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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Must a Virginia wedding planner collect sales tax on planning fees and pass-through vendor charges for catering, cakes, salon work, and officiants?
Generally no on the documented facts. The Commissioner found that the planner was not a caterer because it did not prepare, deliver, or serve food, and that its true object was nontaxable event-planni…
Are tickets to Georgia business-training seminars taxable admission charges when the program is educational but includes brief entertainment?
No. Tickets to seminars providing about 16.5 hours of business instruction were not taxable admissions because attendees came for job-training-like education and self-improvement, not amusement or ent…
What does Illinois Private Letter Ruling ST 18-0013-PLR conclude about Automobile Renting Tax?
The Department ruled that a company leasing used vehicles through a mobile app on a 45-day, monthly-renewing term is a 'rentor' subject to Illinois Automobile Renting Occupation and Use Tax (5% of gro…
Did the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act's zero federal personal-exemption amount eliminate Louisiana personal exemptions and dependent tax benefits?
No. Federal law kept the number of taxpayer, spouse, and dependent exemptions but set the federal amount to zero for 2018-2025. Louisiana used the federal count with its own state amounts, so its exem…
Could New Mexico eliminate the payroll factor from Discover Bank's special financial-institution apportionment formula merely because payroll was less than 3% of income?
No. Discover Bank used New Mexico's prescribed property-payroll-receipts formula for financial institutions. The Department deleted payroll because its everywhere payroll averaged 1.69% of income, inc…
Could Washington residents who adopted four New Mexico special-needs children claim New Mexico's $1,000-per-child refundable adoption credit?
No. Mark and Ikesha Owens adopted four New Mexico children certified as special needs and received $29,036.40 of adoption-related assistance from the state. They followed Department forms and claimed …
Does Texas use tax apply to payments a company makes on an aircraft that will be delivered outside Texas and used predominantly out of state during its first year?
No use tax is due. Texas use tax does not apply to a company's payments on an aircraft — structured as a lease that converts into a purchase — because the aircraft will be delivered outside Texas and …
Is a third-party company's charge for ERP-software maintenance and support — including tax, legal, and regulatory updates delivered electronically — subject to Colorado sales or use tax?
No. The company isn't selling taxable computer software — it's selling maintenance and support services. Even if some tangible personal property changes hands while providing those services, it is de …
Does a county's later partial reduction of a BPOL assessment create a new appealable event and restart the local appeal deadline?
No. The appealable events were the original 2013 and 2014 assessments, not the county's November 2016 partial reductions. Because the taxpayer did not file local appeals by December 31, 2014 and Decem…
Is a manufacturer's data-center property exempt from local BTPP tax when the center supports manufacturing but also runs segregated government IT and call-center services?
Partly. Data-center property supporting the manufacturer's overall operations, including manufacturing, was capital used in manufacturing and not subject to local BTPP tax. Property segregated for a g…
Can a nonprofit appeal a city's refusal to recognize a BPOL exemption before the city issues an assessment or takes another appealable action?
No. The Department lacked jurisdiction because the city had not issued or increased an assessment, denied a refund, or taken a business-classification action. A conclusion that the nonprofit's gross r…
Are a provider's broadband recovery fee, service activation fee, and early termination fee subject to Virginia's communications sales and use tax, or barred by the Internet Tax Freedom Act?
The fees are taxable and the Internet Tax Freedom Act does not bar the tax. A provider of local telephone and high-speed Internet access appealed a communications sales and use tax assessment (Decembe…
Were broadband recovery, activation, and early-termination fees taxable when charged only with Internet access service?
Yes. Virginia treated the broadband recovery, activation, and early-termination fees as taxable communications services even though they accompanied Internet access. The Internet Tax Freedom Act did n…
Can a cigarette retailer defeat a Virginia sales-tax assessment based on distributor purchase records without providing resale, sales, or inventory documentation?
No. Distributor records showed tax-free cigarette purchases exceeding the retailer's reported sales, and the retailer produced no resale certificates, sales records, or inventory documentation explain…
What Virginia tax interest rates applied during the first quarter of 2019 to assessments, refunds, disputed assessments, estimated tax, and local taxes?
For January 1 through March 31, 2019, Virginia's ordinary state interest rates were 8% on tax underpayments and assessments and 8% on noncorporate overpayments and refunds -- the federal 6% rates plus…
A company tracks visitors to its customers' websites and apps and gives them analytics reports through a dashboard. Is that data-analytics service subject to Tennessee sales and use tax, even though it relies on software the customers access?
No — the data-analytics service is not taxable. The company collects data about the users of its customers' websites and apps (via tracking code the customer installs or data the customer sends), anal…
Can an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) exclude the Medicare Shared Savings Program payments it receives from CMS from its Texas franchise (margin) tax total revenue?
Yes. An Accountable Care Organization (ACO) that receives payments from CMS under the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) and passes them on to its member health care providers may exclude those pa…
Is shipping tax-free in Illinois if it's listed as a separate line item from the price of the item?
No. Under Illinois GIL ST 18-0044-GIL, listing shipping and processing fees as separate line items does not by itself make them tax-exempt. They're taxable as part of the retailer's gross receipts unl…
For a combined-group member in START-UP NY, must income from a previously conducted line of business be disregarded for the tax elimination credit even if earned out of state, and do employees lose their wage exemption if the business faces proportional recovery?
Yes to both protections. The subsidiary must disregard income from a line of business it previously conducted when computing its tax factor for the Tax-free NY area tax elimination credit, even if tha…
Does a charity owe sales tax on its catering sales and on renting out its facility?
It depends. Catering — food and drink served by a caterer — is taxable in Colorado, but a charitable organization's sales can be exempt if they are for fundraising, number 12 or fewer in the calendar …
Will the Department order a BPOL refund for internet-access receipts under the Internet Tax Freedom Act when the locality claims it was grandfathered?
The Department declined to order a refund, so the city's denial stood. A taxpayer sought refunds of BPOL tax paid to a city for 2013-2015 on gross receipts from internet access services, arguing the f…
Can the Department of Taxation hear an appeal of a locality's personal property (car) tax on an individual's personal vehicle?
No -- the Department has no jurisdiction over this appeal. A taxpayer appealed a city's 2018 tangible personal property tax on his personal vehicle, arguing it should be adjusted because he left Virgi…
Is a bank board member's director compensation subject to the local BPOL (business license) tax?
The director's fees can be subject to BPOL tax. A Virginia city asked whether an individual who serves on a bank's board of directors is conducting a "business" for the local Business, Professional an…
Are insurance-company payments to an affiliated pharmacy exempt from BPOL tax as transactions between members of an affiliated group?
Yes -- those payments are exempt from BPOL tax. A city asked the Department whether payments a health insurance company makes to an affiliated pharmacy qualify for the affiliated-entity exclusion. In …
Were tickets to a nonprofit ballet company's performance exempt from Georgia sales tax under the temporary fine-arts exemption in effect in 2018?
Yes under the temporary law then in effect. Ballet was expressly included as fine art, and the performance was presented by a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization whose primary mission advanced the arts …
Is a deed from a corporation to its revocable chapter 736 trust exempt from Florida documentary stamp tax?
Do not rely on this TAA: Florida withdrew it effective December 17, 2021. Historically, the 2018 ruling said the deed was not exempt because a chapter 736 trust was not a section 689.071 land trust.
Is a Land Preservation Tax Credit application timely if the taxpayer says it was mailed on time but the Department never received it until after the deadline?
No -- the credit was denied because the application was not received by the deadline. Taxpayers claimed the Land Preservation Tax Credit on their 2016 return for a donation made November 21, 2016. Und…
Can a Virginia taxpayer subtract research expenses disallowed federally because of the R&D credit even if the research was done outside Virginia, and must it file an amended Virginia return?
Yes to the subtraction, and yes it must file an amended Virginia return. An S corporation filing a Virginia pass-through return asked whether it may subtract the business-expense reduction caused by c…
If a taxpayer filed separate federal and Virginia returns, can Virginia hold him to a later amended joint return he never signed?
No -- the assessment was revised in the taxpayer's favor. He originally filed his 2013 Virginia return separately from his spouse; the Department later received an amended 2013 joint return, processed…
After an assessment was upheld because a business never produced its records, can it get one more chance to provide them?
Yes -- the Department granted one final opportunity to provide the records. A gas station and convenience store operator had a retail sales and use tax assessment (January 2013 through April 2017) uph…
What is Virginia's income tax subtraction for investing in a certified Virginia REIT, and who qualifies?
Virginia allows an individual and corporate income tax subtraction for income from an investment made on or after January 1, 2019 and before December 31, 2024 in an entity the Department has certified…
Can an auctioneer sell shipping or storage containers tax-free under Georgia's GATE agricultural exemption, including portable-storage containers?
Yes. Containers of any size, dimensions, or physical makeup can qualify when used for packaging, caring for, storing, transporting, or shipping agricultural products in a qualifying operation. Portabl…
Can an airplane used for precision-agriculture crop imagery qualify for Illinois's farm machinery and equipment sales tax exemption?
It depends on how the aircraft is actually used. Illinois's farm machinery and equipment exemption can cover an aircraft IF it is used primarily for a qualifying production-agriculture activity, such …
If our out-of-state company has no offices in Illinois but has one remote employee working from home in Chicago in customer service, do we have to register and collect Illinois sales tax?
Yes. Illinois told this company that having even one employee working in Chicago -- even in customer service with no sales duties -- gives it physical presence in Illinois, which satisfies the Commerc…
Are fuel trailers sold for farm use exempt from Illinois sales tax, and does sales tax apply to a GPS subscription on leased farm equipment?
It depends for the fuel trailers: they qualify for Illinois's farm machinery and equipment exemption only if used primarily in production agriculture, not if used mainly for transportation or other no…
Do livestock shade systems (permanent or mobile) qualify for Illinois's farm machinery and equipment sales-tax exemption?
No. The Illinois Department of Revenue said both the permanent and the mobile livestock shade systems are treated as improvements to real estate, like fences or barns, not as exempt 'farm machinery an…
After a car is bought back by the manufacturer under Illinois's lemon law, how does the consumer get the Illinois sales tax on it refunded?
The consumer generally can't get it directly -- only the dealer/retailer that actually remitted the sales tax to the Illinois Department of Revenue can file a claim for credit, and only after first re…
When can the Department hear a business tangible personal property tax appeal, and what happens if the taxpayer used the wrong local appeal route or appealed before assessments were issued?
The Department had no jurisdiction over either part of the appeal. A freight-transportation taxpayer was assessed business tangible personal property (BTPP) tax by a county for 2015 and anticipated as…
Can the Illinois Department of Revenue excuse a retailer from sales tax it should have collected because its systems weren't ready, or only waive the penalties?
The Department cannot abate (excuse) sales tax that was required to be collected and remitted, including for a retailer whose systems weren't ready by its economic-nexus start date -- but it can grant…
Are charges for web-based Cloud Collaboration Service, an add-on Audio Conference Bridging Service, and a bundle of the two subject to the Illinois Telecommunications Excise Tax?
It depends on the product. The Cloud Collaboration (software) service is generally not taxable because it's accessed remotely from the cloud rather than downloaded. The Audio Conference Bridging add-o…
When a business sells the same product both at retail and bundled into a service (like a science kit included in a camp sign-up fee), how does it figure Illinois sales tax on the bundled item?
It depends on which of four Service Occupation Tax methods applies -- separately stated selling price, 50% of the entire bill, cost price (if a registered de minimis serviceman), or Use Tax on cost pr…
When a company sells custom signs into Illinois and has them installed by an independent contractor, does it charge sales tax, or does the customer owe use tax -- and what about the freight and installation charges?
It depends on the sign. A sign with 'commercial value' to more than just that buyer (e.g., a generic 'insurance' or 'hamburgers' sign) is taxable retail sale under Retailers' Occupation Tax, including…
Were receipts from DEA hazardous-material cleanup jobs in New Mexico deductible because DEA headquarters and the final disposal facilities were outside the state?
No. Advanced Environmental Solutions identified, packaged, labeled, removed, and temporarily stored hazardous materials from DEA-authorized sites, mostly in New Mexico. Although DEA headquarters appro…
If I sell modular homes bought from out-of-state factories and have contractors permanently install them, do I owe Illinois sales/use tax, and do I need to file monthly sales tax returns?
It depends on whether you're contractually obligated to permanently affix the home to real estate. If you are, you're acting as a construction contractor and you owe Use Tax on your cost price of the …
Could Virginia estimate 2014-2016 income tax from available information when a resident failed to file returns, and did reliance on a preparer excuse penalties?
Yes. After the taxpayer failed to respond adequately or file returns for 2014-2016, Virginia could estimate liability from IRS and other information in its possession. Reliance on a tax professional d…
Could taxpayers obtain a refund on a 2010 Virginia return first filed in October 2014 by measuring the deadline from an extended due date?
No. Because the original 2010 Virginia return was filed after the extended due date, the extension was not valid for measuring the refund period. The taxpayers had three years from the original May 2,…
Did a three-year foreign work assignment change a taxpayer's Virginia domicile for the 2014 income-tax year?
No. The taxpayer's three-year foreign employment commitment and temporary immigration status did not show an intent to remain abroad permanently or indefinitely. He also retained two Virginia residenc…
Could a Virginia business appeal its wholesale-versus-retail BPOL classification directly to the Tax Commissioner based on the county auditor's letter?
No. The county's decision to classify all receipts as retail was an appealable event, but the auditor's letter was the initial audit decision—not a response to a local appeal—and it was not signed by …
Can a contractor get audited purchases removed from a use tax assessment by later producing documents proving sales tax was already paid, and can the interest be waived?
The contested purchases were removed, but the interest stayed. A construction company sought reconsideration of a retail sales and use tax audit (July 2009 through June 2015). The auditor had held sev…
Was High Desert Recovery liable as West Rock's successor when it continued the repossession business and retained the predecessor's assets?
Yes. High Desert Recovery continued West Rock's repossession business under the same manager, at the same location, with several of the same employees, clients, services, and transferred tangible asse…
Which parts of a Florida airport ground lease are taxed as real-property rent, and how does a tenant recover overpaid tax?
Exclude aircraft-storage space and areas used exclusively for aircraft landing or taxiing from the section 212.031 rent tax. On the stated measurements, about 58% of rent remained taxable, and any ove…
Does equipment installed during a building expansion — like a hand-washing/sanitizing station, cabinetry and workstations, and internal wall systems — qualify for the Illinois Enterprise Zone building materials sales-tax exemption?
It depends on whether the items are permanently affixed to the real estate, but based on the limited facts described, the Department said it appears the specific items described (a hygiene/sanitizing …
What does Illinois Private Letter Ruling IT 18-0011-PLR conclude about Sales Factor -Intangible Property?
Yes -- the Illinois Department of Revenue ruled that a taxpayer originating senior secured loans to customers in the ordinary course of business is treated as a 'dealer' for purposes of the Illinois s…
For Illinois sales-factor sourcing, is a taxpayer that originates loans to customers still a 'dealer' in intangible property even though it qualifies for the federal negligible-sales exemption from mark-to-market accounting?
Yes -- the Illinois Department of Revenue ruled that a taxpayer who regularly originates loans to customers in the ordinary course of business is a 'dealer' in intangible personal property under 35 IL…
What does Illinois Private Letter Ruling IT 18-0009-PLR conclude about Sales Factor -Intangible Property?
Yes -- the Illinois Department of Revenue ruled that a taxpayer who regularly originates loans to customers in the ordinary course of business is treated as a 'dealer in securities' for purposes of th…
Under Illinois Income Tax Act Section 304(a)(3)(C-5)(iii)(a), is a company that originates loans to customers a 'dealer' for sales-factor sourcing purposes even though it qualifies for the federal 'negligible sales' exemption from mark-to-market accounting?
Yes -- the Illinois Department of Revenue ruled that a taxpayer regularly originating loans to customers is a 'dealer in securities' for Illinois sales-factor sourcing purposes under 35 ILCS 5/304(a)(…
For Illinois sales-factor sourcing purposes, is a taxpayer that regularly originates loans to customers still a 'dealer in securities' even though it qualifies for the federal negligible-sales exemption from mark-to-market accounting?
Yes -- the Illinois Department of Revenue ruled that a taxpayer originating loans to customers in the ordinary course of business is a 'dealer in securities' for purposes of the Illinois sales-factor …
Under Illinois Private Letter Ruling IT 18-0006-PLR, is a loan-originating taxpayer still a 'dealer' for Illinois sales-factor sourcing purposes even though it qualifies for the federal 'negligible sales' exemption from mark-to-market accounting?
Yes -- Illinois PLR IT 18-0006-PLR holds that a taxpayer who regularly originates loans to customers in the ordinary course of business is still considered a 'dealer' under 35 ILCS 5/304(a)(3)(C-5)(ii…
What does Illinois Private Letter Ruling IT 18-0005-PLR conclude about Sales Factor -Intangible Property?
Yes -- the Illinois Department of Revenue ruled that the taxpayer, which regularly originates loans to customers in the ordinary course of business, is a 'dealer' for purposes of the Illinois sales-fa…
What does Illinois Private Letter Ruling IT 18-0004-PLR conclude about Sales Factor -Intangible Property?
Yes -- the Illinois Department of Revenue ruled that a taxpayer who regularly originates loans to customers in the ordinary course of business is treated as a 'dealer' for purposes of the Illinois sal…
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