When a gas station's pumps straddle a city/county boundary line, how does the retailer determine which local jurisdiction's sales tax applies to each fuel sale, and how should it report and document this on its returns?

Plain-English summary

The City of Fulton, located within Oswego County, asked about a retail gas station planning a physical expansion that would put the city's boundary line running right through its gasoline pumps — meaning some pumps would sit inside Fulton's city limits and others would sit just outside, in Oswego County proper.

New York sales tax is a "destination tax": the point where the vendor transfers possession of the property (or renders the service) to the buyer controls both whether tax applies and at what rate — not the location of the store's front counter, cash register, or business address as a whole. For a self-service gas pump, delivery of the fuel happens right where the nozzle dispenses it into the customer's tank. Applying this rule literally to the station's straddled layout: a sale from a pump physically located within Fulton's city limits is taxed at Fulton's (city) rate, while a sale from a pump located just across the line, within Oswego County but outside the city, is taxed at the county's rate — even though both pumps sit on the same continuous piece of business property and are run by the same vendor.

Practically, this means the station has to track its sales pump by pump (or at least by which side of the line each pump sits on) and report them separately: on the periodic sales tax return, taxable fuel sales from the Oswego County (non-city) pumps go on the return's line for Oswego County, while sales from the Fulton pumps go on the line for the City of Fulton, using Schedule FR (Form ST-100.10). The vendor must keep records substantiating these amounts and should make sure customer receipts identify which taxing jurisdiction collected the tax, so that the amount can be correctly distributed by the Department and any future refund claims can be resolved correctly.

What this means for you

Retailers whose physical premises straddle a jurisdictional boundary

The controlling factor is the precise physical point of delivery for each individual sale (here, the specific pump), not your business's overall street address or where your register sits — if your layout crosses a city/county/school-district line, expect to track and report sales separately by which side of the line each delivery point sits on.

Gas station and fuel retailers specifically

Because delivery happens at the pump nozzle rather than at checkout, pump-by-pump geography matters even within a single, continuously operated station — plan signage, pump numbering, and point-of-sale systems so you can reliably attribute each sale to the correct taxing jurisdiction.

Accountants and tax professionals and local governments

This is a clean, narrow citation for applying the "destination tax" / point-of-delivery rule (20 NYCRR § 525.2(a)(3), § 526.7(e)) to a genuinely split physical premises, and for the Schedule FR (Form ST-100.10) reporting mechanics under Tax Law § 1213 when a single vendor's sales fall into more than one local taxing jurisdiction.

Common questions

Q: Is local sales tax based on a business's mailing address or where its cash register sits?
A: No — it's based on the actual point where possession of the goods (or the benefit of the service) transfers to the customer. For gas pumps, that's the specific pump location, which can differ from the store's overall address if the property straddles a boundary.

Q: How does a vendor report sales split across two local jurisdictions on one return?
A: By reporting the taxable sales from each jurisdiction separately, using the appropriate jurisdiction line on Schedule FR (Form ST-100.10), supported by records substantiating each sale's actual delivery location.

Q: Does title transfer matter more than physical possession for determining the taxing location?
A: No — even if title passes at some other point, the location where possession is actually transferred (physical delivery) takes precedence for determining both tax incidence and rate.

Citations and references

Statutes and regulations:

• Tax Law § 1105(a) (retail sales tax)
• Tax Law § 1213 (deliveries outside the jurisdiction where sale is made)
• 20 NYCRR § 525.2(a)(3) (destination tax); § 526.7(e) (transfer of possession); § 533.2 (recordkeeping; points of delivery)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.tax.ny.gov/pubs_and_bulls/advisory_opinions/sales_ao_2002.htm
• Opinion: https://www.tax.ny.gov/pdf/advisory_opinions/sales/a02_54s.pdf

Original ruling text

New York State Department of Taxation and Finance

Office of Tax Policy Analysis
Technical Services Division

TSB-A-02(54)S
Sales Tax
November 6, 2002

STATE OF NEW YORK
COMMISSIONER OF TAXATION AND FINANCE
ADVISORY OPINION

PETITION NO. S020403A

On April 3, 2002, the Department of Taxation and Finance received a Petition for Advisory
Opinion from the City of Fulton, 141 South First Street, Fulton, New York, 13069.
The issue raised by Petitioner, City of Fulton, is how a retail business collects and reports
sales tax when its premises are split by a jurisdictional boundary.
Petitioner submits the following facts as the basis for this Advisory Opinion.
A retail vendor of gasoline (motor fuel) wishes to expand its business premises. As a result
of this physical expansion, the Fulton City line will run through the business’s gasoline pumps.
Applicable Law and Regulations
Section 1105 of the Tax Law provides, in part:
On and after June first, nineteen hundred seventy-one, there is hereby
imposed and there shall be paid a tax of four percent upon:
(a) The receipts from every retail sale of tangible personal property, except
as otherwise provided in this article.
Section 1213 of the Tax Law provides, in part:
Deliveries outside the jurisdiction where sale is made
Where a sale of tangible personal property or services . . . is made in any city,
county or school district, but the property sold . . . is or will be delivered to the
purchaser elsewhere, such sale shall not be subject to tax by such city, county or
school district. However, if delivery occurs or will occur in a city, county or school
district imposing a tax on the sale or use of such property . . . the vendor shall be
required to collect from the purchaser, as provided in section twelve hundred
fifty-four, the aggregate sales or compensating use taxes imposed by the city, if any,
county and school district in which delivery occurs or will occur, for distribution by
the commissioner to such taxing jurisdiction or jurisdictions. For the purposes of

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this section delivery shall be deemed to include transfer of possession to the
purchaser and the receiving of the property . . . by the purchaser.
Section 525.2(a)(3) of the Sales and Use Tax Regulations provides:
Except as specifically provided otherwise, the sales tax is a "destination tax."
The point of delivery or point at which possession is transferred by the vendor to the
purchaser, or the purchaser's designee, controls both the tax incidence and the tax
rate.
Section 526.7(e) of the Sales and Use Tax Regulations provides, in part:
Transfer of possession. (1) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (3) of
this subdivision, a sale is taxable at the place where the tangible personal property
or service is delivered, or the point at which possession is transferred by the vendor
to the purchaser or his designee.
*

*

*

(2) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (3) of this subdivision, a sale
of tangible personal property, in which the title to the property passes in New York
State, but in which delivery occurs outside of New York State, is not subject to tax.
Section 533.2 of the Sales and Use Tax Regulations provides, in part:
(a) General.
(1) For the proper administration of the Sales and Use Tax Law and to
prevent evasion of the sales tax, it is statutorily presumed that all receipts from sales
and purchases of property or services of any type mentioned in subdivisions (a)
through (d) of section 1105 of the Tax Law . . . are subject to the tax until the
contrary is established. The burden of proving that any receipt . . . is not taxable is
on the vendor or the customer. To satisfy his burden of proof, a vendor must
maintain records sufficient to verify all transactions.
*

*

*

*

*

(b) Sales records.
*

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(3) The seller must maintain records which substantiate points of delivery if
delivery was made at a place other than his place of business. . . . Such documents
must be referenced to specific sales transactions.
Opinion
The premises of a retail service station straddles the boundary of two taxing jurisdictions;
Oswego County outside the City of Fulton (Petitioner) and Petitioner. Some of the service station’s
gas pumps will be located inside Petitioner’s city limits and some will be located within Oswego
County but outside Petitioner’s city limits. Petitioner is located wholly within Oswego County.
Petitioner asks how the retail business collects and reports sales tax when its premises are split by
a jurisdictional boundary. Petitioner implicitly raises the issue of what the record keeping
requirements are for the business.
If delivery of taxable property occurs in a city or county imposing a tax on the sale of such
property, as in Petitioner’s case, the vendor is required to collect from the purchaser the aggregate
sales or compensating use taxes imposed in the jurisdiction in which delivery of the property occurs,
for distribution by the Commissioner of Taxation and Finance to such taxing jurisdiction or
jurisdictions. See Section 1213 of the Tax Law.
A sale is taxable at the place where the tangible personal property or service is delivered, or
the point at which possession is transferred by the vendor to the purchaser. In the instant case,
delivery of the property (motor fuel) occurs at the pump. Even if title to the property is transferred
at a location other than the pump, the point at which possession is transferred takes precedence.
Section 526.7(e)(2) of the Sales and Use Tax Regulations offers some guidance in this area.
A vendor making sales in more than one taxing jurisdiction is obligated to keep records
showing the point of delivery of each sale. See Section 533.2 of the Sales and Use Tax Regulations.
Accordingly, the retail vendor of motor fuel described above whose premises straddle
Petitioner’s city limits, when filing its periodic sales and use tax return is required to report its
taxable sales of motor fuel on Schedule FR (Form ST-100.10) on the line for the taxing jurisdiction
in which the fuel is delivered to the customer. Where the fuel is delivered to the customer at a
location within the County of Oswego but outside Petitioner’s city limits, the amount of the sale
must be reported on the line for Oswego County. Where the fuel is delivered to the customer at a
location inside Petitioner’s city limits, the amount of the sale must be reported on the line for Fulton
(city). See Part 3 of the instructions for completing Schedule FR. The retail vendor is required
to maintain records which substantiate the amounts reported. Receipts given to customers should

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identify the taxing jurisdiction in which the tax was collected to allow for the proper distribution of
refunds of tax where applicable.

DATED: November 6, 2002

NOTE:

/s/
Jonathan Pessen
Tax Regulations Specialist IV
Technical Services Division

The opinions expressed in Advisory Opinions are
limited to the facts set forth therein.