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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Were equipment rentals made at a South Carolina military post exchange taxable when exchange employees operated the facility for a private contractor?
Yes. The rentals were taxable because the post exchange acted as XYZ's agent, while XYZ owned the equipment, contracted with each customer, received the proceeds, and remained the retailer.
Was a builder's sale of a floating dry dock exempt after the builder had used it commercially?
Yes. Texas treated the dry dock as an exempt commercial vessel, and the builder's prior commercial use did not void the exemption.
What makes a mainframe business computer qualify for Nebraska's LB 775 personal property tax exemption?
It has to sit in its own environmentally controlled area. Under Revenue Ruling 29-89-1, mainframe computers must be located in a separately supported, environmentally controlled area to qualify for th…
How did Texas tax computer hardware, software, programming, support, freight, trade-ins, refunds, and bad debts in 1989?
Most hardware, software, maintenance, seller installation, support, and freight charges were taxable; independent new programming could be nontaxable.
Were flowers bought by a church or a church-affiliated Sunday school class exempt from Texas sales tax?
A church's purchase was exempt, but a Sunday school class's purchase was taxable unless the flowers were strictly for church use.
Which charges connected with plugging and abandoning an oil or gas well were taxable?
Land reclamation was not taxable, but cleaning pipe threads and a workover tank was taxable and had to be separately stated.
Were direct-cost computer, software, and manufacturing-equipment purchases for ABC Authority's Navy RAMP program subject to South Carolina sales or use tax?
No. The ruling treated the supplier transactions as sales for resale and the transfer to the Navy as exempt because title to each direct-cost item passed to the federal government upon vendor delivery…
Could a bread plant combine two gas meters for predominant-use testing, and was conveyor electricity exempt?
Texas allowed a facts-specific combined gas-meter exception, but electricity for conveyors that only transported bread was not exempt.
Did South Carolina's $300 sales-tax cap apply to the seller's bumper-pull and gooseneck horse and cattle trailers or semitrailers?
No. The ruling denied the $300 cap because the bumper-pull and gooseneck vehicles were not designed to be pulled exclusively by truck tractors.
When did Texas use tax accrue on imported machinery held in a foreign-trade zone before delivery to a plant?
Tax accrued only when the machinery was used inside the zone or removed from it; local tax at the outside plant site then applied.
Was a separate fee for resold discounted long-distance service taxable to Texas and out-of-state customers?
Texas customers owed tax when calls originated and were billed to a Texas address; out-of-state customers were exempt.
Were mud-logging services taxable in Texas?
No. Texas treated examination of drill cuttings and circulated mud for oil-and-gas indications as a nontaxable service.
When a manufacturer computes whether a building is 'principally used' more than 50% for production and storage (to qualify for the investment tax credit), does unfinished, unused excess-capacity floor space count in the calculation?
Yes. Unfinished excess-capacity space that can only support storage must be included in the denominator of the usable-business-floor-space fraction (total floor space, excluding only bathrooms/cafeter…
Were commissioned economic writing services taxable in Connecticut under Ruling 89-12?
No. Writing a text analysis of Connecticut's economy for publication by a bank and a business newspaper was not subject to Connecticut sales and use tax under the ruling.
When a bank amends its federal return (not involving a net operating loss or capital loss carryback) and files a timely New York refund claim, does New York's 90-day interest cutoff for late-filed amended returns still apply even though the bank never separately sent a copy of the federal refund approval form to New York State?
No. Because the bank's New York refund claim (Form CT-8) itself satisfied the 90-day amended-report filing requirement, and the refund wasn't based on a net operating loss or capital loss carryback (s…
Can a utility get a refund of sales tax it collected more than three years ago, if it now refunds the tax to its customer?
No — the three-year statute of limitations bars it, even if the utility now refunds the customer. Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation collected 7% sales tax on a corporate apartment owner's utility bills…
Were vehicle washing and cleaning services taxable in Connecticut under Ruling 89-11?
Not under the law applied to the request, because those services were not then enumerated as taxable. But the ruling's note says car washing became taxable after July 1, 1989, except coin-operated sel…
Which electricity used to blend and package a manufacturer's rice and spices was exempt?
Electricity directly used to dispense, heat-seal, box, and shrink-wrap the products was exempt; lighting, HVAC, and conveyors were taxable.
When were hotel charges for sending or receiving fax transmissions taxable in Texas?
A send or receive fee was taxable only when the underlying fax met Texas telecom-sourcing rules; local tax followed the point of origin.
How did the Comal County recreation-district tax interact with Texas sales tax in 1989?
The district's 2.5% tax was collected alongside sales tax on taxable rentals or sales but was not itself included in the sales-tax base.
How could an amusement park handle tax-included discounts, locker rentals, and shared coin-machine revenue?
Tax-included discount signs were acceptable, standalone locker rentals were nontaxable, and the park's coin-machine revenue share was not a lease payment.
When did playground equipment become real property, and how were homeowner-association recreation areas treated?
Equipment embedded in concrete became a real-property improvement; anchored or freestanding units remained taxable personal property.
What did Connecticut Ruling 89-8 require for tax-included toy-truck promotions?
Advertisements using a tax-included price had to say 'tax included' or 'tax incl.,' including television and radio ads. The seller also had to provide a receipt on request showing the tax separately c…
Was a district's cholesterol screening charge taxable in Connecticut under Ruling 89-10?
No. The nominal charge covering testing materials and professional nurses' labor was for professional or personal services not described among the taxable services, so it was not subject to sales and …
Does New York's new 1989 corporate-acquisitions tax (the "M&A Act") apply to the Kohlberg Kravis Roberts leveraged buyout of RJR Nabisco, which closed just before the law took effect, or to the internal merger and any later restructuring that followed?
No. Because the M&A Act took effect April 19, 1989 and RJR Acquisition Corporation's purchase of 74.3% of RJR Nabisco's stock closed February 9, 1989 — before the effective date — that acquisition fal…
Were a hotel caterer's bartender, other labor, and setup fees taxable?
All listed charges were taxable except a separately stated bartender fee for serving alcohol under a TABC mixed-beverage permit.
Did a doctor's prescription make a standard reclining chair exempt from Texas sales tax?
No. The recliner was not designed as a therapeutic appliance or device, so the prescription did not create an exemption.
When did Connecticut's production-materials exemption apply to a quarry's asphalt under Ruling 89-7?
The exemption applied when the quarry sold asphalt as a separately stated item. It did not apply when the quarry used asphalt in a construction contract and did not separately sell it.
Were tenant credit and rental-history reports taxable when used for Fannie Mae properties?
Yes, unless bought directly for the federal entity or by a manager acting under an agency agreement; government-backed financing alone was insufficient.
Our state agency is redeveloping West 42nd Street/Times Square. Private developers will finance construction, with us named mortgagee even though private lenders are the real economic parties -- and developers will reimburse us for the mortgage recording tax we'd otherwise owe, into a project fund. Is recording those mortgages exempt from BOTH the state and New York City mortgage recording tax?
Exempt from the state tax; the City tax question is outside the Department's authority to answer. This is the TRUE origin ruling for UDC's West 42nd Street/Times Square redevelopment mortgage recordin…
Could Texas sellers accept resale and exemption certificates sent by fax?
Yes. The internal memo said faxed certificates were acceptable if they were currently dated, valid, and properly completed.
Were fax charges by lawyers, architects, and other professionals taxable?
Not when part of an exempt professional-service transaction; standalone commercial fax service remained taxable telecommunications service.
How did South Carolina's former use tax apply when an out-of-state contractor brought new or previously used construction equipment into the state, and what counted as substantial prior use?
Equipment bought for first use in South Carolina owed the full former use tax, subject to an allowed other-state sales-tax credit. Previously used equipment generally owed prorated tax based on South …
Could a nonresident military automobile buyer's South Carolina Form ST-178 exemption certificate be dated before the sale, or did it have to be dated after the sale?
Yes. The ruling allowed Form ST-178 to be dated on the automobile sale date, during the 10 days before the sale, or during the 10 days after the sale.
Could a South Carolina retailer deduct an early-payment cash discount after reporting sales tax on the full price in the month of sale?
Yes. The retailer first had to report tax on the full sales price for the month in which the sale occurred. If the customer later paid within the discount period and actually took the allowed cash dis…
Did a fireworks retailer need a separate Texas sales-tax permit for every stand?
No. One permit covered all stands, but a copy had to be displayed at each location; wholesalers also needed a permit.
Was collecting accounts receivable bought without recourse a taxable debt-collection service?
No. A true nonrecourse purchase made the receivables the buyer's own accounts, but the seller was treated as paid for sales-tax purposes.
Could a television repair business buy cable service tax-free for resale when it used the service during repairs?
No. Cable service was consumed by the repairer, while parts incorporated into customers' televisions or VCRs could be bought for resale.
Did a free advertising publication owe tax on its in-house work and purchased production services?
Its own employees' work created no sales-tax liability, but purchased printing and other production services were taxable.
When tenants build out their leased space in a tower on land owned by the U.S. Postal Service, are the tenants' construction materials also sales-tax exempt?
Yes. This Modified Advisory Opinion extends the exemption to the developer's space tenants (subtenants): materials that the space tenants and their contractors buy to build and install their tenant im…
When a computer maker uses its own products, is the use tax based on its selling price or its cost, and are service-contract replacement parts bought for resale?
The use-tax basis depends on whether the company made the item or bought it for resale, and its service-contract replacement parts are purchased for resale. Barrister Information Systems manufactures …
Could a private developer buy sewer-system materials tax-free under Connecticut Ruling 89-6?
No. The governmental contractor exemption required a municipal-improvement contract paid with public funds. A municipality's benefit from developer-funded improvements required as a subdivision condit…
Which local sales-tax rate applied when a Fort Worth florist delivered or wired flowers elsewhere?
The florist used its 7.5% Fort Worth rate for both direct Arlington deliveries and wired orders, including orders sent outside Texas.
When was buying and collecting delinquent loans nontaxable rather than a taxable debt-collection service?
The buyer had to give consideration for a true sale and the lender could not be required to repurchase uncollectible accounts.
Were nipple-up and nipple-down services on blowout preventers taxable?
It depended on the overall job. Completion and formation-production work was nontaxable; work tied to a taxable oilfield service was taxable.
Was a sale of oil leases and the basic production equipment then in use subject to Texas sales tax?
No. Texas treated the leases and in-use basic production equipment as an interest in real property, so no part of the sale was taxable.
How did Texas tax public fax transmissions, receive fees, dedicated lines, and mixed-use memberships in 1989?
Fax charges were taxable telecom services under the stated sourcing rules; dedicated lines and paper could be bought for resale, with business use taxed.
Were the described check-service activities taxable in Texas?
No. Based on the submitted description and purchase agreement, Texas concluded that the client's check services were not taxable.
Was a scoreboard transferred to a school for ten years of advertising rights a taxable donation or a sale?
It was a sale because advertising rights were consideration; the sale was exempt only if the recipient itself qualified as exempt.
How did Texas distinguish new-construction and remodeling tax for signs attached to buildings or pylons?
Signs added before occupancy or on new pylons were new construction; replacements and additions to occupied buildings were taxable remodeling.
Could a South Carolina equipment lessor that failed to file rental-tax returns obtain refunds or audit credits for sales or use tax paid on equipment purchases more than three years earlier?
Refunds were denied because more than three years had passed. Credits could still reduce the lessor's audit liability if the old tax payments were documented. A sales-tax credit required an assignment…
Were entrance charges to antique, craft, boat, home, gun, car, recreational-vehicle, sportsman, and similar shows open to the public subject to South Carolina admissions tax?
Yes. When these shows were open to the public and charged people to enter, they were places of amusement under the former statute. The admissions were taxable even though the shows also featured retai…
After a parent sold all stock of its South Carolina subsidiary on August 31, 1988 and later made an IRC section 338(h)(10) election, when was the subsidiary's South Carolina return due and how were penalties, interest, and estimated tax handled?
The South Carolina return was due November 15, 1988 whether or not the section 338(h)(10) election was made. An extension could match the federal period, but the tentative state return ordinarily was …
Were separate computer hardware and software maintenance fees subject to South Carolina use tax under PLR 89-6?
The hardware maintenance fee was not taxable because it was a separately purchased service and was not part of the equipment lease. The software support fee was taxable because the software was delive…
Was sales tax due on a municipal franchise fee itemized on cable-television and telephone bills?
Yes. The fee was the provider's business expense and remained part of the taxable sales price when passed through to customers.
Which industrial design, drafting, and computer-file conversion services were taxable?
Professional engineering design was nontaxable, but manual or computerized drafting and computer-file conversion were taxable.
Did rebuilding previously occupied mall space from bare floors and walls count as nontaxable new construction?
No. Because the work replaced or rebuilt parts of previously occupied space, Texas treated it as taxable remodeling.
Was a separately stated computer-usage charge taxable when the computer supported a professional consulting study?
No, if identified as reimbursement for computer time used in the professional service; a standalone reformatted-data report was taxable.
Did Texas's agricultural exemption cover a satellite dish, CRT equipment, and agricultural market-data service?
No. The equipment was taxable tangible property and the futures and live-market data was a taxable information service.
Bernstein Government Short Duration Portfolio, a series of the Sandford C. Bernstein Fund, Inc. (a registered open-end mutual fund), asked whether the term 'obligations of the United States' in Tax Law § 612(c)(1) - which governs the regulated investment company (RIC) pass-through exemption for interest-dividends - includes obligations of federal agencies (not just direct US Treasury obligations), such as those specifically enumerated in Technical Services Bureau Memorandum TSB-M-86(8)I.
The Department pointed petitioner to TSB-M-86(8)I as the governing reference: RIC dividends attributable to the fund's investment in 'obligations of the United States and its possessions' - which, per…
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