taxes

Volunteer Fire Departments

To qualify for tax exemption, a volunteer fire department must be a company, department or association organized to answer fire alarms and extinguish fires. It may provide emergency medical services. And its members receive little or no compensation for their services.

What kinds of exemptions are volunteer fire department organizations eligible for?

Qualifying nonprofit volunteer fire departments are exempt from sales, hotel and franchise taxes.

A qualifying volunteer fire department must apply for exemption.

How do we apply for an exemption?

Complete Form AP-204, Texas Application for Exemption – Federal and All Others (PDF), include a detailed description of the organizations activities, and confirm that the organization's members receive little or no compensation for their services.

Unincorporated organizations must include a copy of the organization's governing document, such as the bylaws or constitution. The document must show that the organization is nonprofit. We will review the corporation's formation documents on file with the Texas Secretary of State to verify that the corporation's purpose is consistent with requirements. If the governing/formation documents do not clearly state that the purpose of the corporation is to answer fire alarms and extinguish fires, provide a written statement confirming that purpose.

Non-Texas corporations must also include a copy of the corporation's formation documents and a current Certificate of Existence issued by their state of incorporation.

If your application is approved, we'll send a letter or email notification. The notification includes links to print additional verification letters and the exemption certificate (Form 01-339, Texas Sales and Use Tax Resale Certificate (PDF)) to present to vendors.

How do we use the exemption certificate?

When purchasing a taxable item, give the seller a properly completed exemption certificate to document the exempt sale.

If a seller chooses not to accept an exemption certificate, ask the seller to provide a properly completed Assignment of Right to Refund so the organization can request a refund of the tax directly from the Comptroller.

Additional Resources