State Tax Rulings
Free state tax letter rulings and advisory opinions with plain-English summaries, full citations, and the original source on every page.
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Does Utah sales or use tax apply to printed customer statements a Utah printer produces and mails to both Utah and out-of-state policyholders, depending on who supplies the paper and where the printer ships the materials?
It depends entirely on where the printed materials are shipped. When a Utah printer produces and mails customer statements, Utah sales tax applies to everything shipped to Utah policyholders (whether …
Was providing a crane with the owner's operator a taxable equipment rental or a nontaxable lifting service?
It was a nontaxable lifting service under the revised advisement. The owner's employee retained physical control and responsibility for crane operation and safety, while the customer could only specif…
Who owed Louisiana sales tax when a dealer immobilized a manufactured home on dealer-owned land and then sold both as real property?
The dealer owed tax on its purchase of the new manufactured home. By removing the home from resale inventory and immobilizing it on dealer-owned land, the dealer became the contractor and ultimate con…
How can taxpayers find South Carolina advisory opinions by subject (per SC IL #07-20)?
Use the index attached to SC Information Letter #07-20 to find South Carolina advisory opinions. It indexes the advisory opinions issued by the Department from 1987 to October 24, 2007, and it explain…
How can taxpayers check whether an older South Carolina advisory opinion was modified or superseded (per SC IL #07-19)?
Use the citator attached to SC Information Letter #07-19. It helps you determine what effect newer South Carolina advisory opinions have on previously published ones — whether an opinion was modified,…
Does a private petrochemical refinery owe Texas motor vehicle tax on a fire truck, command van, and breathing-air truck?
Yes. A private refinery's fire truck, command van, and breathing-air truck were taxable motor vehicles because the purchaser was not a public agency or independent volunteer fire department, the two e…
If a sightseeing cruise ticket bundles in a meal that can't be purchased separately, can the operator allocate the price between an exempt cruise portion and a taxable meal portion?
No. Because the meal isn't merely incidental to the cruise, the entire combined charge for a cruise-with-meal package is taxable as a restaurant sale, and splitting the price between cruise and meal d…
A 62-year-old homeowner took out a federally-insured HUD reverse mortgage (HECM), but years earlier had deeded the property to family members under 60 while keeping a life estate for herself. Because title is held by people who don't meet the state's own age-60 reverse-mortgage rules, does the mortgage still qualify for New York's reverse mortgage exemption from recording tax?
Exempt. A 62-year-old borrower obtained a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) reverse mortgage -- a federally insured HUD program under 12 U.S.C. section 1715z-20 -- secured by her single-family Ne…
Can a financial data provider buy servers and routers tax-exempt as 'purchases for resale' when it separately charges customers an additional fee to use that equipment alongside its data-feed service?
Yes. Because the equipment is optional, not required to access the underlying data service, and separately and reasonably billed, providing it for an extra fee is a genuine equipment rental to the cus…
When would a carrier's very light jets qualify for Florida's aircraft lease, repair, and maintenance tax exemptions?
The jets became qualified aircraft once the Part 135 carrier leased and operated at least 25 eligible very light jets in Florida. Lease payments due from acquisition of the 25th jet, plus qualifying r…
Could a federal employee use a centrally billed government credit card instead of an exemption certificate for a Louisiana tax-exempt purchase?
Yes. A card billed and paid directly by the United States showed that the federal government was the purchaser, so the merchant could accept it instead of a sales-tax exemption certificate. A card bil…
Which charges were taxable when a provider furnished temporary construction barricades, lights, and fencing?
The temporary equipment was tangible personal property furnished under a taxable lease. Rental charges and maintenance such as bulb replacement were taxable even if separately stated. Separately state…
When were charges for paper or electronic copies of medical records subject to Louisiana sales tax?
A licensed medical provider's own copies to a patient or authorized requester were excluded professional work product and not taxed. An outside vendor's flat-fee copying for the provider was a taxable…
After Home Interiors & Gifts v. Strayhorn, when are a corporation's sales thrown back to Texas for the earned-surplus franchise tax?
Texas changed its throwback rule. This internal audit memo tells auditors that, after the Texas Supreme Court decision in Home Interiors & Gifts, Inc. v. Strayhorn, sales protected by Public Law 86-27…
What is South Carolina's latest statewide per capita income figure used for tax incentives (per SC IL #07-18)?
$29,688. SC Information Letter #07-18 publishes the updated statewide per capita personal income figure for South Carolina — $29,688 — which the Department uses to test qualification for various South…
How did South Carolina's 2007 physical-presence-era ruling analyze activities that could create sales and use tax nexus?
The ruling evaluated each listed South Carolina contact separately under assumed retail sales and no other in-state activity. It warned that fact changes or multiple contacts could create nexus even w…
Are street sweepers built on standard cab chassis subject to Texas motor vehicle sales tax despite special title or registration treatment?
Yes. The standard cab chassis was a motor vehicle and the added sweeper was an accessory, so the completed street-sweeping unit was subject to Texas motor vehicle sales tax despite special registratio…
When did long-term hotel or motel occupancy qualify as a permanent residence excluded from Louisiana sales tax rather than taxable transient lodging?
Only a natural person's use of hotel accommodations as a genuine permanent home qualified. Time and payment method were evidence, not controlling; the unit needed home facilities, and physical presenc…
As a follow-up to an earlier ruling on my Cultural Resources Trust condominium conversion (Title Conveyance, Leaseback, Reversion), I now need to split my existing $365 million Wachovia mortgage across two new condominium units and spread part of it to cover the leaseback and a future 'springing' affiliate lease -- with no new borrowing, just restructuring the existing debt. Do these mortgage split, modification, and spreading steps trigger New York's Mortgage Recording Tax, and does my earlier RETT exemption still hold with this added mortgage detail?
Both confirmed exempt. This is a follow-up petition to the same taxpayer's earlier ruling (TSB-A-07(1)R) on converting a Manhattan office building into a two-unit condominium (a 'Channel 13 Unit' leas…
What is South Carolina's tax interest rate for the period July 1, 2006 through December 31, 2007 (per SC IL #07-17)?
8%. SC Information Letter #07-17 sets South Carolina's interest rate on tax underpayments and overpayments at 8% for the period July 1, 2006 through December 31, 2007. Interest is compounded daily, ex…
Who had to use Kansas's new Form K-4 for state income-tax withholding after January 1, 2008?
Employees hired after January 1, 2008 had to use Kansas Form K-4 instead of relying on the federal W-4 for state withholding. Employees hired before that date did not need a K-4 unless they chose to a…
What were the significant South Carolina tax law changes enacted in the 2007 legislative session (per SC IL #07-16)?
SC Information Letter #07-16 is the Department's summary of the significant tax and regulatory changes enacted in South Carolina's 2007 legislative session, organized into four parts: (1) income taxes…
After a corporate reorganization splits a natural-gas compression business into equipment-owning partnerships and customer-facing service entities, is the customer's charge a taxable equipment rental or an exempt service, and are the internal compressor transfers taxable sales?
The customer-facing compression charge is an exempt service, not a taxable equipment rental, because the operating company keeps dominion and control of the compressors; the equipment transfers into t…
Does installing a gas stove that requires building a new chimney and adding new gas and electric lines qualify as an exempt capital improvement rather than a taxable installation service?
Yes. Because the installation required a new chimney (cutting a hole in the roof) plus new gas and electric lines rather than simply plugging in an appliance, the whole project is a capital improvemen…
Did an individual owe Florida documentary stamp tax for deeding unencumbered real property to an LLC the individual wholly owned?
Only the 70-cent minimum tax was due. The same individual owned all of the unencumbered property and all of the LLC, and no mortgage or other consideration accompanied the deed, so Florida found no tr…
Did an individual owe Florida documentary stamp tax for deeding unencumbered real property to an LLC the individual wholly owned?
Only the 70-cent minimum tax was due. The same individual owned all of the unencumbered property and all of the LLC, and no mortgage or other consideration accompanied the deed, so Florida found no tr…
Can a New York taxpayer subtract military active-duty pay and a related state-employer supplement from federal adjusted gross income under Tax Law section 612(c)(8-b)?
No. Section 612(c)(8-b) only lets members of the New York State organized militia (Army/Air National Guard, inactive National Guard, Naval Militia, and the New York Guard) subtract active-duty pay. Be…
Is a construction subcontractor on a project for a foreign government's UN mission exempt from New York's tax on independently procured insurance from an unauthorized insurer?
Not exempt - usually. A subcontractor that buys insurance from an unauthorized insurer for a foreign-mission construction project owes New York's Article 33-A tax on independently procured insurance, …
Are a nursing home's purchases of disposable adult diapers exempt from New York sales tax?
Not as medical supplies -- a for-profit nursing home is providing medical services for compensation, which disqualifies the medical-supplies exemption. But adult diapers still qualify for New York's c…
Is the fee to use a high-wire, zip-line tree-top adventure course taxable as an amusement admission, or exempt as a charge for a participant sporting facility?
Exempt. Because customers are active participants physically navigating zip lines, rope bridges, and obstacles themselves (not spectators), the charge is for use of a participant sporting facility, th…
Are prepaid cards sold at retail that let a customer download ringtones, wallpaper, and games to a cellphone taxed at the time the card is sold?
No, not at the time of sale. Like a gift certificate, the card's purchase isn't itself a taxable transaction -- tax is only due (if at all) when the customer redeems a credit for a taxable product, an…
Did a divorce order requiring an ex-husband to pay the couple's 1999 taxes release his former wife from New Mexico's joint tax assessment?
No. Brenda Murray and her former husband filed a joint federal return and were required to file the New Mexico return on the same basis, making each individually liable for the tax. Their divorce orde…
When was an outdoor sign a taxable movable sale rather than an immovable construction for Louisiana sales tax?
Most removable wall, pylon, billboard, and freestanding signs were taxable movable property, while separately stated installation was not taxed. Permanent foundations and structures could be immovable…
Did Amtrak's federal tax exemption protect an independent contractor performing train inspection, maintenance, and cleaning in Albuquerque?
No. JDJ was an independent for-profit contractor, not Amtrak or its subsidiary, agent, passenger, or customer. Its employees inspected, maintained, watered, and cleaned rail cars during Albuquerque st…
After a seller-finance dealer transfers a note to a qualifying related finance company, who reports tax and how is tax allocated to payments?
The selling dealer kept the full tax in the installment contract and remained responsible for collecting and remitting it as payments arrived. The qualifying RFC did not report tax on each principal p…
Does Kansas give credit for sales tax lawfully paid to another state when purchased property is later first used in Kansas?
Yes. Under K.S.A. 79-3704(c), Kansas gives credit for sales tax lawfully paid to the state where the property was purchased. If the combined Kansas state and local use-tax rate at the place of first K…
Were separately stated delivery charges for direct mail subject to Kansas sales or compensating-use tax?
No. Effective July 1, 2007, delivery charges for qualifying direct mail were excluded from Kansas sales and compensating-use tax when separately stated on the invoice or similar billing document. The …
Did a KPERS lump-sum retirement payment and its earnings stay exempt from Kansas income tax after rollover to another qualified account?
Yes. The 2007 amendment to K.S.A. 74-4923 made a KPERS lump-sum retirement payment and its earnings retain their Kansas tax-exempt status after rollover to a qualified retirement account, whether the …
Was an LLC owner and managing member personally liable for restaurant withholding tax when day-to-day managers failed to remit it?
Yes. Cantina LLC was the restaurant's legal employer, and J. Nold Midyette remained its owner and managing member, signed its tax filings, was a signatory on its bank account, directed financial repor…
Are purely financial 'virtual' electricity trades in NYISO's wholesale market subject to New York sales tax, and does a trader who only does virtual trades have to register as a sales tax vendor?
No to both. Virtual electricity transactions in NYISO's market are purely financial and never result in actual generation, delivery, or consumption of electricity, so they aren't taxable sales of elec…
Can medical practitioners purchase neck braces, knee braces, and similar devices tax-exempt as 'for resale' when they provide them directly to patients as part of treatment?
No. Because the practitioners provide these devices only in conjunction with their own paid medical services, not as a separate retail sale, their purchases of the devices are taxable -- they don't qu…
Is a tax-exempt nonprofit's charge for maintenance and repair services on low-income housing projects, billed to for-profit property-owning partnerships, subject to New York sales tax?
No. A section 1116(a)(4) exempt organization is not required to collect sales tax on its sales of maintenance and repair services, even though the property owner it bills is a separate for-profit enti…
Is a vegetable-oil product (CAP18) injected to remediate groundwater contamination at a manufacturing plant exempt from Kansas sales tax?
Exempt. A manufacturer's purchase of CAP18 — a vegetable-oil product injected into the aquifer to remediate and control trichloroethene (TCE) contamination under its plant — is exempt from Kansas sale…
Are electricity-generating peaking units purchased for a Kansas power plant exempt as manufacturing machinery and equipment?
Exempt. Electricity-generating peaking units purchased for a Kansas power plant qualify for exemption as manufacturing machinery and equipment under K.S.A. 79-3606(kk), because electricity power gener…
What happens to Texas seller-finance vehicle tax when notes are sold to a partnership that fails the related-finance-company ownership test?
Selling the notes to the children's partnership would accelerate all remaining motor vehicle tax because it was not a qualifying RFC: its ownership was not at least 80% identical to the dealer's. A me…
How did the Richmond Circuit Court resolve the consolidated DiBelardino and Dutton tax-assessment cases?
The court reached opposite results. It upheld the Department's assessment against Ezio and Stephanie DiBelardino because their Virginia property interests supplied minimum contacts sufficient for due …
What renewable-fuel and biodiesel retail incentives did Kansas enact in 2007, and when could a consumer blend fuel without a manufacturer license?
House Bill 2145 created Kansas retail dealer incentives for renewable fuels and biodiesel beginning January 1, 2009, with quarterly electronic claims and expiration January 1, 2026. Renewable-fuel dea…
Were FNMA's charges for an online mortgage information service subject to South Carolina sales and use tax under this PLR?
No. Although online information access was generally treated as a taxable communication service, FNMA's charges were exempt because 12 U.S.C. § 1723a protected FNMA from state and local taxation excep…
How did South Carolina tax custom signs, design services, installation, and foundation materials under this private letter ruling?
The sign company was a retailer, so signs and related consultation, engineering, design, survey, and permit charges were taxable. Reasonable separately stated installation was not. Separately stated f…
Is leasing dark fiber taxed as a property lease and lit fiber as a telecommunications service in Connecticut?
Both are taxable, under different rules. Leasing 'dark fiber' -- the fiber-optic cable itself, without the equipment to light it -- is a taxable lease of tangible personal property under Conn. Gen. St…
Could a fleet lessor rely on a Type 9 NTTC from New Mexico's vehicle agency when the agency said it would sublease the vehicles?
Yes, for the assessed GSD leases. The State's transportation division represented that other public entities had to sublease vehicles from it and supplied an official, single-sided Type 9 NTTC that di…
How can taxpayers find South Carolina advisory opinions by subject (per SC IL #07-15)?
Use the index attached to SC Information Letter #07-15 to find South Carolina advisory opinions. It indexes the advisory opinions issued by the Department from 1987 to June 30, 2007, and it explains t…
How can taxpayers check whether an older South Carolina advisory opinion was modified or superseded (per SC IL #07-14)?
Use the citator attached to SC Information Letter #07-14. It helps you determine what effect newer South Carolina advisory opinions have on previously published ones — whether an opinion was modified,…
Is a court-ordered qualified settlement fund subject to the Connecticut corporation business tax?
No. A 'qualified settlement fund' -- here a court-supervised fund holding disgorgement and penalties from an SEC enforcement action, as defined in 26 C.F.R. § 1.468B-1 -- is not subject to the Connect…
What is South Carolina's tax interest rate for the period July 1, 2006 through September 30, 2007 (per SC IL #07-13)?
8%. SC Information Letter #07-13 sets South Carolina's interest rate on tax underpayments and overpayments at 8% for the period July 1, 2006 through September 30, 2007. Interest is compounded daily, e…
Does a company that arranges satellite TV for hotels, but doesn't transmit it, owe Connecticut's satellite gross earnings tax?
No. A company that arranges and resells satellite television programming to hotels -- collecting payments and earning a commission, but not itself transmitting the signal -- is not subject to Connecti…
Did Florida documentary stamp or nonrecurring intangible tax apply to the submitted line-of-credit documents?
Not as the submitted documents stood. None independently contained both an unconditional obligation to repay a sum certain and the borrower's signature, and none expressly incorporated another reviewe…
We're a section 1411 not-for-profit local development corporation administering a federally-seeded revolving loan fund for Albany County businesses. Are the mortgages we take as collateral on our loans exempt from New York's mortgage recording tax?
Exempt. The Albany County Business Development Corporation is a not-for-profit local development corporation (LDC) incorporated under section 1411 of the Not-For-Profit Corporation Law, administering …
For an event-production company that rents AV/staging equipment and provides setup labor, planning, and decor services for corporate events, which charges are subject to New York sales tax?
Equipment rentals delivered in New York, and the labor to set up (install) that equipment, are taxable; a single combined setup-and-teardown charge is fully taxable too. But separately-priced equipmen…
Are tarps bought by a farmer or rancher to cover harvested hay exempt from Kansas sales and compensating use tax as farm machinery or equipment?
Yes. The Kansas Department of Revenue concluded that a tarp purchased by a farmer or rancher and used to cover harvested hay qualifies for the farm machinery or equipment exemption from Kansas sales a…
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