Are aerial maps, surveys, and charts a tax-exempt information service, or are they taxable tangible personal property?

Plain-English summary

Lockwood Support Services, Inc. makes aerial maps, surveys, and charts — for example, detailed contour maps used to prepare sites for road, bridge, and public-works projects. It argued that it provides an information service excluded from sales tax under § 1105(c)(1), since the maps are made for a single client and not resold or reused. It asked whether its photogrammetric services and mapping are subject to sales tax.

The Department held the maps, surveys, and charts are taxable tangible personal property, not an exempt information service.

• What the information-service tax covers. Section 1105(c)(1) taxes furnishing information by printed matter or its modern counterparts (tapes, discs, electronic readouts or displays) — information conveyed in a written form of communication.
• Maps are not "information" for this purpose. Although information can be abstracted from maps, architectural drawings, and photographs, those items are not considered "information" under § 1105(c)(1).
• They are tangible personal property. Under § 1101(b)(6) and 20 NYCRR 526.8, tangible personal property includes artistic items such as sketches, paintings, photographs, and moving picture films. Aerial maps, surveys, and charts fall within that, so their sale is taxable under § 1105(a).
• Collect tax unless there's an exemption document. Lockwood must collect sales tax unless the customer provides a valid resale or exempt-organization certificate. Purchases by the New York State Department of Transportation are exempt under § 1116(a)(1) (its government purchase order is itself sufficient), but other states and their agencies are not exempt.

On reconsideration with fuller facts, the Department modified this result in TSB-A-87(26.1)S, treating Lockwood's work performed as a licensed land surveyor or professional engineer as a professional service outside the scope of sales tax, and certain reports/survey data as an exempt information service — with only items like raw aerial photographs or maps remaining taxable.

What this means for you

Calling something an "information service" doesn't make it one. New York's information-service exclusion is for information delivered as written communication. A physical map, drawing, or photograph is treated as tangible personal property — taxable — even if it carries a lot of information.

Format matters more than content. Data delivered as a report or on tape/disc can be an information service; the same underlying facts delivered as a printed map or photograph can be taxable property. The medium you hand the customer can change the tax result.

Government-buyer exemptions are jurisdiction-specific. A New York State agency's purchase is exempt, and its purchase order does the job. But a sister state's agency is not exempt from New York sales tax — don't extend the exemption across state lines.

Common questions

Q: I sell custom maps to one client. Isn't that an exempt information service?
A: No. Maps (and drawings and photographs) are taxable tangible personal property under this opinion, even when custom-made and not resold.

Q: My customer is the New York State DOT. Do I charge tax?
A: No. A New York State agency's purchase is exempt under § 1116(a)(1), and its government purchase order serves as the exemption document.

Q: What about an agency of another state?
A: Taxable. The § 1116(a)(1) exemption covers New York State and its subdivisions, not other states or their agencies.

Citations and references

Statutes and regulation:

• Tax Law § 1105(a) — taxes retail sales of tangible personal property
• Tax Law § 1105(c)(1) — taxes the service of furnishing information by printed matter or its counterparts
• Tax Law § 1101(b)(6); 20 NYCRR 526.8 — tangible personal property, including artistic items such as photographs
• Tax Law § 1116(a)(1) — exempts the State of New York (and its subdivisions) as purchaser

Source

• Landing page: https://www.tax.ny.gov/pubs_and_bulls/advisory_opinions/sales_ao_1987.htm
• Opinion: https://www.tax.ny.gov/pdf/advisory_opinions/sales/a87_26s.pdf

Original ruling text

New York State Department of Taxation and Finance

Taxpayer Services Division
Technical Services Bureau

TSB-A-87(26)S
Sales Tax
August 31, 1987

STATE OF NEW YORK
STATE TAX COMMISSION
ADVISORY OPINION

PETITION NO. S870519A

On May 19, 1987, a Petition for Advisory Opinion was received from Lockwood Support
Services, Inc.., 36 Karlan Drive, Rochester, New York 14617.
The issue raised is whether the sale of photogrammetric services and mapping are subject to
New York sales and use tax.
Petitioner is in the business of making aerial maps, surveys, and charts. Petitioner's clients'
include the Department of Transportation of the State of New York as well as other states which use
detailed contour maps of sites being prepared for road, bridge or public work improvement.
Petitioner contends that it is providing an information service which is excluded from the tax
imposed by section 1105(c)(1) of the Tax Law. Petitioner maintains that its services are contracted
for by its clients and when the work is completed, the mapping is delivered to the client and no other
person. Copies of mapping are retained by Petitioner but are not sold or provided or used by
Petitioner or anyone else. In addition, the mapping services provided are not incorporated in the
services rendered to another client.
Section 1105(c)(1) of the Tax Law imposes a tax on the receipts from the service of
furnishing information by printed, mimeographed or multigraphed matter or by duplicating written
or printed matter in any manner such as by tapes, discs, electronic readouts or displays. 20 NYCRR
527.3(a)(1).
The tax imposed by section 1105(c)(1) is imposed upon information which is supplied by the
printed word or which can be conveyed in some manner in a written form of communication. It also
includes the modern counterparts; tapes, discs, electronic readouts or displays.
Although information may be abstracted from maps, architectural drawings, photographs and
the like, they are not considered information for purposes of section 1105(c)(1) of the Tax Law.
Section 1105(a) of the Tax Law impose a sales tax upon "[t]he receipts from every retail sale
of tangible personal property, except as otherwise provided in this article."
Section 526.8 of the sales tax regulations defines tangible personal property as follows:

RODERICK G. W. CHU, COMMISSIONER
GABRIEL B. DiCERBO, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER
FRANK J. PUCCIA, DIRECTOR
TP-8 (3/83)

-2­
TSB-A-87(26)S
Sales Tax
August 31, 1987

526.8 Tangible personal property. (Tax Law, § 1101[b][6]) (a) Definition. The term tangible
personal property means corporeal personal property of any nature having a material existence and
perceptibility to the human senses. Tangible personal property includes, without limitation:
•

•

•

(3) artistic items, such as sketches, paintings, photographs, moving picture films and
recordings;
•

•

•

Accordingly, for sales tax purposes, aerial maps, surveys and charts qualify as tangible
personal property within the meaning of regulation section 526.8(a). The sale of such maps, surveys
and charts is the sale of tangible personal property which is subject to tax under § 1105(a) of the Tax
Law.
Petitioner is required to collect sales tax on its sales of maps, surveys and charts unless it
receives from its customers properly completed exemption documents (e.g. resale certificates or
exempt organization certificates). In this regard, it is noted that purchases of aerial maps, surveys and
charts by the New York State Department of Transportation are exempt from tax pursuant to section
1116(a)(1) of the Tax Law which exempts "[t]he state of New York, or any of its agencies,
instrumentalities ... or political subdivisions where it is the purchaser, user or consumer .... "In such
a case, the Department of Transportation government purchase order is deemed to be a satisfactory
exemption document and no additional exemption certificate is required.
It is also noted that other states and their agencies, instrumentalities and subdivisions are not
exempt from sales tax pursuant to the provisions of section 1116(a)(1) of the Tax Law.

DATED: August 31, 1987

s/FRANK J. PUCCIA
Director
Technical Services Bureau

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