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Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8801L0863A03 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1988-01-27

Were environmental inspections of septic systems and water wells taxable in Texas?

Short answer: No. Texas treated the described environmental inspections of septic systems and water wells as nontaxable.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1988. Ezel answers yours, under current Texas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1988
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 a taxpayer-specific January 1988 Texas Comptroller letter. It says the opinion may change if the facts differ and cites no statute or rule. STAR's caption also names building inspections, but the operative body decides only septic-system and water-well environmental inspections; this page does not classify buildings. Inspection, environmental-service, septic-system, and water-well rules may have changed; verify current law. STAR documents may no longer represent current policy even when not marked superseded. 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 Comptroller said environmental inspections of septic systems and water wells were not taxable.

What this means for you

This brief historical answer covers only the two inspection types named in the operative text. It does not classify building inspections despite STAR's broader caption.

Common questions

Were septic-system environmental inspections taxable? No.

Were water-well environmental inspections taxable? No.

Citations and references

The letter cites no numbered statute or rule.

Source

Original ruling text

COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS
STATE OF TEXAS
AUSTIN, TEXAS 78774

January 27, 1988

Dear **:

On behalf of Mr. Bullock, I hope you'll accept my apology for the delay
in
answering your question involving changes in the sales tax law. This
isn't the way we normally do business.

Our people were, and still are, swamped by a deluge of inquiries as they
attempted to interpret provisions of the new law and draft rules which
would not adversely impact businesses. In many instances, an answer to a
question just wasn't available when the question arrived.

Environmental inspection of septic systems and waterwells is not taxable.

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

Please feel free to contact me if you have additional questions. You may
write me, call toll-free 1-800-252-5555 from anywhere in Texas or phone
512/463-4600.

Sincerely,
Tom Soto
Tax Policy Division

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