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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Did new school, property, license, and vehicle evidence overturn Virginia's finding that a couple kept Virginia domicile during foreign assignments?
No. Virginia reconsidered the prior ruling because the couple offered new domicile evidence, but the material did not show permanent or indefinite intent to remain in either foreign country or abandon…
Did an employer relocation to Louisiana change a taxpayer's domicile when he kept Virginia voting, licensing, registration, and mailing ties?
No. The taxpayer lived and worked in employer-provided Louisiana housing and said he intended to remain, but he kept a Virginia driver's license, vehicle registration, voter registration and voting hi…
Could a Virginia resident subtract all retirement distributions when deductible contributions had previously been taxed by Pennsylvania?
No, not the entire distributions. Virginia's subtraction applies when retirement-plan contributions were deductible for federal purposes but still taxed by another state. The taxpayer proved that Penn…
Did buying all assets of one division qualify as an exempt occasional sale when the seller continued operating and separate-division proof was missing?
Not on the evidence provided. A sale of all or substantially all assets of a separate and distinct division can qualify even when the larger company continues operating. But Virginia evaluates whether…
Could Sandia deduct gross receipts from scientific, engineering, custom-software, and classified services sold to federal agencies when the specific work products were delivered and first used outside New Mexico?
Yes. Section 7-9-57 applied to services sold to federal agencies just as it applied to other out-of-state buyers; Section 7-9-54's exclusion of governmental services from its own deduction did not eli…
Is a pedal-powered party bike trolley rental (with a driver/"captain," a route, and BYO food/drink) a taxable amusement service or a nontaxable transportation service in Texas?
It's a taxable amusement service, not nontaxable transportation. A pedal-powered bike trolley — rented by the hour with a captain, marketed for parties, pub crawls, and social outings, and following a…
Would Virginia postpone a 2015 resident income-tax assessment while the taxpayer worked on amending and resolving the federal return?
No. A Virginia resident who meets the applicable filing rules must file a Virginia return even while disputing or amending a federal return. After the taxpayer failed to document a federal resolution …
Could a taxpayer revive decades of Virginia assessments through a late appeal that gave no objective facts, specific errors, or valid legal authority?
No. Virginia received the appeal on December 18, 2018, so its 90-day jurisdiction reached only assessments issued on or after September 19, 2018; only the 2014 assessment qualified. That portion still…
Did Virginia reconsider a denied satellite-equipment refund because the regulation's broadcasting definition supposedly changed the law?
No. Reconsideration required a timely showing that applicable law changed for the refund period or that Virginia misapplied policy in a way that would change the result. The equipment retailer argued …
Could Virginia residents claim an out-of-state credit merely because South Carolina tax was withheld when they appeared to owe no South Carolina tax?
No. Va. Code § 58.1-332(A) requires a Virginia resident to be liable for and actually pay income tax to the other state. The couple's 2017 South Carolina income fell below that state's nonresident fil…
Could Virginia extend the three-year refund deadline for tax paid after the 2013 rate increase when the purchaser did not know the refund process?
No. The medical provider's March 2013 equipment contract and July 2013 delivery fit the Department's transition window for the July 1 rate increase, but any refund still had to be requested within the…
Does Louisiana's pipeline gross-receipts tax apply when an oil movement starts or ends in a Louisiana Foreign Trade Zone?
Yes. A Louisiana Foreign Trade Zone is outside the United States only for limited tariff purposes, not outside Louisiana for the Transportation and Communication Utilities Tax. Oil movements between t…
Do Louisiana pipeline inspection and supervision fees apply when an oil movement starts or ends in a Louisiana Foreign Trade Zone?
Yes. A Louisiana Foreign Trade Zone remains geographically within the state for inspection and supervision fees. Pipeline receipts from oil movements between the zone and another Louisiana location ar…
State Tax Ruling
Individuals domiciled in Illinois who go abroad on what turns out to be a short-term work assignment generally remain Illinois residents and stay liable for Illinois income tax, though the Department …
Does a company that sells subscriptions to an online streaming-video platform — ad-free viewing, chat perks, longer video storage, priority support — have to charge Utah sales tax on those subscriptions?
No. The Commission ruled that a streaming-video platform's subscriptions are not subject to Utah sales and use tax. Each benefit — ad-free viewing, chat enhancements, extra time to store videos, and p…
Could an interstate carrier avoid New Mexico weight-distance underreporting penalties and interest because it believed an outside IFTA filing company had mishandled its mileage reports?
No. American Power LLC said an outside company failed to file or filed false IFTA reports, but it never showed that company was responsible for its separate New Mexico weight distance tax returns. The…
How were micro-distillery tours and liquor tastings taxed before the May 17, 2021 law change?
Under RR 19-3's pre-May 17, 2021 rules, a paid tour that included liquor was treated as a liquor sale: sales tax and the 5% liquor-by-the-drink excise tax applied to gross proceeds, while admissions t…
How do South Carolina sales and admissions taxes apply to brewery tours and beer samples?
When a brewery provides beer as part of a paid tour, the true object is the beer sale: sales tax applies to the full charge and admissions tax does not. The same sales-tax result applies when the tour…
Is Nebraska Revenue Ruling 99-09-2 on the IRS disaster relief designation still in effect?
No -- it has been withdrawn. Revenue Ruling 99-19-1 (issued April 9, 2019) rescinds Revenue Ruling 99-09-2, 'Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Disaster Relief Designation' (issued April 15, 2009). Instea…
Did illness or disability suspend Virginia's three-year deadline when a taxpayer filed a refund return 27 days after the deadline?
No. A 2014 Virginia refund return had to be filed by May 1, 2018, three years after its original May 1, 2015 due date. The taxpayer filed on May 28, 2018. Although the return eliminated Virginia's ear…
Could a taxpayer obtain late reconsideration of a 2014 domicile ruling or avoid 2015 Virginia residency with evidence of a 2016 out-of-state condo?
No. The request to reconsider the 2014 determination was dated and received well after the 45-day deadline in 23 VAC 10-20-165(F), so that ruling and assessment became final. For 2015, the same Virgin…
Could taxpayers keep Virginia itemized deductions for 2014-2016 after repeatedly failing to provide records substantiating the claimed expenses?
No, not without supporting records. Virginia generally begins with federal return information, but it may look behind deductions when evidence suggests they do not conform to federal law. Taxpayers mu…
How did Virginia treat an incomplete resale certificate, later trade-in rebates, out-of-state purchases, and audit penalty in a Navy contractor audit?
Virginia reached mixed results. An undated resale certificate missing the supplier name could not be accepted in good faith, and the customer was registered for consumer use tax rather than retail sal…
Could a water-system contractor buy lining and repair materials for resale to governments or claim pollution-control exemption without project certification?
No. Rehabilitated water and wastewater pipes and systems became real-property fixtures, so Va. Code § 58.1-610(A) treated the contractor as the user or consumer of lining and repair materials, not a r…
Could a Virginia subsidiary recover use tax on parent-company software support allocations by proving electronic delivery, and could foreign VAT offset Virginia tax?
The software refund remained possible if documented; the VAT credit did not. Charges between separately incorporated related entities can be taxable sales because intercompany accounting entries const…
Could a pharmaceutical testing laboratory qualify for Virginia's research exemption when its work may develop or improve drugs rather than merely test samples?
Possibly, but more proof was required. Routine testing of samples for chemical content does not qualify, while systematic work developing or improving pharmaceuticals and vaccines can be exempt resear…
I provide prepaid wireless Lifeline service that's fully subsidized so my customers pay nothing -- do I still have to collect the E911 surcharge on those transactions?
No -- the Department confirmed the surcharge does not apply when a customer's Lifeline service is fully subsidized and the customer pays the provider nothing for it. That exemption is specific to 50 I…
Does the taxable cost of group-term life insurance over $50,000 count toward an employee's Illinois base income, and should it be included in Box 16 (state wages) of Form W-2?
Yes. The taxable cost of group-term life insurance coverage over $50,000 is included in federal adjusted gross income, so it is also part of Illinois base income, and for an employee who works entirel…
Could a Virginia taxpayer deduct the remaining college-savings or ABLE contribution carryover in full upon reaching age 70?
Yes. Virginia college savings contributions are ordinarily deductible up to $4,000 per contract or account each year, with excess carried forward. Once the purchaser or contributor reaches age 70, the…
Could a Virginia resident avoid income tax by denying a contract to pay, limiting tax to government workers, or charging assessments to a Treasury account?
No. Virginia taxes residents with Virginia taxable income under its statutes; liability is not a gift, voluntary contract, or rule limited to government employees and contractors. Starting the state c…
Was a retirement-plan loan offset taxable by Virginia when employment ended before the move but the full distribution and offset occurred after becoming resident?
Yes. Ending employment while still a Texas resident did not itself create the taxable plan-loan-offset distribution. The promissory note required repayment before a full distribution or deduction of t…
Could taxpayers exclude a 2013 retirement distribution by claiming the husband lived elsewhere or that another state had taxed the underlying contributions?
No. The couple's own returns reported a July 2012 move to Virginia and full-year Virginia residence in 2013, while a questionnaire showed the husband spent 275 nights in Virginia. Their home, licenses…
Can a Florida tax-exempt nonprofit directly buy construction materials tax-free for a real-property project?
Yes. The program qualified because the exempt entity issued its own purchase orders and certificate, was invoiced and paid vendors directly, took title, and bore the risk of loss before installation.
Are the "close-end" needles used with a portable nitrous-oxide nerve-pain-block device exempt from Texas sales tax as hypodermic needles, when sold to hospitals and clinics rather than directly to patients?
No, they're taxable. The "close-end" needles used with an FDA-approved portable nitrous-oxide nerve-block pain device don't qualify as exempt hypodermic needles under Section 151.313(a)(4), because th…
Is a single-use surgical staple fixation kit — where only the implanted staples, not the disposable delivery device that comes with them, stay permanently in the body — exempt from Texas sales tax as an orthopedic device?
Yes. A single-use surgical staple fixation system for foot surgery — comprising a drill bit, delivery device, drill guide, alignment pins, and staple tamp, only the staples of which are permanently im…
Are a digital marketing agency's software sublicense fees, SEO service, Google AdWords consulting (SEM), and Facebook inventory integration (FIM) service each taxable in Texas, and if so, as what kind of taxable item?
It varies by service. Sublicensing the social-media-posting app is a taxable sale of a computer program. SEO (editing a client's website with keywords/meta tags to boost search ranking) is a taxable d…
Should Virginia residents subtract Arkansas-source income from federal adjusted gross income or claim a credit for Arkansas income tax paid?
They had to use a credit, not a subtraction. Virginia taxes a resident's federal adjusted gross income subject to specific state modifications, and no modification generally removes income merely beca…
Could a school-system independent contractor claim Virginia's subtraction for federal and state employees earning $15,000 or less?
No. Va. Code § 58.1-322.02(16) allowed the first $15,000 of salary for a federal or state employee whose total annual salary from all employment was $15,000 or less. The husband performed work for a l…
How did Virginia adjust a 2014 net operating loss carried to 2012, and did Schedule E income qualify for Maryland's border-state credit?
Virginia required a state-specific NOL computation rather than simply copying the federal Schedule 1045 amount. The federal NOL had to be adjusted for Virginia fixed-date conformity items, and itemize…
We're an out-of-state seller of subscription training software and downloadable video-conferencing software -- does Illinois sales tax apply to either product?
The Department did not rule on either specific product. It only laid out the general framework for post-Wayfair economic nexus and for taxing canned vs. custom computer software and licenses -- it nev…
Is assigning a Florida property owner's lessor rights under tenant leases subject to documentary stamp tax?
No. The assignment transferred only the owner's lessor rights, including the future rental stream, and not a possessory leasehold or other interest in Florida real property.
Which machinery and equipment used to generate electricity qualifies for Florida's sales-tax exemption?
Machinery and equipment directly integrated into producing electricity qualified, including certain plant-support equipment and dedicated enclosures. Transmission equipment, general real-property impr…
Could a New Mexico business recover gross receipts tax overpayments discovered during audits when its refund filings and later challenges missed statutory deadlines?
No. Inner Works discovered that it had overpaid gross receipts tax by failing to deduct qualifying sales of services to out-of-state purchasers. Its July 2015 claim for 2009 qualified for a special on…
Did South Carolina waive the estimated-tax underpayment penalty for farmers and fishermen for tax year 2018 (per SC IL #19-8)?
Yes. Following IRS Notice 2019-17, South Carolina will waive the estimated-tax underpayment penalty for qualifying farmers and fishermen for tax year 2018 if they file their income tax return and pay …
How does South Carolina individual income tax conform to the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and related laws (per SC IL #19-7)?
SC Information Letter #19-7 summarizes how South Carolina's individual income tax conforms to the Internal Revenue Code through February 9, 2018. Under the 2018 SC Taxpayer Protection and Relief Act (…
How does a Texas city with special-population hotel-project authority qualify, measure the 1,000-foot ancillary-facility radius, and pledge project taxes — and which facilities count as ancillary?
This replacement ruling answers nine questions for a city authorized to run a hotel project by a special population/geography category (96,000+ residents in the county containing the San Gabriel River…
Which ancillary facilities count toward a Texas hotel project's 1,000-foot tax-rebate zone, and does a spa/fitness center qualify as a 'shop'?
A spa or fitness facility does NOT qualify as a tax-rebate-eligible 'shop' or ancillary facility for a Texas hotel project because it doesn't exclusively sell tangible personal property, but retail sh…
Is a company's generic weather/market forecasting service, sold to multiple clients, subject to Texas sales tax, and does custom forecasting made just for one client get treated differently?
As originally issued: generic forecasting reports sold to multiple clients were a taxable information service (with 20% of the charge exempt), while custom forecasts built just for one client using th…
Are an interior designer's furniture markups, mover charges, and reimbursed expenses subject to Florida sales tax and discretionary surtax?
Yes. Furniture markups and passed-through storage, handling, and reimbursed expenses were part of taxable sales price. Markups counted toward the $5,000 surtax limitation on documented single sales; s…
How was South Carolina's state-tax addback calculated for individuals itemizing deductions in tax years 2018 through 2025?
For tax years 2018 through 2025, an individual who itemized federally and deducted state and local income tax or elected general sales tax generally added back the lesser of: itemized deductions excee…
Can an online software marketplace that facilitates downloads by independent vendors be treated as a vendor required to collect New York sales tax?
Yes, at the Commissioner's discretion. The operator runs app/software marketplaces where independent software vendors (ISVs) sell downloadable prewritten software; the operator hosts the products, col…
My tax-prep software vendor charges sales tax on the annual license, which I accept, but also on a separate 'REP access' fee each time I use an add-on module for a client -- is that REP fee taxable?
The Department could not answer this taxpayer's actual question -- it said it was unable to determine, on the facts given, whether the per-use REP access fee is a charge for computer software or is pr…
Was income earned by a bona fide tribal member from work pursued on the tribe's Virginia reservation exempt even if the member lived off reservation?
Yes. Virginia clarified that the exemption turned on bona fide tribal membership and income derived from activities pursued on that tribe's reservation, not on the member also residing there. A tribal…
What 2018 estimated-tax penalty relief did Virginia provide to qualifying farmers, fishermen, and merchant seamen?
Virginia automatically waived the 2018 estimated-tax underpayment penalty for qualifying farmers, fishermen, and merchant seamen who filed their return and paid all tax due by April 15, 2019 instead o…
What Virginia tax interest rates applied during the second quarter of 2019 to assessments, refunds, disputed assessments, estimated tax, and local taxes?
For April 1 through June 30, 2019, Virginia's ordinary state interest rates were 8% on tax underpayments and assessments and 8% on noncorporate overpayments and refunds, reflecting federal 6% rates pl…
For a combined group's Texas franchise tax report, how do you apportion receipts from sales to a Texas warehouse, sales to unaffiliated buyers in and out of Texas, and sales between the group's own members?
A four-part combined-group apportionment ruling: (1) a supplier has Texas nexus and Texas-sourced receipts just from having inventory in a Texas warehouse it still owns, even before selling it; (2) sa…
What does Illinois General Information Letter ST 19-0005-GIL conclude about Nexus?
The Department declined to fill out a multistate nexus survey, saying nexus is too fact-specific for a General Information Letter -- but it laid out the general framework: remote sellers with no physi…
What does Illinois General Information Letter ST 19-0004-GIL conclude about Food?
The high (general merchandise) rate applies. Illinois taxes food 'prepared for immediate consumption' -- food a retailer makes ready to eat without substantial delay -- at the high rate, not the low g…
Does pallet racking, a conveyor system, or forklifts qualify for Illinois's Enterprise Zone building materials sales tax exemption?
Picking carts, a floor scrubber, cherry pickers, and reach trucks do NOT qualify for Illinois's Enterprise Zone building materials exemption, because they are mobile equipment, not items permanently a…
Does Illinois charge sales tax on digital art files that customers download electronically?
No. Illinois Retailers' Occupation Tax and Use Tax (the state's 'sales tax') apply only to sales of tangible personal property, so a home-based designer's digital art files sold and downloaded electro…
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