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Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 200103096L Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 2001-03-05

Is a boat storage facility's charge to store a boat taxable in Texas, and does it matter if the boat is on a trailer?

Short answer: A charge to store a boat is not subject to Texas sales tax, regardless of whether the boat sits on a stand or on a trailer — but a charge to store a trailer alone, with no boat on it, is subject to Texas sales tax.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 2001. Ezel answers yours, under current Texas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 2001
Subsequent statutory amendments, regulation changes, court decisions, or later rulings may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current tax advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, rate, or position mentioned here.
Disclaimer: This is an official Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts letter published on the State Tax Automated Research (STAR) system. Letters on STAR can be the basis of a detrimental reliance claim only for the taxpayer to whom the letter was directly issued (see 34 Tex. Admin. Code Rules 3.1 and 3.10); documents on STAR may no longer represent current policy even if not marked superseded. Taxpayer-identifying details are redacted. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Consult a licensed Texas tax professional about your specific situation.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official state tax ruling. The original ruling (linked on this page) is the authoritative source for any reliance.

Plain-English summary

A boat storage facility emailed the Comptroller's tax.help service asking how Texas sales tax applies to different storage scenarios. The answer is short and bright-line: storing a boat is never taxable, whether the boat sits on a stand or is left sitting on its trailer. But storing just a trailer, with no boat on it, is taxable.

The ruling doesn't cite a specific rule or statute number — it's a direct answer applying the Comptroller's general treatment of storage charges to this specific fact pattern (boats are not among the tangible personal property categories subject to a taxable storage service, but a trailer alone is).

What this means for you

Boat storage facilities and marinas

Don't charge sales tax on storage fees for boats, even when the customer leaves the boat sitting on its own trailer rather than a stand. But if a customer stores an empty trailer by itself with no boat on it, that storage charge is taxable — you'll want to distinguish the two on your invoices and in your point-of-sale system.

Boat owners

If you're billed sales tax on boat storage (boat on a trailer or on a stand), that's likely incorrect per this ruling — only storing an empty trailer alone should be taxed.

Common questions

Q: Is storing a boat on a trailer taxable in Texas?
A: No. Storage charges for a boat are not subject to Texas sales tax, whether the boat sits on a trailer or on a stand.

Q: What if I just want to store my trailer without the boat?
A: That charge is subject to Texas sales tax — storing a trailer alone, without a boat, is taxable.

Q: Can any boat storage business rely on this letter?
A: Not directly. This is a Texas STAR letter ruling binding on the Comptroller only for the business it was issued to (34 Tex. Admin. Code Rules 3.1, 3.10), though the underlying boat-vs-trailer distinction reflects general Comptroller policy on storage services.

Citations and references

No specific statutes or rules were cited in this letter; the response applies general Comptroller policy on the taxability of storage services to the facts presented.

Source

Original ruling text

March 5, 2001

To Whom It May Concern:

Thank you for your recent email regarding your business and Texas sales tax.

You stated that your company is a boat storage facility. You asked for
clarification about the storage of boats.

Response: A charge to store a boat is not subject to Texas sales tax, whether
the boat is stored on a stand or on a trailer. However, a charge to store a
trailer without a boat is subject to Texas sales tax.

This opinion is based on the facts presented. Additional or different facts
may yield different results.

You may call me toll free 1-800-531-5441, extension 5-9787, if you have any
questions or need more information. The direct line is 512/305-9787. You may
also write to Tax Policy Division, Comptroller of Public Accounts.

Sincerely,

Philip Knisely
Tax Policy Division

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