Texas State Tax Rulings
Free plain-English summaries of state tax letter rulings and advisory opinions issued in Texas, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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Can a nonprofit still sell tax-exempt concert tickets under Texas's amusement-services exemption if it hires a for-profit company to produce and promote the events?
Yes. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit's concert ticket sales remain exempt from Texas sales and use tax even when it hires a for-profit company to promote and produce the events, as long as the nonprofit holds i…
When a homeowners association collects quarterly assessments from lot owners and passes them through to a separately-owned country club as the price of club access, who owes sales tax — the club, or the homeowners association?
The club, not the homeowners association. Texas ruled that when a subdivision's homeowners association pays quarterly "support assessments" to a separately-owned private country club so lot owners can…
Is a yoga and meditation studio's instruction, classes, memberships, and retreats subject to Texas sales tax as taxable amusement services?
Instruction itself is not taxable, but related sales are. Texas ruled that yoga and meditation classes, private sessions, memberships, workshops, and retreats are all nontaxable instructional services…
Is a pedal-powered party bike trolley rental (with a driver/"captain," a route, and BYO food/drink) a taxable amusement service or a nontaxable transportation service in Texas?
It's a taxable amusement service, not nontaxable transportation. A pedal-powered bike trolley — rented by the hour with a captain, marketed for parties, pub crawls, and social outings, and following a…
Is a subscription-based online childhood education curriculum (with lessons, live tutoring, and assessments) subject to Texas sales tax?
No. A subscription-based online curriculum for home-schooled and classroom students — including lessons, videos, worksheets, live tutoring, and guided assessments aligned to Texas TEKS standards — is …
Is a trade association's live/recorded webinar training for bank employees, with free downloadable training materials, subject to Texas sales tax?
No. A nonprofit trade association's live and recorded webinar training for bank employees — including continuing-education and regulatory-compliance content, chat-room Q&A, and free downloadable train…
Is a company's online webinar training course subject to Texas sales tax as an amusement or information service?
No. A company's online webinar training courses are nontaxable educational services under Texas sales tax law, not taxable 'amusement services' or 'information services,' even though customers can ear…
Are monthly membership fees for a fitness center that ONLY offers scheduled, instructor-led training classes (no open gym access) taxable as an amusement service in Texas?
No. Monthly membership fees for a fitness center are not taxable as an amusement service when members can ONLY attend scheduled classes led by certified coaches — with no open access to the facility o…
If a company negotiates free perks (golf, water park passes, bike rentals) for a property-management company's rental guests and pays sales tax on those items itself, does it owe additional sales tax on the fee the property manager pays it?
No. A company that negotiates complimentary golf, water park, bike-rental, and similar perks for a property-management company's rental guests, and pays sales tax directly to each vendor when a guest …
Is a sports-training facility's personal and group training memberships, where members can only access the facility during scheduled sessions, a taxable athletic-club membership?
No. A fitness and sports-training facility's personal-training and small-group-training memberships are nonamusement instructional services, not taxable athletic-club memberships, because members can …
Is admission to a children's scaled-city role-play facility a taxable amusement service or a nontaxable educational program?
Taxable. The Comptroller ruled that admission to a scaled-city facility where children role-play adult jobs is a taxable amusement service, because the instructors don't meet the scholarly/expert stan…
Is a live-streaming video platform's paid subscription tier (ad-free video plus enhanced chat features) taxable in Texas as cable television or amusement service?
Taxable. The Comptroller ruled that a live-streaming platform's paid monthly subscriptions -- offering ad-free video, custom chat emoticons, and extended video storage on top of the free service -- ar…
Are a homeowners association's membership dues, guest fees, and golf-related charges taxable as amusement services, and does that change for a golf cart rental fee?
Split result. The Comptroller ruled that a nonprofit homeowners association's membership assessments, guest fees, green fees, and trail fees ARE amusement services but are EXEMPT because the associati…
For Texas sales tax, is a restaurant's monthly charge for tabletop ordering devices a taxable equipment rental or a nontaxable service, and are patron fees for premium content on those devices taxable?
Both charges are taxable, for different reasons — the restaurant's monthly per-unit charge to its vendor for tabletop ordering devices is taxable as the rental of tangible personal property (the 'esse…
A new commercial hunting lodge will charge guests for overnight rooms, meals, guided hunts, and gear rental/sales. Which parts are hotel occupancy tax, which are sales tax, and which aren't taxed at all?
A four-way split depending on what's charged and how it's billed. LODGING is subject to state HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX (6%) under Tax Code Sec. 156.001's 'hotel' definition. If lodging, meals, and hunts/gu…
When a racetrack sells corporate sponsors hospitality-tent passes with closed-circuit race viewing, catered food, and rented tents/furniture, which charges are taxable, and can the racetrack buy the tent equipment tax-free for resale?
All three charges are taxable, and no resale certificate applies to the tent equipment. Admission to a racetrack's hospitality tents (with closed-circuit race viewing) is a taxable amusement service, …
If I start a business putting on fashion shows and selling calendars/posters of the models, do I owe Texas sales tax on ticket admissions and on the calendars/posters, and do I need a tax permit?
Yes to both. Admission charged for a fashion show held in Texas is taxable, and selling calendars and posters of the models is also taxable (though you can buy the printed calendars/posters tax-free f…
For a sports collectibles/memorabilia show, is general admission taxable, are vendor booth rentals taxable, and is a separate charge for celebrity autographs taxable?
Mixed, by charge type. General admission to a sports collectibles and memorabilia show is taxable, as an amusement service. Booth rental charges to outside vendors exhibiting at the show are NOT taxab…
Is a $1,500 assessment added to a country club member's required stock equity subject to Texas sales tax, and does it matter whether membership stock is later resold by the departing member or by the club itself?
Likely taxable, based on the facts given. A country club's assessment added to a stockholding member's required equity is generally treated the same as the sale of that mandatory membership stock, whi…
Are concert ticket sales and food/beverage sales at the concert taxable when the concert is put on by a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization?
Generally, concerts (amusement services) are taxable under Tax Code Sections 151.0101(a)(1) and 151.0028 and Rule 3.298(a)(1)(A), and food/beverage sales are separately taxable under Section 151.314(c…
Are green fees taxable at a city-owned golf course when the course is actually operated day-to-day by an independent contractor, even though revenue flows to the city and the city closely controls operations?
Yes, taxable. Amusement services are exempt from Texas sales tax only when EXCLUSIVELY provided by a governmental entity (the state, a municipality, county, school district, special district, or other…
Is a charge to play a for-fun blackjack table at a bar -- where players buy chips but can't win money, keep chips, or receive prizes -- taxable as an amusement service?
Yes. A charge for admission to play blackjack, or a charge for the chips used to play, is subject to Texas sales tax as an amusement service under Rule 3.298 -- even though the game is purely recreati…
Are membership and sign-up fees at a women's weight-loss fitness center taxable in Texas, even with no pools or classes?
Yes. Membership and sign-up fees at a fitness center — even a weight-loss-focused facility with only hydraulic resistance machines and no pool or classes — are taxable as amusement services under Comp…
Are tickets to a nonprofit sports league's championship game exempt from Texas sales tax, and does hiring a for-profit company to help produce the event jeopardize that?
Tickets to a championship game sold by a 501(c)(6) nonprofit sports league qualify for the Texas sales tax exemption for amusement services exclusively provided by a nonprofit under Tax Code § 151.310…
Is a university's share of a per-ticket handling/convenience fee, added on top of a city-run ticket agency's own handling fee, taxable as part of the admission charge?
Yes, all of it is taxable. A university that owns an arena and rents it to promoters allows a city-owned ticket agency to add a convenience/handling fee to each ticket to cover ticketing-system and bo…
Are a personal trainer's one-on-one training session fees subject to Texas sales tax as an amusement service?
Not taxable, if the training meets a specific two-part test. A registered accountant asked on behalf of a personal-training client, after noticing that two employers billed personal training services …
An operator rents booth space to vendors at a computer trade show/flea market and separately charges the general public admission to attend. Is that public admission charge subject to Texas sales tax?
Yes, taxable. Admission charges to attend a flea market or trade show are taxable amusement services under Rule 3.298, regardless of whether any entertainment is provided as part of the admission — a …
If a tax-exempt nonprofit hires a for-profit company to produce a carnival-style amusement event on its behalf, does the for-profit company's ownership of the amusement rights and share of any profit make the event's admission charges subject to Texas sales tax?
No. A nonprofit (non-governmental) organization can hire a for-profit company to produce an amusement event without losing its sales tax exemption, as long as the nonprofit holds itself out as the pro…
Can a private boat/yacht club buy the floating drums for its members' boat-slip docks tax-free under a resale certificate, since the club already charges its members sales tax on boat slip rental? And can it buy free-to-use member boats tax-free the same way?
No for the floating docks, yes for the boats transferred to members. A private boat/yacht club cannot buy the floating drums and materials for its members' boat docks tax-free under a resale certifica…
When a 501(c)(7) social/country club merges into an IRC Section 528 nonprofit homeowners association (with the homeowners association as the surviving entity), does the surviving entity have to collect sales tax on green fees, swimming pool fees, dues, and similar amusement charges?
No sales tax collection is required — but only because the 501(c)(7) social club entity ceases to exist after the merger. If, after the merger, only the IRC Section 528 nonprofit homeowners associatio…
Are private sports lesson fees — for example, ice skating, swimming, gymnastics, golf, or tennis instruction — taxable as amusement services in Texas?
No. Lessons and classes are not amusement services under Rule 3.298. Neither private ice skating lessons taught by independent contractors nor group lessons/skating school taught by the rink's own emp…
Is a coupon-style discount on amusement tickets treated the same as a sales tax exemption, and does a tax-exempt organization (like a school) owe sales tax on amusement tickets bought for its own members?
A coupon or other discount taken at the time of sale reduces the taxable sales price under Tex. Tax Code § 151.007(c)(1) — but a valid sales tax exemption is a completely different thing from a discou…
Are gun club membership fees taxable, and separately, is labor to repair appliances or real property taxable?
Gun club membership fees are taxable as an amusement service under Rule 3.298. Separately, labor to repair tangible personal property (like appliances) is taxable, but labor to repair real property is…
When a company sells vacation packages bundling hotel rooms, meals, amusement services, and incentive certificates, which components does it collect sales tax on, and which does it just pay tax on itself as the purchaser?
The company must collect tax from the customer on any amusement services charge that's separately stated within the travel package (or where surrounding additional costs are inconsequential), per Rule…
Is a golf course's 'trail fee' — charged to a member who brings and uses his own golf cart on the club's cart paths — subject to Texas sales tax?
Yes. A country club's trail fee, charged to a golfer for using his own privately owned cart on the club's cart paths, is taxable as a sale of an amusement service under Rule 3.298(b).
Are pool tables and shuffleboard tables in a bar subject to Texas sales tax, and does it matter whether they're coin-operated?
It depends on how customers pay. Amusement services like pinball games, pool tables, and shuffleboard provided through coin-operated machines that the consumer operates directly are exempt from sales …
Are admission tickets to view movies in a theater that's listed in the National Register of Historic Places subject to Texas sales tax?
No. Admission tickets to a movie theater are ordinarily taxable amusement services under Tex. Tax Code §§ 151.0028 and 151.0101(a)(1), but § 151.3101(2)(B) specifically exempts admission tickets to vi…
A university holds various events — rock concerts, a student-organization movie showing, and a monster truck rally — sometimes alone, sometimes with a performer's agent, sometimes with a promoter under a profit/loss-sharing contract. In which of these five scenarios are the admission tickets taxable amusement services?
It depends on whether the university is "held out as the provider" of the event and whether it's genuinely sharing both profit AND loss with a for-profit co-provider. Tickets are NOT taxable when the …
A restaurant's game room has coin/token-operated video arcade games and rides, plus a bumper car ride that also requires depositing tokens into a turnstile but is controlled by an employee. Are the receipts from all of these exempt as coin-operated amusement machines?
Not all of them. Receipts from coin-operated video arcade games and rides that require a token/coin to play and display the required $60 annual occupation tax stamp are NOT subject to sales tax (thoug…
Is a time-based fee for playing networked computer games (not coin-operated, charged by the hour rather than per game) a taxable amusement service in Texas?
Yes, taxable in both business models the taxpayer proposed. Charging customers by time (e.g., $1 per 15 minutes per computer) to play games on networked computers -- even though it's not coin-operated…
Can a city tax or regulate passengers boarding a 'nowhere' gambling cruise ship, and is a cruise lasting longer than 24 hours a taxable amusement service?
A cruise lasting longer than 24 hours is not a taxable amusement service under the Sales and Use Tax law. Separately, the Comptroller found no statutory provision letting a municipality regulate or ta…
Does a company that promotes and sells bleacher-seat tickets to a public outdoor festival need to collect Texas sales tax on admission charges?
Yes. An outdoor festival qualifies as an amusement service, and sales tax is due on the admission charge. The seller of the amusement service (here, the ticket promoter/handler) must collect and remit…
If a sports facility operator rents its facility long-term to instructors who use it only to teach students (no tournaments, leagues, or open play), is the facility rental taxable even though the instructors' own teaching services are tax-exempt?
Yes, the facility rental to the instructors is still a separately taxable amusement-service transaction, even though the instructors' downstream charge to their students for sports instruction is a di…
Are membership dues a gated-community homeowners association charges for amenities like a golf course, swimming pool, and tennis courts taxable as amusement services?
It depends on the association's corporate structure. Dues charged by a 501(c)(7) social club for amusement amenities are taxable, but dues charged by an IRC Section 528 nonprofit homeowners associatio…
A city owns a golf course but hires an independent private company to operate it under a management agreement giving the company exclusive use and day-to-day control of the facility. Are the green fees the company charges golfers exempt from Texas sales tax as a municipal amusement service, or taxable?
Taxable. Golf courses are amusement services under Rule 3.298, and amusement services are exempt only when EXCLUSIVELY provided by a municipality (Sec. 151.3101(a)(1)). Because the city contracted wit…
Can a Texas movie theater buy admission tickets tax-free for resale, and does the same rule apply to the gift certificates, envelopes, and passbooks it buys?
Movie tickets may be purchased for resale under Rule 3.298(f)(1), so a theater that already paid tax on tickets can get a refund by issuing its supplier a resale certificate (limited to a four-year st…
Which of a country club's various member charges -- handicap fees, golf association dues, driving range fees, private lessons, club repairs/rentals, and homeowners assessments -- are subject to Texas sales tax?
It's a mixed bag charge-by-charge: handicap fees are taxable only if calculated on a computer; men's golf association dues collected by the club are NOT taxable if association membership isn't mandato…
I run a paintball field. Do I charge sales tax on field-use fees? Do I owe use tax on data processing done by an out-of-state company? And do I have to list shipping charges separately from the item price?
Yes to all three, with one nuance. A fee to use the paintball field is a taxable amusement service (though a genuine tournament/contest entry fee can be exempt). Yes, you owe Texas use tax on an out-o…
Is a Texas travel group's lump-sum charge (event ticket plus hospitality access) for an out-of-state amusement event, like the Ryder Cup, subject to Texas sales tax?
No Texas sales tax is due. A group organized to attend the following year's Ryder Cup golf tournament in Massachusetts charged each member a lump-sum fee covering an event ticket and access to hospita…
Are gaming lessons, casino-themed practice time, private casino-night party rentals, and a 'High Roller Club' membership taxable in Texas?
It varies by activity: gaming lessons are not taxable, informal practice time IS taxable as an amusement service, renting the whole facility for a private casino-night party is a nontaxable real prope…
Is a country club's optional 'buyer's club' membership fee (which gives members a discount on Pro Shop purchases) subject to Texas amusement services sales tax?
Yes. The buyer's club membership fee is taxable as an amusement service because Rule 3.298(b) taxes fees charged for a special privilege, status, or membership classification in a private club — and t…
Is renting a race track to a professional driving school (to instruct drivers) or to race teams for practice sessions taxable as an amusement service?
No. The Comptroller reversed an earlier (October 29, 1997) letter that had said these track rentals were taxable. Renting the track to a driving school or to race teams for practice is not the provisi…
Does a country club housed in a building bearing a Texas Historical Commission marker qualify for the sales tax exemption on amusement services (dues/initiation fees) available to a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark?
No -- the club's building does not qualify. Rule 3.298(g)(1)(F) exempts amusement services (like a country club's dues and initiation fees) only when provided exclusively in a place designated as a "R…
If a business charges customers to play a no-stakes black jack table (chips have no monetary value, dealt by a live dealer), does it owe Texas sales tax on the charge?
Yes. Charging customers to play black jack -- even a for-fun table where the chips have no monetary value and a live dealer runs the game -- is taxable as an amusement service. The business must get a…
When a club requires patrons to buy a "dance token" before an independent-contractor dancer will perform a table/couch dance, is the sale of that token a taxable admission to an amusement service -- even though the dancers are independent contractors and the club already collects tax on a separate cover charge?
Yes. A club that requires patrons to purchase a "dance token" -- then exchange it with an independent-contractor dancer for a table dance or couch dance -- is selling a taxable admission to an amuseme…
Is the electricity my golf club charges to recharge members' own golf carts, stored in the club's cart barn, taxable?
Yes, taxable. The electricity used to recharge golf carts that belong to members (not the club) is taxable, because the cart barn storage space is sold as part of a taxable club membership -- an amuse…
Is the money a customer pays directly to a table/couch dancer at a topless club subject to Texas sales tax as an amusement service?
No. The Comptroller ruled that a table dance or couch dance is an amusement, but the payment a customer makes directly to the dancer is not a taxable sale of an admission to an amusement service under…
When a caterer or event planner rents out a facility with recreational amenities and provides food, is the facility rental charge taxable as an amusement-service admission?
Yes, in most cases. Because the taxpayer's facility included a swimming pool, volleyball court, horse riding trails, baseball fields, and fishing area, the Comptroller ruled the facility rental itself…
Does a promotional-advertising company owe Texas sales tax on searchlights, inflatables, banners, balloon giveaways, and clowns it provides for grand openings and sales events?
It depends on the item. Imprinting balloons for giveaway and selling balloons is taxable, but searchlights, inflatables, banners, flyovers, decorating, and clowns/entertainment are nontaxable advertis…
When a tax-exempt nonprofit organization hires a for-profit carnival operator to run an event, who owes sales tax on the amusement -- the carnival operator or the exempt entity?
It depends on two things: whether the contract between the exempt entity and the carnival operator is a joint venture (sharing both profits and losses, which makes ticket sales taxable), and if not, w…
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These are official tax letter rulings and advisory opinions issued by Texas'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.