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.
Is Virginia's April 1 deadline for the Qualified Equity and Subordinated Debt Investments Tax Credit firm, and does mailing the application before the deadline count?
Denied. Investors sought Virginia's Qualified Equity and Subordinated Debt Investments Tax Credit (Form EDC) for a 2024 investment. They said they mailed the application in March 2025, but the Departm…
Is an auction software platform that connects sellers with payment processors, but never touches funds itself, a 'marketplace facilitator' under Illinois sales tax law?
The Department didn't confirm or reject this platform's own position that it isn't a marketplace facilitator. It instead explained that Illinois's definition is intentionally broad -- covering INDIREC…
What South Carolina tax interest rate applies from January 1, 2025 through March 31, 2026, and what rate is paid on eligible refunds?
The listed rate for South Carolina tax underpayments and overpayments from January 1, 2025 through March 31, 2026 is 7%. Interest is compounded daily, except that simple interest applies to underpayme…
Can I still claim the Kansas food sales tax credit on my income tax return?
No. Kansas Notice 25-08 explains that the food sales tax credit under K.S.A. 79-32,271 — an individual income tax credit for taxpayers who bought food in Kansas, had federal adjusted gross income no g…
How did 2025 laws change Kansas individual income tax personal exemptions?
Kansas Notice 25-07 explains changes to Kansas individual income tax personal exemptions under K.S.A. 79-32,121. Under 2025 House Bill 2231 (Section 9): a filer using federal head-of-household status …
Who owed Florida sales tax when a contractor's subcontractor supplied and installed shutters under TAA 25A-012?
The contractor owed tax on its shutter purchases because the job was a real property improvement. It should not charge the customer sales tax on the shutters or installation, and the subcontractor sho…
Does an AI chatbot company owe Illinois sales, use, or service occupation tax on its subscription plans and a free, open-source API software development kit?
Cloud-based AI chatbot access that's never downloaded -- used only through a website or app -- is a service, not subject to Retailers' Occupation Tax or Use Tax. But if the company gives subscribers a…
What are South Carolina's 2026 county tiers for the job tax credit, tax-moratorium counties, and reduced-investment fee-in-lieu counties?
For 2026, South Carolina divided all 46 counties into four job-tax-credit tiers using equal weight for unemployment and per capita income. Marlboro, Union, and Chesterfield Counties qualify for the co…
I donated over $5,000 of used clothing and household goods to charity but never got a qualified appraisal — can Virginia at least let me deduct the first $5,000 of it?
No — missing the required substantiation for your donation's ACTUAL value denies the entire deduction, with no fallback to a lower tier's threshold. A couple claimed cash and noncash charitable-contri…
If I move out of Virginia but keep some ties here -- like renewing my Virginia driver's license or keeping a house -- when do I stop being a Virginia resident for income tax?
The assessment was abated -- the taxpayer successfully changed his domicile out of Virginia. The Department had assessed him as a 2020 Virginia resident, but he had moved to another state ("State A") …
I got a new or consolidated bill for an old tax assessment. Does that new bill restart my 90-day deadline to appeal?
No -- a later bill does not restart your appeal clock, and this taxpayer's 2024 appeal of 2014-2015 assessments was time-barred. Virginia assessed her 2010 and 2011 income tax in March 2014 and March …
I live and work overseas but my family stays in our Virginia home and I kept a Virginia license and voter registration. Am I still a Virginia resident for income tax?
The assessment was abated -- he was not a Virginia resident. This taxpayer had lived and worked abroad ("Country A") since 2008, but the Department taxed him as a 2019 Virginia domiciliary resident be…
Does making ice cream from a dairy mix count as 'manufacturing' for local Machinery & Tools tax, and how far back can I appeal a county's business property tax?
Yes -- making ice cream from a dairy mix is 'manufacturing,' so the business's equipment qualifies for the lower Machinery & Tools (M&T) tax classification. An ice cream and frozen-dessert maker claim…
I donated clothes, furniture, and household goods to charity. What records does Virginia require to deduct them, and is a completed Form 8283 enough?
The deductions were disallowed and the assessments upheld. These joint filers claimed noncash charitable contributions -- clothing, toys, holiday decorations, furniture, electronics, and housewares --…
My company is headquartered in a Virginia county but performs its services somewhere else. Can the county charge BPOL license tax on 100% of my gross receipts?
No -- a county cannot pin 100% of your gross receipts to your headquarters when the actual work happens at 'definite places of business' elsewhere. This fuel-services company was headquartered in a Vi…
Which Virginia locality can tax my interstate trucks, at what assessment value, and what if the trucks are registered in another state or weren't garaged anywhere for six months?
Mostly upheld, with one taxpayer win and a remand. An interstate trucking company disputed a county's business personal property tax on its trucks for 2020 through 2024. The Tax Commissioner ruled: (1…
My business was assessed local business personal property tax on equipment I say was never located in that county. How do I appeal, and does the county have to consider my evidence?
The case was sent back (remanded) to the county for another look -- a partial win for the taxpayer. A technology company was assessed local business tangible personal property (BTPP) tax by a county f…
Were surveying and mapping services with paper or digital maps taxable under Florida TAA 25A-011?
No. The surveying and mapping work was a nontaxable professional service. Paper maps were inconsequential tangible property, and electronically displayed digital maps were neither tangible personal pr…
Does a solar company that delivers electricity to residential customers under a power purchase agreement owe Illinois's Electricity Excise Tax and Electricity Distribution Tax?
A solar company that installs equipment on a customer's home and sells the generated electricity back under a power purchase agreement is a 'delivering supplier' that must collect and remit the Electr…
Does a solar company that owns and installs rooftop or ground-mounted panels under a power purchase agreement owe sales/excise tax on its monthly electricity payments?
The solar panels themselves, once permanently affixed to a rooftop or ground-mounted, are treated as real property under Illinois's 'intention test' -- so the installer is a construction contractor an…
How did Florida TAA 25A-010 tax airport hangar space used only for painting and repairing aircraft?
The aircraft-parking tax did not apply because the hangar was used only for painting and repairs, not parking or storage. The advisement stated a 3% commercial-rent tax effective June 1, 2024 and no s…
Is South Carolina's Angel Investor Credit ending, and what must 2025 investors do to claim it?
South Carolina's Angel Investor Credit is set to expire on December 31, 2025. The credit -- 35% of an individual angel investor's qualified investment in an early-stage, high-growth South Carolina bus…
How did Florida TAA 25A-008 classify a public school district's student activities and purchases for sales tax?
It classified dozens of items separately. Examples: school talent and athletic events, curriculum field trips, required uniforms, and student-dining vending were exempt; adult-center textbooks, public…
Is a payment-localization company that briefly holds 'flash title' to goods -- or never holds title at all -- a marketplace facilitator responsible for Illinois sales tax on its merchant clients' sales?
A person must carry out BOTH activities in the marketplace facilitator definition -- listing or advertising the seller's goods for sale, AND collecting/transmitting payment -- to qualify as a marketpl…
Was a separately stated parking-ticket violation fee subject to Florida sales tax under TAA 25A-009?
No. The $20 parking charge was taxable, but the separately stated $50 violation fee was not because it could be avoided by paying the parking fee at the time of the stay. The advisement said the same …
My out-of-state company provides back-office administration and insurance coverage to independent oilfield contractors who work in New Mexico — do I owe New Mexico gross receipts tax on the fees I earn from them?
The company won — its fees were exempt from New Mexico gross receipts tax, and a $1.92 million assessment (plus penalty and interest) was abated. DTC Energy Group, a Colorado corporation based in Nort…
Does an out-of-state buyer get a trade-in credit on an Illinois vehicle purchase, and at what rate is the sale taxed if the buyer's home state doesn't offer Illinois a reciprocal exemption?
Illinois allows a dealer to reduce a motor vehicle's taxable selling price with a like-kind trade-in on a retail sale, but that trade-in credit is NOT available on a private-party (non-dealer) vehicle…
Is a signed 'past-use license' agreement -- resolving a dispute over unlicensed access to canned software -- a taxable retail sale, or can it be reclassified as a non-taxable settlement?
The Department's answer supports the software vendor's position: sales of canned computer software are taxable retail sales in Illinois regardless of how the software is delivered (including remote/di…
Is an out-of-state municipality's tax-exempt certificate enough to avoid Illinois telecommunications tax on a data-center internet connection located in Illinois?
No. Illinois's telecommunications-tax exemption for 'sales at retail' is limited to the federal government, the State government, and Illinois state universities -- it does NOT extend to local governm…
Is a flat subscription fee for a mobile health-tracking app, bundled with a blood-pressure monitor and support, subject to Tennessee sales tax?
Yes — it's taxable. A flat annual subscription to a mobile heart-health program is subject to Tennessee sales tax because, applying the true-object test, what the customer is really buying is remotely…
Can a partner claim Colorado's affordable housing tax credit allocated by a pass-through entity if the partner joins the partnership before the tax return claiming the credit is filed?
Yes. A pass-through entity may allocate the affordable housing credit to its partners, and a partner admitted before the partner's tax return claiming the credit is filed may claim the allocated amoun…
Is a telephone cooperative's dark fiber lease subject to Illinois's Telecommunications Excise Tax or sales tax, and is its wholesale local loop service exempt?
Dark fiber (unlit fiber optic cable carrying no signal) is NOT subject to the Telecommunications Excise Tax, because it doesn't transmit any information. Buried dark fiber cable is treated as real pro…
Does the sales-and-use-tax research-and-development exemption cover a testing lab's purchases -- including common hardware -- or is its 'pass/fail' testing just non-exempt quality control?
The taxpayer won -- a Richmond Circuit Court held the testing lab's purchases were exempt research and development, and ordered the $75,041.41 assessment corrected with a refund plus interest. E-Labs,…
Can a donor make their Illinois Gives Tax Credit contribution as a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) directly from their IRA?
Yes. A qualified charitable distribution sent directly from an IRA to a qualified community foundation's endowment fund satisfies the Illinois Gives Tax Credit Act's requirement that the contribution …
Can a South Carolina county use its Capital Project Sales Tax money to pay off bonds and reimburse its general fund for a project it started before voters approved the tax?
Yes. The Capital Project Sales Tax Act does not prohibit a county from using Capital Project Sales Tax (CPST) revenue to (1) pay down general-obligation bond debt used to fund an approved project befo…
Will Kansas income and privilege tax rates drop under the 2025 revenue-triggered law?
Not for tax year 2026. Kansas Notice 25-06 explains 2025 Senate Bill 269, which sets up future income and privilege tax rate decreases that trigger only if state revenues exceed inflation-adjusted bas…
Our investment partnership has an Illinois-resident majority partner and a nonresident minority partner -- for the pass-through entity tax, is only the resident partner's share of our portfolio income allocable to Illinois?
Not quite the test the Department applied. Rather than confirming a partner-by-partner residency split, the Department pointed to a partnership-level rule: for an investment partnership's PTE tax, non…
Where can taxpayers find South Carolina Department of Revenue advisory opinions by tax topic?
Use the subject index attached to SC Information Letter #25-19. It organizes South Carolina Department of Revenue advisory opinions issued from 1987 through September 30, 2025 under administrative, al…
How can taxpayers check whether a South Carolina Department of Revenue advisory opinion has been modified, superseded, or made obsolete?
Use the citator attached to SC Information Letter #25-18. It lists South Carolina Department of Revenue advisory opinions from 1987 through September 30, 2025 that the Department identifies as modifie…
What is South Carolina's most recent state per capita income figure used to test eligibility for tax incentives?
South Carolina's most recently available state per capita personal income figure is $60,776, as published by the Department on October 1, 2025. The Department publishes this figure because a number of…
Were labor-only sublet recalibration charges taxable on a parts-inclusive auto repair invoice under Florida TAA 25A-007?
Yes. When an auto body repair invoice included taxable parts, the entire sales price was taxable, including labor-only charges for subcontracted sensor recalibration.
Were dumpster delivery, pickup, and disposal charges taxable rentals under Florida TAA 25A-006?
No. They were nontaxable garbage and waste-disposal services, not dumpster rentals, because the customer could not move the dumpster and did not possess, direct, or control it or the disposal process.
What project-income method did Florida approve for the Capital Investment Tax Credit in TAA 25C1-006?
Florida approved a payroll-based allocation of the taxpayer's separate-company taxable income to the qualifying project. A pro forma attachment had to separately show project revenues, direct and indi…
I retired and moved to another state, but I kept my Virginia house and license and never answered Virginia's residency questionnaire. Am I still a Virginia resident?
The assessment was upheld -- the taxpayer stayed a Virginia domiciliary resident because he failed to prove he abandoned Virginia. This is the losing counterpart to Virginia's domicile wins: to change…
I moved to another state right before the COVID-19 pandemic but never got that state's driver's license or vehicle registration. Am I still a Virginia resident for taxes?
The assessment was abated and her payments refunded with interest -- she was not a Virginia domiciliary resident for 2020. She had moved around for work for years and began living and working in anoth…
I moved to another state and vote there, but I still own rental houses in Virginia and kept my Virginia driver's license. Am I still taxed as a Virginia resident?
The assessment was abated -- she was not a Virginia domiciliary resident for 2019. She had moved in 2015 into a home she owned in another state ("State A"), gotten a State A ID card, and, most importa…
I already live in another state but got a Virginia driver's license and registered a car here. Does that make me a Virginia resident for income tax?
The assessment was abated -- the taxpayer was not a Virginia resident for 2019. He had been domiciled in another state ("State A") since 2006, and the Department had already accepted that change when …
Does a lessor that already paid use tax on equipment cost under a pre-2025 operating lease now also owe the new lease tax on payments received after January 1, 2025?
Yes. Even though the lessor already paid Use Tax on the equipment's cost under the pre-2025 rules, receipts collected on or after January 1, 2025 from an existing operating lease are now separately su…
Can a Louisiana New Markets tax-credit investment use a stacked leverage structure, and can a nonprofit landlord qualify through its tenant's NAICS code?
A traceable stacked leverage structure can qualify, and credits may pass through under operating agreements. But the nonprofit landlord in the ruling was not a QALICB because it could not use its tena…
Illinois decoupled from federal bonus depreciation, so we get an offsetting state subtraction each year instead -- but if we can't use the full subtraction amount in one year, can we carry the unused part forward?
Not as its own item -- Illinois's bonus-depreciation subtraction under 35 ILCS 5/203(b)(2)(T) has no standalone carryforward provision, so an amount you can't absorb in the year it arises is simply lo…
What project-income method did Florida approve for the Capital Investment Tax Credit in TAA 25C1-005?
Florida approved estimating project income by comparing the taxpayer's payroll and property before and after the project, using the change in an equally weighted Florida payroll/property factor. The r…
Does an AI chatbot company owe Illinois sales, use, or service occupation tax on its subscription plans and a free, open-source API software development kit?
This letter was later SUPERSEDED by ST 25-0057-GIL, which reissued essentially the same analysis for the same taxpayer with only a minor wording correction (no substantive change): cloud-based AI chat…
Is a home-security company's equipment-installation fee subject to Illinois sales tax, and does the 2025 lease-tax law change the answer?
Yes for the installation fee, but only under the Service Occupation Tax, not the Retailers' Occupation Tax. The Illinois Department of Revenue ruled that a security-monitoring company's leased alarm e…
When one company hauls in and sets up scaffolding for another company's insulation crew, who owes South Carolina sales tax — and is any of it a taxable rental?
It depends which transaction you mean. When the insulation installer (XYZ) uses scaffolding to do its installation job for a customer, that's NOT a taxable rental to the customer — the true object is …
Does a city have to charge sales tax on concessions and other items it sells at its Aquatics Center, Community Center, parks, and Parks and Recreation Department events?
No. Because the city owns and operates the Aquatics Center, Community Center, and parks, and every dollar of proceeds benefits the municipality itself (with no revenue-sharing with any private party),…
Is a dietary supplement powder sold in stick packs or sachets, mixed with water, taxed as food at Illinois's reduced rate?
Yes, based on the product labels reviewed, these dietary supplement powders qualify as 'food' taxed at the reduced 1% rate rather than the standard 6.25% rate -- they don't make medicinal claims (so t…
How much is Illinois's Sustainable Aviation Fuel Purchase Credit worth, and are there any caps or carry-forward limits on using it?
Yes, there are caps, but only on soybean oil-derived fuel. From July 1, 2023 through December 31, 2032, an air common carrier earns a $1.50-per-gallon Sustainable Aviation Fuel Purchase Credit (SAFPC)…
As successor trustee, I want to move our family trust's situs out of Illinois since all its assets and most beneficiaries are now elsewhere -- will that end the trust's Illinois residency and stop the double taxation with our other state?
Not necessarily, at least not yet. Illinois taxes a trust as a resident if it's a testamentary trust of a decedent domiciled in Illinois, or an irrevocable trust whose grantor was domiciled in Illinoi…
Were related LLC-interest and no-consideration deed transfers taxable under Florida TAA 25D1-001?
No. The LLC-interest transfer was not taxable because the LLC acquired the property in an arm's-length transaction and was not a conduit entity. The deed transferring unencumbered property without con…
What project-income method did Florida approve for the Capital Investment Tax Credit in TAA 25C1-003M?
Florida approved a weighted two-factor method using a one-third jobs-change factor and a two-thirds property factor. The taxpayer compared future incremental Florida tax from added income and apportio…
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.