Is admission to an event or tour held at a building listed on the National Register of Historic Places subject to Texas sales tax?

Plain-English summary

A taxpayer asked the Comptroller whether amusement events held at a site that was both designated a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior and listed in the National Register of Historic Places were subject to Texas sales tax on admission charges. The taxpayer submitted documentation showing the site had received a National Historic Landmark plaque and certificate, and that it appeared as an addenda in the Catalog of Texas Properties in the National Register of Historic Places, effective September 24, 1986.

The Comptroller held that under 34 Tex. Admin. Code § 3.298(g), sales tax is not due on an amusement service if it is provided exclusively at a place included in the National Register of Historic Places, or at a place designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark by the Texas Historical Commission. Because the site qualified, admission charges to amusement services provided within its boundaries were not subject to tax. The exemption applied to all amusement services provided at the site, including those provided or promoted by for-profit businesses -- and under § 3.298(g)(2), the same exemption extends to ticket services, ticket agents, ticket outlets, or any other seller of the exempt amusement service.

What this means for you

Historic sites and landmark property owners/operators

If your property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, or is designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark by the Texas Historical Commission, admission charges for amusement services (such as tours or special events) held exclusively at the site are exempt from Texas sales tax. This exemption applies regardless of whether the events are run directly by the property owner or by an outside for-profit promoter.

Event promoters and ticket sellers

If you sell or handle tickets for an amusement event held exclusively at a qualifying historic site, you don't need to collect sales tax on those admission charges, even though you're a for-profit business. The exemption follows the location, not the identity or tax status of the operator or seller.

Nonprofit organizations operating historic properties

This ruling confirms that qualifying for the historic-site exemption does not require the operator to be a tax-exempt nonprofit -- the exemption in § 3.298(g)(1)(E)-(F) turns on the site's historic designation, not on who runs the amusement service there.

Common questions

Q: Do we owe sales tax on tickets sold for a tour of our historic building?
A: Not if the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places or designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, and the amusement service is provided exclusively there -- admission charges are exempt under 34 Tex. Admin. Code § 3.298(g)(1)(E)-(F).

Q: Does it matter if a for-profit company runs the event at our historic site?
A: No. The ruling states the exemption applies to all amusement services provided at the site, "even those provided or promoted by for-profit concerns."

Q: If we use an outside ticket agent to sell tickets, does the agent have to charge sales tax?
A: No. Under § 3.298(g)(2), the exemption also covers ticket services, ticket agents, ticket outlets, or any other seller of the amusement service when the underlying service itself is exempt.

Q: What if only part of our property is listed as historic?
A: This ruling addresses admission charges for amusement services provided exclusively within the boundaries of the qualifying historic site; the Comptroller noted the opinion is based on the facts presented and other, similar-seeming facts could produce a different result.

Citations and references

• 34 Tex. Admin. Code § 3.298(g)(1)(E) (amusement service exempt if provided exclusively at a place on the National Register of Historic Places)
• 34 Tex. Admin. Code § 3.298(g)(1)(F) (amusement service exempt if provided exclusively at a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark designated by the Texas Historical Commission)
• 34 Tex. Admin. Code § 3.298(g)(2) (exemption extends to ticket services/agents/outlets selling the exempt amusement service)

Source

• STAR search: https://star.comptroller.texas.gov/search?doc_type_code=L&tax_type_code=SST
• Opinion: https://star.comptroller.texas.gov/view/9406L1304G11

Original ruling text

June 8,1994

Dear ***:

This is in response to your two faxes of June 7 and June 8, 1994,
requesting a determination of the taxability of amusement events held at the
** located in * in *, Texas (****).

You also provided a copy of a letter from the United States Department of
the Interior, designating the *, as a National Historic Landmark. A
footnote to the designation indicates that a National Historic Landmark plaque
and certificate have been awarded to **. * is also included as an
addenda, on page , in the Catalog of Texas Properties in the National
Register of Historic Places, with an effective date of September 24, 1986.

Response: Section (g) concerning exemptions of Rule 3.298 - Amusement
Services, provides in part that:

(1) Sales tax is not due on the sale of an amusement service if the
service is provided exclusively:

(E) in a place that is included in the National Register of Historic
Places; or

(F) in a place that is designated as a Recorded Texas Historic
Landmark by the Texas Historical Commission.

(2) Sales tax is not due on the sale of an amusement service by a
ticket service, ticket agent, ticket outlet or any other seller of amusement
services when the provider of the amusement service is exempt as set forth
in paragraph (1) of this subsection.

Based on the foregoing, admission charges to amusement services provided
within the boundaries of * , which includes the , will not be
subject to tax. The exemption applies to all amusement services provided at
***, even those provided or promoted by for-profit concerns.

This opinion is based on the facts presented. Other facts though similar
may provide a different result.

If you have other questions or need more information, you may call me at
1-800-531-5441, extension 3-4502. The regular number is 512/463-4502. You may
also write to Tax Administration Division at the above address.

Sincerely,

Gilbert Zamora
Tax Administration Division

NOTE: Previous Accession Number 9406396L