Back to School Shopping Reminder (in multiple languages)! Clothing and Footwear Sold for Less Than $110 is Always Exempt from New York State’s 4% Sales Tax

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance today reminded parents and college students that qualifying clothing and footwear purchases are exempt from New York sales tax year-round. While many states offer “sales tax holidays” leading up to the school year, New York has a constant exemption from the State’s 4% sales tax on items of clothing and footwear sold for less than $110.

Course textbooks purchased by college students are also exempt from New York State and local sales and use taxes. This exemption is also available throughout the year.

Read the full release in English or in these languages:

• Español (Spanish)
• 中文版 (Chinese)
• Русская версия (Russian)
• Italiano (Italian)
• 한국어 (Korean)
• Kreyòl ayisyen (Haitian Creole)

Are sales of e-books subject to sales tax?

According to the NYS Tax Department, apparently not [PDF].

"...e-books are not tangible and do not include any prewritten computer software. Accordingly, they do not constitute tangible personal property. As to whether the e-books constitute taxable information services, TSB-M-11(5)S provides that the Tax Department's current position is that electronic publications that meet the memorandum’s definition of an e-book do not constitute information services."

Is that food taxable?

Inspired by the front page story in today's Albany Times Union, Food ready to eat on a plate? It's taxable

In New York State:
Food Item is///Tax Exempt if///Taxable if
cold cuts///sliced and sold by weight///arranged on food platter
pizza///frozen, refrigerated, unheated///heated
hot dog///refrigerated (packaged)///served on a bun or heated
fish///sold unheated///heated or served in a sandwich
bread///sold by the loaf (whole or sliced)///served with a bowl of soup
bananas///sold whole, individually or by the bunch///peeled or sliced as part of a fruit platter
bagel///sold by quantity (whole or sliced)///toasted, buttered, or with cream cheese
salad mix///packaged in bag///from a self-serve salad bar or prepared and arranged on a plate
ice cream///sold in a container by weight (including hand-packed pints, quarts, etc.)///made-to-order cone or sundae
macaroni salad///packaged and sold by weight///served with a sandwich, served in a tray as a side dish or on a plate, or from a self-serve salad bar
chicken wings///sold unheated///sold heated

More fun explanations of the New York State sales tax law re food sold by food stores.
for food retailers.
for specific products and services.

Sales Tax Jurisdiction and Rate Lookup

If you have a mail order/Internet business in New York State, and you have NYS customers, you need to charge sales tax on the eligible items at the rate of the location of the purchaser. This can seem quite onerous.

Fortunately there is an electronic Sales Tax Jurisdiction and Rate Lookup. You type in the street address and ZIP Code and it will generate the correct rate. Incidentally, trying to find a list of sales tax rates by ZIP Code would be fruitless, since ZIP Codes are no respecters of county boundary.

One thing this lookup does NOT do, however, is to indicate which counties have set aside, at the county level, the sales tax on individual clothing items that cost $110 or less. You need to check this chart.