Licensing of Software Source Codes and Specifications Exempt in Texas

In a decision hearing, the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts found that charges for a license or software specifications to a customer in Nebraska were not subject to tax. A Texas transaction processing company shipped a CD containing electronic communication specifications to a customer located in Nebraska. The Comptroller found that the license was for specifications and codes that would allow the purchasing company to interface with the taxpayer’s system and allow the two parties to securely transmit data between them. The Comptroller ruled that the transaction was not the sale of a computer program, but a non-taxable license. (Texas Decision Hearing No. 45,878, December 20, 2006)

Posted on January 4, 2008