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Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8602L0699C05 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1986-02-25

Was a performer's charge for recording a voice-over for a television commercial subject to Texas sales tax?

Short answer: No. The performer's voice-over fee was neither tangible personal property nor a taxable service, although the station's total production charge was taxable.

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This page answers the general question as of 1986. Ezel answers yours, under current Texas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1986
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 1986 Texas Comptroller taxpayer-response letter based on a performer recording a voice-over with a television station's equipment while the station separately billed the client for production. It expressly says different facts could change the opinion. Current rules for performances, recordings, media production, digital deliverables, and taxable services may differ, and STAR documents may no longer represent current policy even when not marked superseded.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. Taxpayer-identifying details are redacted. 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 performer entered the television station's sound booth, read a script using the station's equipment, and put the voice recording on the station's tape. The performer billed the client for the voice-over, while the station separately billed the client for production.

The Comptroller treated the performer's voice-over fee like an actor's fee and said it was not taxable because it was neither tangible personal property nor a taxable service. The finished commercial was personal property, however, so the television station's total production charge was taxable.

Common questions

Was the performer's voice-over fee taxable? No.

Was the television station's production charge taxable? Yes. The letter says the total charge for producing the commercial was taxable.

Did the letter define “talent”? No. It expressly said the agency had no definition for that term and no record of previously addressing voice-overs.

Citations and references

The reproduced letter cites no numbered statute or rule.

Source

Original ruling text

February 25, 1986

Dear ***:

Thank you for your letter of February 14, 1986, concerning the taxability
of your business.

Your business is providing your voice for use making a "voice over" of a
television commercial. A "voice over" consists of your going into the
television station's sound booth and reading a script using the station's
equipment and putting your voice on the station's tape.

You bill the client for the voice over and the television station bills
the client for production.

We do not have a definition for "talent" and we have no record of having
ever addressed the taxability of voice overs.

The charge for a voice over is not taxable just as the charge or fee made
by an actor is not taxable. The sales tax law taxes the sale of tangible
personal property and the sale of taxable services. A voice over is neither
tangible personal property nor a taxable service as defined in the sales tax
law. However, the commercial is personal property and the total charge made by
the television station for the production of the commercial is taxable.

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

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions. You may write
us, call toll free 1-800-252-5555 from anywhere in Texas.

Sincerely,

Tax Policy Section
Tax Administration Division

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