Sales tax on tree services: what twelve US state tax agencies say

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It covers twelve states whose agency pages were opened and read on October 9, 2026. The other states are not on this page, which says nothing about them. Each cell below restates what the publication says, and where a publication does not mention a service the cell says "Not stated". The publication editions differ in age, and the edition date is given for each. Sales tax on the wood from a job and on materials is reported where the page mentions it.

At a glance

State	What the publication says	Edition
Iowa	Trimming and removal, stumps included: subject to sales and use tax	Agency guidance page
Kansas	Stump removal, trimming, pruning and stump grinding: exempt	Fact sheet, 11/14/2011
Kentucky	Planting, pruning, bracing, removal, surgery and trimming of trees: landscaping services subject to sales tax. Tree trimming on highway and utility rights-of-way: not landscaping services	103 KAR 26:131, effective 10-5-2021
Missouri	Trimming, pruning and tree, brush and shrub stump removal: exempt. Tree removal itself: Not stated	Tax matrix, effective 05-19-2023
Nebraska	Trimming: tax exempt. Removal and stump grinding: Not stated	Guide, July 2014
New York	Trimming trees and removal not tied to a capital improvement: taxable maintenance of real property. Removal in conjunction with a capital improvement: no sales tax charged	Tax Bulletin ST-505, March 17, 2016
Ohio	Removing, cutting, trimming, pruning: within the statute's definition of a taxable service	ST 2003-02, November 2012
Pennsylvania	Trimming or pruning trees, and removing trees or shrubbery: listed as not taxable lawn care services	61 Pa. Code section 55.6, effective August 5, 2000
South Dakota	Tree removal, trimming, pruning and stump removal on ornamental trees: sales taxable. Stump removal in fields and lot clearing: contractor's excise tax projects	Tax Fact, June 2024
Texas	Trimming: taxable. Removing plants: taxable. Tree removal and stump grinding: Not stated	Publication 94-112, 03/2022
Washington	Trimming and removing: retail sale. Stump grinding: stated for electric utility work only	WAC 458-20-226, 3/28/10
Wisconsin	Trimming, removing, pruning of trees and stumps: taxable landscaping services	Publication 210, 3/12

Iowa

The Iowa Department of Revenue says landscaping, lawn care, and tree trimming and removal services are subject to Iowa sales and use tax, and that people providing them must hold a sales tax permit and remit the tax. It defines both terms as taking away any part of a tree, whole or partial, and names branches, trunks and stumps. It says the sale of wood from a job, such as firewood, is a sale of tangible personal property, and that a provider who keeps the byproduct for later sale charges tax on both the service and the later sale.

Kansas

The Kansas Department of Revenue fact sheet for landscaping, nurseries and lawn and tree care, dated 11/14/2011, lists "tree, bush and shrub stump removal, trimming & pruning and stump grinding" as exempt sales. It lists hauling away brush and debris as exempt too, and sales of shrubs, plants, trees and similar items without installation as taxable. It treats landscaping contracts as improvements to real property, with taxable purchases of materials such as shrubs, trees, rock and soil.

Kentucky

The Kentucky Department of Revenue says on its Tax Answers landscape services page that landscaping and lawn care providers charge sales tax on services for transactions on or after July 1, 2018. Regulation 103 KAR 26:131, effective 10-5-2021, lists examples of landscaping services, among them "planting, pruning, bracing, removal, surgery, and trimming of plants, trees, and shrubs", and says providers register for, collect and remit the tax. Its list of activities that are not landscaping services includes vegetative management of highway rights-of-way and of utility rights-of-way, tree trimming included. The regulation also lists trees among items a landscaper may buy for resale when they stay with the customer, and says property the provider uses up, such as tools, is taxed when bought.

Missouri

The Missouri Department of Revenue landscaping and snow removal tax matrix, effective 05-19-2023, marks landscaping services as exempt, with mowing, trimming, pruning and "tree, brush and shrub stump removal" among the examples. It marks hauling away brush and debris as exempt, and sales of plants, shrubbery, trees and bushes as taxable. On the purchase side it marks stump grinders, crane purchase or rental and other equipment as taxable, as well as materials such as shrubs and trees for landscaping contracts. The matrix says its list is not all-inclusive and that a business can ask the department for a letter ruling. It does not name tree removal itself.

Nebraska

The Nebraska Department of Revenue guide for landscapers, July 2014, lists tree trimming among tax exempt services, together with lawn mowing, fertilizer application and snow removal. Its example of a landscaper trimming trees in Kearney says the whole charge is exempt, however the invoice states it. The guide's examples do not cover tree removal or stump grinding.

New York

The New York Department of Taxation and Finance, in Tax Bulletin ST-505 for landscapers, issued March 17, 2016, lists trimming trees among repair and maintenance services to real property. It says the removal of shrubs and trees qualifies as a capital improvement only when done in conjunction with another capital improvement project, and gives two examples where the contractor charges no sales tax: a tree removed before an addition is built, and a tree cut and its stump ground before a new lilac bush is planted. Removal to improve the landscape without replacement, and not part of a capital improvement project, is called maintenance of real property and a taxable service. The bulletin adds that materials a landscaper buys are taxable.

Ohio

Ohio Department of Taxation release ST 2003-02, revised November 2012, quotes the Revised Code definition of a landscaping and lawn care service as including "removing, cutting, trimming, pruning" and similar services to establish, promote or control the growth of trees and other plants. The definition leaves out a provider with less than US$5,000 in sales of such services in the calendar year. The release explains that once a provider reaches US$5,000, it registers and collects on future sales, and that there is not a US$5,000 exemption each year.

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania's regulation at 61 Pa. Code section 55.6, adopted August 4, 2000, defines a lawn care service as lawn upkeep including fertilizing, mowing, shrubbery trimming or other lawn treatment, and says those services are subject to tax. Its list of services that are not taxable lawn care includes "trimming, pruning or fertilizing trees" and planting or removing shrubbery or trees. It adds that when charges for taxable lawn care are not separately stated from other charges on an invoice, tax applies to the total invoice. The regulation does not mention stump grinding.

South Dakota

The South Dakota Department of Revenue Tax Fact on landscaping and lawn care, dated June 2024, lists as sales taxable services the planting, pruning, bracing, removal, surgery and stump removal of ornamental plants, trees and shrubs, the removal and trimming of ornamental trees, and tree trimming for utility lines. It separates these from contractor's excise tax projects, which include land clearing such as clearing shelterbelts, stump removal in fields and clearing lots for buildings. The same sheet says cultivating and spraying trees in shelterbelts on agricultural land is exempt from sales tax, and that trees sold to a customer on a taxable project can be bought for resale.

Texas

The Texas Comptroller's Publication 94-112, Landscaping and Lawn Care Services, revised 03/2022, lists "trimming, spraying, and maintaining trees" as taxable and trimming trees away from power lines as nontaxable. It also advises separate statements for nontaxable and taxable charges, because otherwise the total charge is presumed taxable if the taxable portion is greater than 5 percent. It also lists removing indoor or outdoor plants as taxable, and it does not name tree removal, stump grinding or wood sales.

Washington

WAC 458-20-226 of the Washington Department of Revenue, with its last amendment effective 3/28/10, treats "all tree trimming other than for farmers or persons engaged in silviculture" as a retail sale, and lists removing, cutting, trimming and pruning among retail landscape services. It says that landscape gardeners must generally collect and report retail sales tax on the full contract price when serving consumers. Its words on stump removal by grinding, digging or other means are in the part on electric utilities.

Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Department of Revenue's Publication 210, Sales and Use Tax Treatment of Landscaping (3/12), lists among taxable landscaping services the planting, trimming, removing, pruning and bracing of trees, stumps, plants and shrubs, and tree surgery, and the removal and clearing of brush and trees even when tied to a real property improvement. It lists tree and shrub trimming and spraying on a utility's right-of-way to prevent interference with the lines under what is not a landscaping service. The publication states that it reflects law in effect as of March 1, 2012. Publication 201 (1/19) also lists landscaping and lawn maintenance, including shrub and tree services, as taxable.