State Tax Rulings
Free state tax letter rulings and advisory opinions with plain-English summaries, full citations, and the original source on every page.
No rulings match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
Were long-term employee-leasing charges taxable personnel services, and how were truck-driver services performed outside Connecticut allocated?
Yes under this historical ruling. An employee-leasing company paying drivers' wages, payroll taxes, and benefits owed sales and use tax on total gross receipts, including reimbursed employee expenses,…
Were charges to set up, reprogram, and calibrate scales subject to Texas sales or use tax?
Yes. Texas treated the work as taxable maintenance or repair and taxed the entire invoice, including labor, travel time, and mileage.
Could a customer obtain a Texas sales-tax refund for a refrigerator exported to Israel almost two years after it was delivered to the customer's Texas residence?
No. The export exemption required the refrigerator to leave Texas before any in-state use, and storage counted as use. Property remaining in Texas more than 30 days was presumed stored; the nearly two…
Were Alcoholics Anonymous writings and pamphlets sold by an Intergroup subject to Texas sales tax?
Its own qualifying publications were exempt, but public sales of other publications were taxable unless a separate exemption applied.
Were salt, sodium bisulfate, and ice used by commercial fishing boats exempt from Texas sales tax?
Common table salt and qualifying ice were exempt; sodium bisulfate was taxable, and other salts required a separate exemption basis.
Who owed Texas use tax when an out-of-state buyer directed a seller to drop-ship taxable property to a Texas recipient?
The seller had to collect Texas tax or a valid resale certificate; if the buyer lacked Texas nexus and did not collect, the Texas recipient still owed the use tax.
When were gas and electricity used by a Texas laundry or dry cleaner exempt rather than taxable commercial utilities?
Utilities for cleaning the business's own rental items were exempt processing use; utilities for cleaning customer-owned items were taxable service use.
Was a paid college scholarship and financial-aid matching service taxable when it generated student information from a computer database in California?
Yes. The Comptroller treated the scholarship and grant matching as a taxable information service under Rule 3.342. If the company was engaged in business in Texas under Rule 3.286, it had to collect a…
Were separately billed aviation-fuel charges taxable when a flying club rented aircraft by the hour?
No. Separately billed aviation fuel sold to the flying club's customers was not subject to tax under the letter. The hourly aircraft-rental charge itself was taxable.
Did colored paint sprayed on steel coils qualify for a Texas manufacturing exemption as a label or as an ingredient or component of the product sold?
The letter did not reach a final exemption holding. It said the paint did not clearly meet Rule 3.314's definition of a label, but might qualify under Rule 3.300(d)(2) if it became an ingredient or co…
Were fulfillment-house charges for gluing or constructing displays and posters taxable, and were sorting, stuffing, and metering mailing services taxable?
Gluing or constructing displays and posters was taxable fabrication labor whether the printer or fulfillment house billed it. Actual mailing services such as sorting, stuffing, and metering were nonta…
Did electricity used for color-corrected lighting in a print-shop pressroom count as exempt use when calculating the predominant use of electricity?
Yes. The Comptroller concluded that color-corrected pressroom lighting used to process color was necessary and essential to that printing process, so the electricity powering it qualified as exempt us…
Were services that monitored individual cable hookups to detect unauthorized reception by non-subscribers subject to Connecticut sales tax?
No. Local cable operators used the company to monitor individual hookups and identify non-subscribers using subscribers' lines without authorization. DRS held that this monitoring service was not amon…
Are a soft-drink bottler's reusable trays and dispenser tanks, transferred to wholesalers on a deposit-and-return basis, taxable?
No — the trays and tanks are exempt packaging materials, and the bottler may buy them for resale tax-free. Clinton's Ditch Co-op Co., a soft-drink bottler, sells its 2-liter product in reusable plasti…
When a business bills a customer for many small taxable sales in one period, does it compute sales tax on each sale or on the billing total?
Compute the tax once on the total for the billing period, not on each individual sale. Rochester Credit Center, Inc. sells many credit reports to each client during a monthly billing cycle and had bee…
Must a tax-exempt university collect sales tax when it bills its own students for telephone lines, long-distance authorization, and usage?
No — the university does not have to collect sales tax on those charges. Alfred University, an educational organization exempt under Tax Law § 1116(a)(4), runs a telephone system as a service to stude…
Is a forensic engineer's accident-investigation and expert-report work a taxable detective service, and does out-of-state delivery change the answer?
The work is a taxable detective service, but reports delivered out of state are not taxed. Stanley Greenfield is an engineer specializing in machine design who inspects industrial machinery involved i…
Which parts of a shopping-mall expansion were nontaxable new construction rather than taxable renovation under Connecticut's historical rules?
New space above the former roof, the new roof, and work at or below the original ground-slab elevation were new construction. A partial floor was allocated 75% new construction and 25% renovation base…
Is the sale and installation of power-grid equipment for an electric utility taxable when the seller never received an exemption certificate from the utility?
Yes — the seller must collect tax on the entire sale-and-installation charge because it never received an exemption certificate. ABB Power Transmission, Inc. sold and installed a Static Var Compensato…
Was sales tax owed by an insolvent savings and loan a legally enforceable purchaser debt that the Resolution Trust Corporation receiver should pay to the seller?
Yes. Section 151.052 made sales tax added by the seller part of the sales price and a debt recoverable from the purchaser like the original price. The Comptroller told the receiver that the institutio…
Did gas used in afterburners and electricity used by fans in regulator-required air-cleaning equipment attached to a printing press qualify as exempt utility use?
Yes. Required pollution-control equipment connected with the printing process was treated as necessary and essential manufacturing equipment and qualified for the phased-in exemption if purchased on o…
Which gas and electricity uses qualified for Texas's manufacturing exemption when powering required pollution-control devices or cleaning water for pollution control and manufacturing?
Gas and electricity powering regulator-required pollution-control equipment qualified as exempt utility use because the equipment was treated as necessary and essential to manufacturing. Electricity c…
Did a mail-order seller of boat service contracts have Texas collection duties when it had no office, employee, agent, or advertising in Texas but may have shared a name with a Texas business associate?
The Comptroller could not decide without knowing the legal relationship. If the out-of-state seller and Texas associate operated under the same trade name, the seller would be engaged in business in T…
Could two drilling rigs sold by an out-of-state company and shipped from Louisiana to Texas qualify as occasional sales exempt from Texas use tax?
Yes, under the stated facts. The seller was not engaged in activity requiring a Texas permit and had made no other taxable sale, lease, or rental during the preceding 12 months, so the rig sales appea…
Did electricity used for refrigeration during produce ripening count as exempt processing use, and did refrigeration used after ripening for storage qualify?
Electricity for refrigeration used to ripen bananas, tomatoes, and other produce qualified as exempt processing use. Refrigeration used only to store already ripened produce was taxable use. The claim…
Were a child-care provider's periodic referral-list fee and newsletter taxable when families received free referrals and some providers got the newsletter at no added charge?
The $10 referral-list fee was nontaxable. The provider did not collect tax on newsletters distributed at no extra charge, because both recipient groups paid the same service fee whether or not they re…
We're an old-style membership housing association -- not a formally chartered cooperative corporation -- where each member owns one share of stock tied to their apartment and pays monthly maintenance. When a member sells their interest, do we owe New York Real Estate Transfer Tax the same way a formal co-op would, even though we're organized differently?
Yes, taxable -- functional substance controls over corporate label. Parkside Association, a membership corporation formed in 1927 by Norwegian immigrants (nicknamed "Finnish House"), owned a 41-unit B…
Were a caterer's sales of raw meat and unprepared fruit and vegetables taxable, and what happened when the caterer prepared the food?
Raw, unprepared food sold by the caterer was not taxable. If the caterer prepared the food, the entire customer charge was taxable.
Were independent dietetic counseling and kitchen-operation services provided to nursing homes taxable consulting services in Connecticut?
Yes under this historical ruling. The dietitian reviewed patient histories and eating habits, advised staff on special diets and food preparation, educated patients and families, and reviewed kitchen …
Did automatically renewing 30-day contracts qualify for Texas's prior-contract exemption from the 0.25% state sales-tax rate increase effective July 1, 1990?
No. The contracts lacked the definite ending date required by Rule 3.319(c)(3) and renewed as new 30-day contracts each month. An annual seasonal calendar, projected annual cost, and planned color cha…
A deceased cooperative sponsor sold some apartments himself before he died, and bequeathed the remaining eight units in his will -- one each to three unrelated people, and five (as tenants in common) to his parents and brother. Is the bequest itself a taxable transfer, does it get combined with the sponsor's own pre-death sales for the $1 million gains-tax threshold, and are the family members' later individual sales aggregated with each other or with the unrelated beneficiaries' sales?
The bequest itself isn't a taxable transfer at all, and the beneficiaries' later individual sales are generally NOT aggregated with the sponsor's own prior sales, or with each other's, unless the fami…
Were fees for servicing Connecticut Housing Finance Authority home mortgage loans subject to Connecticut sales and use tax?
No. Although mortgage servicing fees were generally taxable as a business management service under the historical rule, fees for servicing Connecticut Housing Finance Authority loans were exempt. CHFA…
If a REIT forms a wholly owned subsidiary corporation that's a 'qualified REIT subsidiary' under IRC section 856(i) to hold a New York real estate partnership interest, does that subsidiary still owe New York Article 9-A tax on its own income, or does everything flow up to the parent REIT?
The subsidiary remains a separate Article 9-A taxpayer, but effectively owes only the fixed dollar minimum tax. Corporate Property Investors (a Massachusetts business trust REIT under IRC section 856/…
Could a direct-pay permit holder retroactively issue its certificate two years after buying pipe and recover state or Houston local tax it had elected to pay the supplier?
No. A direct-pay permit holder had an election at purchase: issue the certificate or pay the applicable tax to the supplier. Because the client chose to pay tax that was due, it could not later claim …
Which of a food-manufacturing plant's capital projects -- new production-line equipment, checkweighers, bar-coding equipment, and computer systems -- qualify for Utah's manufacturing machinery and equipment sales tax exemption?
Mostly yes for the production equipment, no for the two general computer projects. Twelve capital projects -- new or upgraded production-line machinery, checkweighers, bar-coding equipment, and a mate…
Was a required $15 hospital contribution taxable when the contributor received a photograph worth an amount commensurate with the required payment?
Yes. Although the objective was to raise money for a hospital, the payment was mandatory and the photograph's value was commensurate with it. The Comptroller therefore treated the transaction as a tax…
How did a city's Development Corporation tax apply to taxable items bought inside the city or bought elsewhere and then used, stored, or consumed in the city?
A taxable item purchased in the Development Corporation city was subject to its sales tax. An item purchased from a place of business outside the taxing city but used, stored, or consumed inside it wa…
Are a consultant's personal reports taxable, and is consulting that is bundled into the price of taxable training tapes taxable too?
The personal reports and scripts are not taxable, but consulting folded into the price of taxable training tapes is taxed unless billed under a separate contract. A behavioral scientist (client of Mor…
Can a restaurant buy the toy premiums it includes with kids' meals tax-free as a purchase for resale?
No — the toys are promotional items used with taxable meals, so the restaurant owes tax when it buys them, not a resale purchase. McDonald's Restaurants of New York asked whether the premiums (toys) i…
Does a New York resident owe use tax on an aircraft bought and hangared out of state when it lands and stays overnight in New York?
Yes — the resident owes New York State use tax once the aircraft is actually used in New York, though an emergency landing doesn't count and only state (not local) tax applies here. George Sexton, a N…
Michael Kreimer asked whether five zero-coupon Treasury-derivative products - CATS (Certificate of Accrual on Treasury Securities), TBR (Treasury Bond Receipts), CTR (Coupon Treasury Receipts), ETR (Easy Growth Treasury Receipts), and STRIPS (Separate Trading of Registered Interest and Principal of Securities) - count as 'obligations of the United States,' so that the interest they generate is exempt from New York personal income tax under Article 22 of the Tax Law.
Yes. The Department ruled that all five named zero-coupon Treasury-derivative products - CATS, TBR, CTR, ETR, and STRIPS - are treated as 'obligations of the United States' for purposes of Tax Law § 6…
Charles E. Rockey, a retired employee of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, asked whether the pension payments he received in 1989 from the Federal Reserve Retirement Plan are exempt from New York income tax under Tax Law § 612(c)(3)(ii).
Yes. The Department ruled that Rockey's 1989 Federal Reserve Retirement Plan pension payments are pension payments made to an employee of a United States instrumentality, so they qualify for the secti…
How did Connecticut historically tax printing plates, pressroom materials, and outsourced or internally produced prepress items?
Raw plate materials and chemicals physically applied to the plate were exempt, as was an imaged ready-to-press plate. Ink and listed pressroom chemicals were used directly in manufacturing. Specified …
When did an apprehended vehicle count as doing business in Texas for motor vehicle tax?
The letter said an apprehended vehicle was taxable if it was doing business in Texas. Examples included Texas-to-Texas transport, maintaining Texas facilities, having a Texas representative, deliverin…
Did Texas limited sales and use tax or motor-vehicle tax apply to off-road vehicles?
Off-road vehicles were subject to limited sales and use tax plus applicable local tax. If an off-road vehicle was titled, the title documents should claim the motor-vehicle-tax exemption as “designed …
When did Texas treat an underground pipeline on easements as real property, and when was an oilfield flow line tangible personal property?
A pipeline was real property when it was permanently affixed, the parties intended permanent affixation, and the attachment enabled its intended use. Transmission lines generally met that classificati…
Could a Texas farm operator buy fertilizer for Bermuda grass in a livestock area and feed for pond fish without sales tax?
Yes. Fertilizer used on Bermuda grass in the livestock area qualified for the agricultural exemption, with an exemption certificate. Feed for catfish, bass, and bream used to control pond insects and …
Did a prescribed reclining chair with built-in massage rollers qualify for Texas's therapeutic-appliance sales-tax exemption?
Yes. The chair's built-in massage rollers stretched and relaxed muscles, so the Comptroller treated it as a therapeutic appliance or device. The seller had to retain the doctor's prescription as proof…
Could a business keep purchase orders and other records on optical or laser disks instead of paper for Texas audit purposes?
Yes. The Comptroller and Audit Division accepted optical or laser-disk recordkeeping if the business maintained backup copies and supplied sufficient equipment for auditors to examine the records on r…
How were air-to-ground telephone calls taxed when they originated in Houston and terminated either in Texas or outside the state?
Both service types were taxable. Calls from Houston to Texas locations were subject to Texas state and Houston city sales tax. Calls from Houston to points outside Texas were subject to state tax only…
Were charges for reclaiming nonhazardous petroleum-contaminated soil taxable when the soil was removed for treatment with the intent to return it to the customer?
No. The soil retained its identity as real property when removed temporarily for decontamination and return, and reclamation was neither waste disposal nor repair of an improvement. Charges by the hot…
Was a custom full cranial hairpiece for a person with alopecia areata exempt from Connecticut sales and use tax?
Yes under this 1990 ruling, but it is no longer valid. DRS held that a Blundell Hairpiece custom-made from a mold of an alopecia areata patient's head qualified for the historical prosthesis exemption…
Was excavation and installation of sloped concrete or treated supports beneath an existing building nontaxable maintenance when intended to prevent soil-heave damage?
No. The work was not scheduled periodic maintenance performed before repair was needed. Whether it repaired existing damage or prevented future heave damage, the excavation and permanent-void work was…
When were fashion-stylist services, prop rentals, and other photo-shoot charges taxable, and could the agency buy client props for resale?
Stylist work such as location selection, model and prop arranging, dressing models, and set breakdown was nontaxable when separately stated and sold as a service to a photographer or advertiser that b…
Did affiliated-entity treatment exempt security services supplied by a property manager's wholly owned subsidiary and rebilled to an unaffiliated shopping-mall owner?
No. The subsidiary's workers were employees of a separate legal entity, not the property manager or mall. The manager bought a taxable service from nonemployees and had to collect tax when charging th…
Were government and federal-court records exempt, was a reseller's markup taxable, and did an investigator include reimbursed expenses in its taxable sales price?
Government documents required under the Texas Open Records Act and federal-court documents were exempt at their original sale. A reseller's markup was taxable, and other document sales were taxable, t…
Is an unincorporated residential condominium association, whose only income is common-charge assessments and interest, taxed as a corporation under New York's Article 9-A franchise tax?
Yes. 103 Avenue A Condominium is an unincorporated association organized under Article 9-B of the Real Property Law (22 residential units, 2 commercial units) that issues no stock or ownership certifi…
Could a decedent's estate claim Connecticut's principal-residence exemption from real estate conveyance tax when selling the decedent's former home?
No. The representative of the estate could not claim the historical exemption in Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-498(b)(1). DRS read the provision to require the person approved for assistance to reside in the …
When was the Kansas water protection fee excluded from state and local sales tax?
Beginning July 1, 1990, Kansas excluded the water protection fee from state and local retailers' sales tax when the water retailer separately stated the fee on the customer's bill. If the retailer abs…
Could Louisiana parish tax reduce the Texas state or local use tax due when repaired items were delivered into Texas?
No. Repaired items delivered into Texas for Texas use were subject to state use tax, and seller representation in a Texas local jurisdiction could require local use-tax collection. Louisiana parish ta…
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.