Sales Tax and Tax Exemption

All registered organizations, including nationally-affiliated organizations, must use Rice's tax exemption status for items purchased within the state of Texas. This includes P-Card purchases and reimbursements for items such as supplies, t-shirts, etc. The only items it does not apply to are alcohol, airfare and out-of-state purchases. Just present a Tax Exemption Certificate, which is available on OwlNest, to the vendor and you may purchase items without tax. Rice University’s Tax Exemption Number is #74-1109620. It is the responsibility of the individual using the Student Activities P-Card to ensure purchases are tax-free.

In addition to being a Rice policy, this policy is in acknowledgement of the laws of the State of Texas. Therefore, if you submit a receipt with Texas sales tax on it, your organization will have to pay for that tax within 30 days of purchase. The Student Activities team is not able to take tax directly from your C-Fund. Rice is unable to  provide reimbursement for tax.

Did you know...? Some vendors will offer a refund or discount to cancel out the tax. This does not meet tax exemption standards and tax will still need to be removed from purchase. Here's an example of this:

Tax Exemption and the Selling of Goods

The tax exemption status extends to buying goods only and not when reselling items. When you resell items, you must charge the buyer sales tax (unless the buyer is another tax exempt organization). For example, if you're fundraising by selling T-shirts, then part of the price you charge the buyers must include sales tax, which the State of Texas requires you to collect.

Paying for Travel

When traveling outside of Houston, you need to complete the Travel Registration Form before you do anything else!

Here are some things to remember when traveling and using the P-Card: