The North Dakota State Tax Commissioner recently discussed the taxability of maintenance contracts as they pertain to computer software. They stated that a mandatory maintenance agreement is considered a component of the sale and is subject to sales tax. When the maintenance agreement is optional, the portion of the maintenance fee applicable to prewritten program improvements or updates is subject to sales tax if any consulting charges are separately stated. If the charges for consulting are not separately stated, the entire bill is taxable. (Sales Tax Newsletter, North Dakota Office of the State Tax Commissioner, September 2004)