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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If the New Mexico tax department abates my assessment, can I recover my attorney fees and costs?
No. William C. Gardner, DDS — a dental professional corporation — had its New Mexico gross receipts tax assessments abated by the Department, but the Administrative Hearings Office refused to award it…
If the New Mexico tax department delays my hearing for years, can I get my penalty cancelled?
No — the penalty stood. Herbalife protested only the $130,068.40 negligence penalty in a 2018 New Mexico gross receipts tax assessment (it had already paid the $650,292.40 tax and $95,379.75 interest)…
Where can taxpayers find South Carolina Department of Revenue advisory opinions by tax topic through December 31, 2023?
Use the subject index attached to SC Information Letter #23-20. It organizes South Carolina Department of Revenue advisory opinions issued from 1987 through December 31, 2023 under administrative, alc…
How can taxpayers check whether a South Carolina Department of Revenue advisory opinion had been modified, superseded, or made obsolete through December 31, 2023?
Use the citator attached to SC Information Letter #23-19. It lists South Carolina Department of Revenue advisory opinions from 1987 through December 31, 2023 that the Department identifies as modified…
When a natural gas utility offers customers a voluntary, separately billed charge to purchase carbon offset credits for their gas usage, is that charge subject to Texas sales tax and the Miscellaneous Gross Receipts Tax?
Yes to both. Texas ruled that a natural gas utility's voluntary, separately stated carbon offset charge is treated as part of the sales price of the natural gas itself, not a separate nontaxable produ…
Who files the release of a Kansas tax warrant after a taxpayer pays a delinquent tax?
Kansas Notice 23-13 explains a new procedure, effective January 1, 2024, for releasing tax warrants after a delinquent tax is paid. Under 2023 House Bill 2002 (New Section 1, now K.S.A. 75-5148a), whe…
Is the industrial equipment a retailer buys to mass-produce baked goods in its in-store bakeries exempt from Colorado sales and use tax under the manufacturing machinery exemption — and does that exemption reach local taxes?
Yes. Industrial bakery equipment — mixers, dough dividers, ovens, oven racks, depositors, labeling machines, and the like — bought new for over $500 each and used directly and predominantly to mass-pr…
What wage levels must a Nebraska Advantage Rural Development Act or Microenterprise Tax Credit Act applicant meet for applications filed on or after January 1, 2024?
For applications filed on or after January 1, 2024, the Nebraska Advantage Rural Development Act required wage level is $18.40 per hour, and the Nebraska Advantage Microenterprise Tax Credit Act wage …
We buy medical devices and implants in bulk from manufacturers and use them per a doctor's prescription for surgery -- does that qualify for Virginia's durable medical equipment sales tax exemption without a signed consignment contract?
Not without documented proof -- generic vendor letters simply asserting a 'consignment' relationship aren't enough; Virginia requires actual contracts or agreements clearly showing no money changed ha…
I filed an amended Virginia sales tax return claiming a refund a little while after the original filing deadline -- can the Department still deny it purely for being late?
Yes -- Virginia's three-year deadline to claim a sales tax refund runs from the original return's due date, and it is enforced strictly with no grace period. A company that provides computer and data …
If I file my New Mexico gross receipts tax return on time but pay the tax late by mistake, can I get the penalty waived?
No. Tucker Midstream filed its August 2022 New Mexico gross receipts tax return on time but paid the tax late, and the Administrative Hearings Office refused to waive the resulting penalty and interes…
What are South Carolina's 2024 county tier rankings for the job tax credit, and which counties qualify for the tax moratorium and reduced fee-in-lieu investment?
SC Information Letter #23-18 sets the 2024 county rankings that drive several South Carolina incentives. For the job tax credit, all 46 counties are ranked into four tiers (Tier IV counties are the mo…
Which fencing, farm equipment, trailers, and farm-electricity purchases were exempt, and what documentation did Florida require?
Qualifying fencing components, power farm equipment, certain trailer purchases, and separately metered production or packing electricity were exempt with proper documentation. Some tools, feeders, and…
How should a mixed-use hotel master lease allocate rent between taxable commercial space and excluded hotel or parking areas?
The Department accepted a square-footage allocation after adding one redacted area to the taxable numerator. The resulting taxable percentage is redacted from the public ruling.
When did the vessel medical-products distributor have to collect Florida sales tax on its products and services?
The distributor had Florida nexus, and taxable products or services sold while a customer's vessel was dockside or in Florida waters were subject to tax. Specific exemptions and documentation rules co…
Is a subscription or membership fee whose main benefit is free delivery on future orders subject to Colorado sales or use tax?
No. An optional subscription whose primary benefit is unlimited free delivery on future orders is not subject to Colorado state sales or use tax. The membership is essentially prepayment for a deliver…
Can a private company that leases unimproved port authority land, and is required to build a container depot on it that becomes port property, issue a tax exemption certificate to its contractor for construction materials?
Yes. Texas ruled that even though the tenant building a container depot on Port of Houston Authority land is a private, non-exempt company, its 20-year ground lease qualifies as an "exempt contract" b…
What is South Carolina's tax interest rate for underpayments and overpayments for the period beginning October 1, 2023 (per SC IL #23-17)?
8%. SC Information Letter #23-17 sets South Carolina's interest rate on tax underpayments and overpayments at 8% for the period October 1, 2023 through March 31, 2024. Interest is compounded daily, ex…
What are South Carolina's state and county per capita income figures for tax-incentive purposes (per SC IL #23-16)?
SC Information Letter #23-16 (November 30, 2023) publishes South Carolina's most recent per capita personal income figures used to test tax incentives. The state figure is $53,618. The letter also lis…
A county denied my appeal of the personal property tax on my car and told me I could appeal to the Virginia Department of Taxation -- can the Department actually decide this?
No -- the Virginia Department of Taxation has no jurisdiction to hear an appeal of tangible personal property tax assessed on someone's personal vehicle, even though the county told the taxpayer she c…
Virginia doesn't let federal Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) retirees subtract their CSRS pension the same way Social Security is subtracted -- can I still get a full refund by arguing this is unlawful discrimination against CSRS retirees?
No -- Virginia courts have already twice rejected the argument that Virginia's tax treatment of federal Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) retirees is unlawfully discriminatory, and the Department…
Is the delivery fee a retailer charges to bring a product to the customer subject to Colorado sales tax, if the customer could instead choose to pick the item up?
No. A delivery fee is not subject to Colorado state sales or use tax when it is both optional — the customer can waive it and pick the item up instead — and separately stated on the written sales agre…
What happens to excess child care contribution credit, how can an unlicensed organization accept qualifying contributions to build a child care facility, and what if a facility is used partly for other purposes?
Excess child care contribution credit is not refunded but carries forward up to five years (earliest years first), then is lost. An organization not yet licensed can accept qualifying contributions to…
I bought a gun safe in Virginia -- can I get an income tax credit for it, and how much, and do I need to do anything besides just buying it?
Yes -- Virginia allows a nonrefundable individual income tax credit, starting with Taxable Year 2023, equal to the cost of a qualifying firearm locking storage device (or $300, whichever is less), but…
Is a mobile app that lets truck drivers buy discounted fuel from partner fuel stops -- without itself selling, holding, or delivering the fuel -- a 'marketplace facilitator' that must collect and remit Illinois sales and use tax?
The Department could not say, on a GIL, without seeing the actual contracts between the app company and the fuel stops -- it explained the Retailers' Occupation Tax and marketplace-facilitator framewo…
When a company hires a team to implement and customize a new ERP system, which parts of the project — configuration, custom coding, training, support — are subject to Tennessee sales tax?
Only the custom coding. In a project to implement a new cloud ERP system, the Department ruled that the only taxable piece is the optional custom software development — writing new code or using devel…
Does a company that operates a mobile app connecting truck drivers to discounted fuel at partner fuel stops -- without itself buying, selling, or distributing the fuel -- owe Illinois Motor Fuel Tax or need a motor fuel license?
The Department could not say, because it could not determine from the letter alone the actual contractual relationship between the app company and the fuel stops; based on the limited facts given, the…
Should our online retail business collect Illinois sales tax based on our customer's location (destination sourcing) or based on where our selling activities occur (origin sourcing), especially after two merging internet retailers combine their offices, warehouse, and servers?
It depends on the facts, and this GIL does not decide the company's specific scenarios -- the Department explains that where a retailer owes LOCAL retailers' occupation tax (county, home-rule municipa…
If a New Mexico tax helpline gives me wrong information and I file late, can I get the penalty waived?
No. Stronghold Construction filed its June 2022 New Mexico gross receipts tax return and paid the tax about two weeks late, and the Administrative Hearings Office refused to abate the resulting $5,254…
Would Florida sales or use tax apply when the aircraft-owning S corporation domesticated to Florida?
No. The corporation had owned and used the aircraft outside Florida for more than six months, creating the statutory presumption that it was not purchased for Florida use.
Does the sales-and-use-tax exemption for tangible personal property used in building or running a data center cover solar-array components (racking, panels, inverters, combiners, switchgear) installed as a secondary use on data-center property?
Illinois exempts qualified tangible personal property used in the construction or operation of a data center that holds a Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity certificate of exemption, but …
A for-profit company took in a non-profit medical cannabis producer's revenue as 'management fees' — does it owe New Mexico gross receipts tax on that money?
Yes — the protest was denied and the full assessment stood. Aspen Management Company was a for-profit corporation set up by the owner of a non-profit medical cannabis producer (New Mexico required pro…
Was the charitable trust excluded from Florida corporate income tax as a private trust, and was its unrelated business income taxable?
No private-trust exclusion applied. The organization was a charitable trust and had to file a Florida corporate income tax return and pay tax on unrelated business taxable income allocable to Florida.
After a parent company absorbs its wholly owned, disregarded single-member LLC by merger, can it keep using the Tennessee franchise and excise tax credits the LLC earned?
Yes. The Department ruled that a corporate parent that earned Tennessee franchise and excise (F&E) tax credits — industrial-machinery, job, and 'super' job tax credits — through its wholly owned singl…
Does an IT company that resells Microsoft Office 365 and other SaaS (software-as-a-service) products to its customers have to charge Illinois sales tax on those sales?
It depends on facts the Department said this particular letter didn't supply: canned (prewritten) software is generally taxable in Illinois regardless of delivery method, but a license meeting all fiv…
How does Illinois tax the sale of motor vehicles, including trade-ins, private-party sales, and sales to nonresidents such as Florida residents?
Illinois taxes retail motor vehicle sales under the Retailers' Occupation (sales) Tax/Use Tax and generally allows a trade-in credit for a like-kind vehicle traded in (with no $10,000 cap for sales on…
Were the utility's installed solar trees, canopies, batteries, and related systems tangible personal property or real-property improvements?
They were real-property improvements. The systems were secured to the property under building codes, installed by licensed contractors, and intended to remain for an extended or indefinite period.
Where can taxpayers find South Carolina Department of Revenue advisory opinions by tax topic through September 30, 2023?
Use the subject index attached to SC Information Letter #23-15. It organizes South Carolina Department of Revenue advisory opinions issued from 1987 through September 30, 2023 under administrative, al…
How can taxpayers check whether a South Carolina Department of Revenue advisory opinion had been modified, superseded, or made obsolete through September 30, 2023?
Use the citator attached to SC Information Letter #23-14. It lists South Carolina Department of Revenue advisory opinions from 1987 through September 30, 2023 that the Department identifies as modifie…
If a South Carolina tax return or payment is due on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, when is it actually due?
The deadline moves to the next business day. Under S.C. Code Ann. § 12-60-50, when the last day to file a South Carolina return, refund claim, or other document — or to make a payment — falls on a Sat…
Does a Montana customer owe Missouri sales tax on an item shipped from a Missouri manufacturer via UPS?
NO, Missouri sales tax is not owed, because when a Missouri seller ships goods out of state via a third-party carrier (like UPS) with no special agreement about title, title transfers at the out-of-st…
For a certified large data center project that requires creating 40 qualifying jobs, can those new employees work temporarily at an affiliated, already-existing data center in the same county while the new data center is still under construction?
Yes. Texas ruled that jobs the employer internally assigns and codes to a new, under-construction large data center project qualify for the project's $500 million capital-investment sales tax exemptio…
I established Virginia domicile while working here, then tried to switch back to my old home state before taking an overseas government assignment -- but I never actually lived in that state again. Am I still a Virginia resident for tax purposes?
Yes -- he remained a Virginia domiciliary resident, because he never actually re-established physical presence in the state he claimed as his new domicile, and overseas government assignments rarely c…
I've lived and worked abroad for ten years, but I still have a Virginia driver's license and once registered to vote in Virginia -- does that mean I'm still a Virginia domiciliary resident who owes Virginia income tax?
Not necessarily -- ten years of genuine life abroad (work, a driver's license, vehicles, children born and schooled there, and eventually a home purchase) outweighed an old, unrenewed-going-forward Vi…
I moved out of Virginia and later moved again to a different state, but I never got around to updating my old Virginia driver's license -- am I still on the hook for Virginia income tax?
No -- when a taxpayer had already documented his move out of Virginia at the time it happened (by filing a part-year resident return) and later moved again to a second state, the Department confirmed …
We rent out an event venue for one lump-sum price that includes tables and chairs -- can we get Virginia to reconsider a ruling that our whole rental fee is taxable, by arguing the space itself is a nontaxable service?
No -- a request for reconsideration only succeeds if it meets one of four specific, narrow grounds, and simply repeating an argument the Department already rejected isn't one of them. An event venue c…
The Department estimated my company's sales tax liability because we never filed returns, and the estimate doesn't match our point-of-sale records -- can we get it corrected without ever filing the actual returns?
No -- simply asserting that the Department's estimate doesn't match your own records isn't enough; you have to actually file the missing returns with supporting documentation to displace an estimated …
We use kiln decking to dry raw lumber before it's processed, and a computerized picture tally system to track lumber -- do either qualify for Virginia's manufacturing sales tax exemption?
No -- neither item qualified, because Virginia's manufacturing exemption only covers equipment that is an indispensable, immediate part of actual production, not equipment used before production start…
What is the Kansas state sales tax rate on food, and when does it drop?
Kansas Notice 23-12 explains the phased reduction of the state sales tax rate on food and food ingredients. Under 2022 House Bill 2106 (Section 1, now K.S.A. 79-3603d), the state rate on food and food…
How did Kansas change how often retailers must file sales tax returns in 2024?
Kansas Notice 23-11 explains that 2022 House Bill 2136 (Section 18) amended K.S.A. 79-3607 to raise the dollar thresholds that set how often a retailer must file Kansas sales tax returns, effective on…
Why is the Kansas corporate income tax normal rate dropping to 3.5%?
Kansas Notice 23-10 explains that the normal corporate income tax rate is dropping from 4% to 3.5%, effective for tax years beginning in 2024, while the 3% surtax stays the same. The cut is required b…
Does a facilities management company that coordinates cleaning, maintenance, security, and catering subcontractors for commercial building tenants and landlords qualify as an exempt "property management company," and are its coordinated services and markup fee taxable?
Mostly taxable. Texas ruled the company does NOT qualify as an exempt "property management company" because it doesn't secure tenants or collect/apply rental revenue for its clients — it's simply a fa…
Could the parent combine its current and grandfather-elected Florida groups into one consolidated return, and carry their prior net operating losses into it?
Yes. The group qualified for a new consolidated election beginning with tax year 2021. Prior member NOLs could be used under the Internal Revenue Code and Chapter 220 without extra Florida limitations…
I bought sterling silver flatware from an online auction -- does it qualify for Virginia's sales tax exemption for silver bullion?
No -- Virginia's precious-metal bullion exemption requires the item's sales price to fluctuate based solely on the market price of the underlying metal, and an auction purchase of silver flatware does…
We sell and install security systems, cabling, and home audio-visual equipment for homebuilders -- do we owe sales tax on the equipment, or does it become part of the house and become the homebuilder's tax burden instead?
It depends on whether the equipment is physically annexed to the house, essential to its use, and intended to become a permanent part of it -- a three-part legal test that hardwired security systems c…
My dealership sells optional vehicle service contracts on behalf of another company that actually does the repairs, and an insurance company backs the contracts -- who's responsible for collecting Virginia sales tax, and does the insurance backing make it exempt?
The dealer that actually sells the contract to the customer -- not the company backing it or performing the repairs -- is the one responsible for collecting and remitting sales tax, on half the total …
The IRS accepted my charitable and business expense deductions without question -- can Virginia still disallow them on audit for lack of documentation?
Yes -- Virginia's Department of Taxation has independent statutory authority to disallow charitable contribution and Schedule C business expense deductions for lack of documentation, regardless of whe…
For Virginia BPOL tax, can remote employees' home offices, a virtual office, or a foreign office count as "definite places of business," and how do I calculate the out-of-state deduction if I have to apportion by payroll?
Potentially yes. An employee's home, or a virtual office that provides a mailing address and phone/meeting-room services, can count as a BPOL "definite place of business" if there's a regular and cont…
My retail stores host computer terminals customers use to place online orders through our affiliated e-commerce company -- can the city tax those online sales as MY gross receipts instead of my affiliate's?
Yes, potentially -- if your retail stores are where customers place online orders through in-store computer systems, those locations can count as a 'definite place of business' of your online-sales af…
Can I get a Virginia tax determination reconsidered if I missed the 45-day deadline, or if I claim I never received the original assessment notice?
No, in this case. A request to reconsider a Tax Commissioner's final determination must be filed within 45 days, and a late request is barred regardless of the underlying merits. Separately, Virginia …
How these rulings are useful
- See how the rule applies: A letter ruling shows how a state revenue department actually applied the tax law to a specific business and set of facts.
- Plan with confidence: Find a ruling with facts close to yours before you charge, remit, or claim an exemption.
- Binding only on the requester: A ruling is binding on the department only for the taxpayer who asked. It is persuasive, not a substitute for your own ruling or professional advice.
- Research across states: Compare how different states treat the same issue, from SaaS and food exemptions to nexus and contractor purchases.