§ 60.8. Secretarial and editing services.
(a) Definitions. The following words and terms, when used in this section, have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
Administrative supplies—(i) Tangible personal property which is consumed in one of the following manners:
(A) Used but not transferred by a vendor in the performance of secretarial and editing services.
(B) Transferred by a vendor to another party in connection with the performance of the vendor’s services when the property is not a critical element of the service.
(ii) Examples of the property include sales invoices, receipts, contracts, estimate sheets, confirmations or other similar items.
Court reporting—Services performed by an individual who records and transcribes verbatim a report of proceedings in a court of law.
Editing services—Services performed upon written material, film, videos and audio tape, including altering, adapting, refining, proofreading or confirming. The term also includes reviewing for clarity, authenticity and meaning, and assembling by cutting or rearranging.
Mail processing services—Services that prepare property for bulk mailing or shipping, such as bursting, folding, collating, stuffing, addressing, bar coding, affixing labels, stamping, sorting, bundling or bagging in accordance with bulk mail specifications of the United States Postal Service or other transportation systems. The term does not include these services when performed in conjunction with secretarial services or the sale of tangible personal property.
Secretarial services—Services which include preparing correspondence or performing routine and detailed office work, letter writing, proofreading, resume writing, typing, word processing or telephone answering services. The term does not include separately stated charges for notary seals, completion of forms, mail processing services, stenographic services or court reporting services.
Stenographic services—Services performed by an individual who both records information by machine or shorthand from dictation or oral discourse and transcribes the information.(b) Scope.
(1) Effective October 1, 1991, the sale at retail or use of secretarial or editing services is subject to tax.
(2) Services performed for a purchaser who is located in this Commonwealth are presumed to be predominately used in this Commonwealth and subject to tax. Services performed for a purchaser who is located outside this Commonwealth are presumed to be predominately used outside this Commonwealth and not subject to tax. For example:
(i) A Maryland resident purchases the services of a Pennsylvania secretarial service company to type a resume to be delivered in Maryland. The service is exempt from tax.
(ii) A Pennsylvania resident purchases services from a Pennsylvania secretarial service company to type one hundred letters and mail them to individuals throughout the country. The total charge, including charges for mail processing, is taxable.
(iii) A purchase by a Maryland resident in subparagraph (ii) is exempt even though some of the letters would be received by residents of this Commonwealth.
(3) The sale at retail or use of secretarial or editing services provided in conjunction with the performance of a nontaxable service is taxable unless the secretarial or editing service being provided is incidental to the nontaxable service. For example:
Company A receives 1,000 pamphlets, envelopes and labels from Company C. Company A is to fold and stuff the pamphlets into the envelopes and affix the mailing labels. Company A is also to type and insert a letter in every two hundredth envelope indicating that the recipient has won a prize. The typing of the letter is incidental to the nontaxable service of folding, stuffing and attaching labels and therefore is not taxable.
(c) Examples of taxable secretarial and editing services include:
(1) An individual purchases the services of a resume writer to write, format and type a resume.
(2) An individual purchases the services of a typist or word processor to type the name and address on envelopes from a prepared listing of some of the residents in the individual’s development.
(3) A sole proprietor purchases a telephone answering service from an independent contractor.
(4) A secretary types a letter from a cassette tape dictated by the author.
(5) A publishing company purchases an editing service to proofread manuscripts prior to printing.
(6) An individual purchases the service of editing a home video and inserting music.
(d) Examples of services which are not secretarial and editing services:
(1) The recording and transcribing of a deposition by a stenographer.
(2) The completion of auto registration forms by a notary.
(3) The providing of a messenger service that is not made in conjunction with a taxable sale or service.
(4) The providing of a temporary help service employe to replace a secretary who is on vacation. See § 60.4 (relating to help supply services).
(5) The folding and inserting of letters in envelopes, which are provided by the customer, and affixing postage and mailing the letters.
(e) Purchase price. The total amount charged for performing secretarial and editing services is subject to tax. The failure to separately state the charge for taxable secretarial and editing services from other nontaxable charges on the invoice requires the charging of tax on the total amount. Charges for delivery of a secretarial and editing service, including postage, handling and insurance, are also subject to tax.
(f) Exclusions.
(1) Secretarial and editing services are exempt from tax if purchased by qualified charitable organizations, volunteer fire companies, religious organizations and nonprofit educational institutions, except if used in an unrelated trade or business; the Federal government or its instrumentalities; or the Commonwealth, its instrumentalities or subdivisions, including public school districts. The manufacturing, printing, publishing, processing, farming, dairying, mining or public utility exclusion does not apply.
(2) The vendor of secretarial and editing services may claim the resale exemption upon the purchase of tangible personal property which is tranferred to the purchaser or a third party in the performance of secretarial and editing services. The vendor may also purchase from another provider secretarial and editing services which the vendor resells to its customer. The vendor may not claim the resale exemption upon its purchase of administrative supplies or another taxable service which it may use in the performance of its secretarial and editing services.
(i) The following are examples of property which may be purchased exempt for resale when used in performing secretarial and editing services:
(A) Writing or typing paper.
(B) Envelopes.
(C) Labels.
(D) Typewriter ribbons.
(ii) The following are examples of property which is taxable when used in performing secretarial and editing services:
(A) Rulers.
(B) Staplers.
(C) Typewriters.
(D) Word processors.
(E) Administrative supplies.
(F) Postage meter devices.
(3) Persons who are engaged in the business of printing as well as rendering secretarial and editing services should refer to § § 32.1 and 32.36 (relating to definitions; and printing and related business).
Source The provisions of this § 60.8 adopted October 8, 1993, effective October 9, 1993, 23 Pa.B. 4795.
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