Are newspapers taxable?
Newspaper sales are not subject to sales tax. A newspaper is defined as a publication that is printed on newsprint and distributed at short intervals for the circulation of general interest. The average sales price for each copy over a 30-day period must not be more than $0.75. If the average sales price is more than $0.75, the item does not meet the newspaper definition and will be subject to sales tax. Example: The Austin-American Statesman meets the definition of a newspaper so it is not taxable. On the other hand, the Wall Street Journal does not meet this definition of a newspaper since the average price is more than $0.75. Therefore, it is taxable. Magazine sales may or may not be taxable. A magazine is defined as a publication that contains advertisements, stories, articles, and essays, is usually paperbacked and sometimes illustrated and appears at regular intervals.
Newspaper Sales 1. The following retail sales by newspaper publishers located inside or outside North Carolina and engaged in business in North Carolina are taxable: a. over the counter sales; b. sales by subscription delivered through the mail to subscribers in North Carolina. 2. The following retail sales by newspaper publishers located inside or outside North Carolina and engaged in business in North Carolina are exempt: a. sales by subscription delivered through the mail to subscribers outside North Carolina; b. sales by subscription delivered door-to-door by employees or contract carriers of the publisher. 3. All sales of newspapers through vending machines are exempt from tax. 4. Sales by persons physically selling newspapers as newspaper street vendors are exempt from tax. 5. Over-the-counter sales of newspapers made by retailers such as newsstands, grocery stores, restaurants, drug stores, etc. are taxable. 6. Sales by independent newspaper carriers making door-to-door deliveri
Act 480 of the 2007 Regular Legislative Session enacted R.S. 47:301(16)(p) concerning the definition of the term “tangible personal property” to provide a sales tax exclusion for newspaper sales Effective July 1, 2008. Before the sales tax exclusion was enacted, R.S. 47:305(D)(1)(e) already exempted newspapers from the sales tax, but because the sales tax exemptions were suspended, tax was collected on newspapers. When the sales tax exclusion was enacted, the sales tax exemption under R.S. 47:305(D)(1)(e) was repealed. For more information about the suspension of the sales tax exemptions, see the Table of Sales Tax Rate Exemptions (R-1002) posted on the LDR web site.
