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Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8510L0666D04 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1985-10-01

Was a restaurant disco bar's cover charge taxable when its only live entertainment was a disc jockey?

Short answer: Yes. The Comptroller said the cover charge was taxable under the stated disco-bar and disc-jockey facts.

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This page answers the general question as of 1985. Ezel answers yours, under current Texas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1985
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 1985 Texas Comptroller taxpayer-response letter based on a restaurant with a disco bar whose only described live entertainment was a disc jockey. STAR's caption also mentions a dance floor and band, but the reproduced body does not decide those separate facts. It expressly says different facts could change the opinion. Current cover-charge, restaurant, bar, entertainment, admission, and sales-tax rules may differ, and STAR documents may no longer represent current policy even when not marked superseded. Letters on STAR can support detrimental reliance only for the taxpayer to whom the letter was directly issued under 34 Tex. Admin. Code Rules 3.1 and 3.10. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice.
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

The restaurant operated a disco bar and had no live entertainment other than a disc jockey. The Comptroller said its cover charge was taxable.

Common questions

Was the cover charge taxable? Yes.

What entertainment did the reproduced body describe? A disc jockey.

Did the body separately decide a band or dance-floor scenario? No.

Citations and references

The reproduced letter cites no numbered statute or rule.

Source

Original ruling text

October 1 , 1985

Dear ***:

Thank you for your letter of September 24, 1985, concerning the taxability
of a cover charge charged by your client, a restaurant which has a disco bar.
Your client does not have live entertainment other than a disc jockey.

The cover charge is taxable.

This opinion is based on the facts presented. If there are additional
or different facts, the opinion may change.

If you have any questions or need more information, please call us at
1-800-252-5555 toll free from anywhere in Texas. You may write us at the
Tax Administration Division.

Sincerely,

Tax Policy Section
Tax Administration Division

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