax is based o…
Are free college textbooks/review copies sent to professors and critics exempt as promotional material, or is use tax due?
Use tax is due. Free books distributed in NY to authors, book critics, professors, awards committees, and exhibitors don't qualify for the printed-promotional-material exemption in Tax Law 1115(n)(4),…
Are the hourly fees customers pay to sit at a gaming center's computers and play video games subject to New York sales tax?
Yes. The hourly play fees are subject to sales tax under Tax Law § 1105(a). The video games are prewritten computer software, which § 1101(b)(6) deems to be tangible personal property, so charging cus…
Did renting hearses, limousines, and flower cars (with a driver) to funeral homes stop being taxable once New York's June 2009 livery-transportation tax took effect?
They stay taxable. Renting hearses, limousines, and flower cars (with a driver) to funeral homes is a taxable rental of tangible personal property under Tax Law § 1105(a), not a transportation service…
Is unenhanced diesel motor fuel used to manufacture industrial gases like oxygen and nitrogen exempt from New York's diesel motor fuel, petroleum business, and sales taxes as fuel used to produce tangible personal property for sale?
Yes. Unenhanced diesel motor fuel that a manufacturer uses directly and exclusively, off the highway, to produce industrial gases (such as oxygen and nitrogen) for sale is exempt from the Article 12-A…
Is BP's construction of a wind farm on leased land a capital improvement, and which equipment is exempt?
No, it's not a capital improvement. Because BP installs the equipment on leased land under a lease that keeps title with BP, lets BP move/replace/refurbish it, and requires BP to remove everything (in…
New York Advisory Opinion TSB-A-09(17)C/(60)S: Are IBM's value-added network (VAN) and application services taxable telecommunications, how are receipts apportioned to New York, and do they qualify as exempt Internet access?
They are taxable telecommunications. IBM's value-added network (VAN), EDI, and email services are telephony/telegraphy subject to sales tax and telecommunications subject to the section 186-e excise t…
Which wind-farm components and construction services qualify for New York's exemption for electricity-generation machinery?
A commercial wind farm generating electricity for sale is an eligible production activity, so the wind turbines -- rotor blades, hub, nacelle, and tower as a unitary machine -- plus integrally connect…
Is a tenant's rent that includes utilities supplied by the landlord subject to sales tax as a utility sale?
No. The tenant's payments are a component of rent for real property, so they are not subject to sales or use tax. A landlord's base rent isn't taxable even when the landlord provides utilities as part…
Are receipts from renting photo studio space subject to New York sales tax?
No -- renting photo studio space is the rental of real property, which is not subject to New York sales or use tax, as long as the charge is solely for the space. But if the studio rental is combined …
Are a photo-shoot company's sales and the props, equipment, and services it buys subject to sales tax?
It depends on how the photo is delivered. Photographs delivered on tangible media (disc, print, flash drive) in New York are taxable; photographs delivered electronically are not taxable. Because all …
Are web-based retail site-selection reports taxable, and how is the tax sourced to local jurisdictions?
Yes, they're taxable. The reports draw on a common database of demographic and competitive market data that the provider offers to any customer, so they are taxable information services under Tax Law …
Are a drop-off child-care center's receipts subject to sales tax as admission to a place of amusement?
No. The center's receipts aren't subject to sales tax. It takes custody of and responsibility for the children it cares for -- with sign-in/sign-out contact info, authorized-pickup ID and code words, …
When a landlord reimburses a commercial tenant for the cost of building out the leased space, does the landlord owe sales or use tax on that reimbursement?
No. A landlord's disbursements from a 'Tenant Fund' to reimburse a commercial tenant for the cost of Initial Alterations (build-out) to the leased premises are not receipts from a sale of tangible per…
Are an online auction site's seller listing fees and buyer registration fees subject to sales tax?
No. Sellers' registration and per-item listing fees are charges for advertising their goods on the website -- nontaxable advertising services. Buyers' registration fees aren't taxable either: unlike a…
Are a waste-management consultant's fees and pass-through hauling charges subject to sales tax?
No. The consultant advises clients on managing waste but performs no removal itself, and it buys hauling as its clients' disclosed agent -- written agency agreements, contracts with haulers signed as …
Are in-vehicle telematics service plans subject to sales tax, including the extra 5% tax on aural information services?
They're taxable, but mostly not at the extra 5% rate. The bundled safety plans (crash response, emergency, stolen-vehicle, roadside, diagnostics, door unlock, etc.) are taxable as protective/detective…
Does a contractor running a village's waste facilities owe sales tax on the waste-disposal services it buys?
Yes. The contractor's purchases of waste-disposal (hauling) services are taxable. It isn't buying as the village's purchasing agent: it contracts and is invoiced in its own name, never identifies itse…
Are a lighting-design firm's services taxable when its work is incorporated into a licensed architect's or engineer's sealed drawings?
Yes. Architectural lighting design is a taxable interior decorating and designing service under Tax Law 1105(c)(7), and none of the firm's employees are licensed architects or engineers, so the statut…
Are sales of an injectable collagen implant to medical practitioners subject to sales tax?
Yes. The collagen implant -- an injectable bovine-collagen bulking agent used to treat urinary incontinence -- is a medical/surgical supply item, taxable when bought by medical practitioners for use i…
Are a medical practice's purchases of dermal fillers (Radiesse, Restylane) subject to sales tax?
Yes. Dermal fillers such as Radiesse and Restylane are medical/surgical supply items, and supplies are taxable when bought by someone performing medical services for compensation. They don't qualify a…
Which of a supermarket's products are taxable: fudge, halva, maple sugar candy, prepackaged sushi, or food gift baskets?
Fudge, halva, and maple sugar candy are taxable. They count as candy or confectionery, which is carved out of the food exemption (Tax Law 1115(a)(1)); selling fudge in the bakery section doesn't make …
Are a translation company's receipts for document, telephone, and on-site translation subject to sales tax?
No. Translation is a professional service that isn't one of the services New York's sales tax lists, so receipts for translating documents (delivered electronically), real-time telephone translation, …
Is providing a driver to drive the customer's own vehicle, with no vehicle supplied, a taxable transportation service?
No. Taxable transportation service (livery) requires the provider to furnish a motor vehicle with a driver. This staffing company supplies only a driver to operate the customer's own (or the customer'…
Are a web service provider's advertising, listing, support-database, and ASP fees subject to New York sales tax?
It varies by service. Banner ads, web listing/catalogue advertising fees for retailers and for residential leasing agents/owners, and separately stated photo setup fees are nontaxable advertising serv…
Can a cleaning/restoration firm buy dehumidifiers and air movers tax-free for resale when it rents them to clients?
Only if it meets four conditions. The firm cleans fire/smoke/flood-damaged buildings and offers clients optional dehumidifiers and air movers as a separate, value-added rental. Because it doesn't perm…
Can an auto repair shop pass its sales tax on consumable supplies through to the customer in the taxable repair bill?
Yes. An auto body shop properly owes sales/use tax on consumables it buys and uses up in a repair -- things like masking tape, sandpaper, plastic sheeting, and tack cloth -- because it's the user of t…
Are licenses to use customizable prewritten software taxable, and how is the tax sourced when users are in several states?
Yes, the license fees are taxable sales of prewritten software, taxed to the extent the customer's employees access the software in New York. Prewritten software is tangible personal property regardle…
Can a retail gas-station operator claim the prepaid sales-tax credit for motor fuel lost to shrinkage and evaporation?
No. The up-to-2% credit for gallons lost to shrinkage, evaporation, and handling (Tax Law 1132(h)(1)(ii)) is available to a distributor holding fuel in bulk storage -- not to fuel held for sale at ret…
Are Fruit Snacks, Fruit Gushers, and Craisins taxable candy or exempt food in New York?
They're exempt food, not taxable candy. Food and food products are exempt under Tax Law 1115(a)(1) except candy and confectionery. Fruit Snacks and Fruit Gushers are substantially similar in ingredien…
Does equipment used in a flywheel energy-storage facility that helps stabilize the electrical grid's frequency qualify for New York's sales tax exemption for machinery used to produce electricity for sale?
No. Equipment in a flywheel-based frequency-regulation facility does not qualify for New York's production exemption because it stores and returns electricity generated by others rather than generatin…
If my cleaning company buys garbage bags and trash liners to remove trash from a customer's building, do I owe sales tax on those bags, even if I bill the customer separately for them?
Yes, for bags the cleaning company uses itself. Garbage bags and liners a cleaning company consumes while removing trash from a customer's building are taxable purchases for the cleaning company, even…
If I rent reusable shipping containers to farmers who return them after use, do I have to charge sales tax on the rental, the delivery charges, and the deposit?
Yes. Because the farmers were required to return the containers instead of keeping them, the rental didn't qualify for New York's packaging-materials exemption, so the rental fee, pallet and delivery …
If my company lets customers access software over the Internet from my own servers (a SaaS model), rather than installing it on their computers, do I still have to charge New York sales tax on it?
Yes. New York taxes a customer's Internet-based access to software hosted on the vendor's own servers the same as a sale of prewritten software, because the customer gains the right to use and control…
Are a publisher's payments to freelance editors who compile e-newsletter content subject to sales tax?
Yes. The independent-contractor editors compile and aggregate content from multiple trade publications and write headlines and summaries -- that's a taxable information service under Tax Law 1105(c)(1…
If I resell a product that arrives partly cooled or degraded and I use fuel and electricity to restore it to a saleable condition before delivery, do those utility purchases qualify for New York's production exemption?
No. Fuel oil and electricity used to reheat previously-manufactured liquid asphalt so it can be stored and delivered are taxable, because reheating for storage and delivery is a post-production, distr…
If my business buys produce from farmers on consignment and then cleans, sorts, packages, and stores it for sale to retail stores, do my equipment and utility purchases qualify for New York's farm production sales tax exemption?
No. A distributor that obtains fruit from farmers on consignment and then cleans, sorts, packages, and stores it for resale is not itself engaged in exempt farm production, so its purchases of equipme…
If a customer returns merchandise late and only gets a partial refund under our store's return policy, do we refund all the sales tax collected, or only the tax on the amount we actually refund?
Only a partial refund of sales tax is due. Because New York sales tax is a transaction tax based on the original purchase price, a customer is entitled to a tax refund only in proportion to the percen…
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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.