#  Meals Tax when Harvard is the seller 

 



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**ADD MEALS TAX DECISION TREE? PIN PROTECTED?**

**Meals tax**: a type of sales tax levied on prepared meals and certain other food items. In Massachusetts, sales of meals to students by college dining facilities are generally exempt.

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[Harvard's Tax Reporting Department](mailto:brian_carithers@harvard.edu) is responsible for answering any questions related to meals tax and for preparing and filing monthly meals tax returns.

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Harvard units that sell prepared food are expected to know and understand the general laws related to such sales, including licensing and tax requirements. The [Massachusetts Guide to Sales Tax on Meals](http://www.mass.gov/dor/individuals/taxpayer-help-and-resources/tax-guides/meals-tax-guide.html) lays out the requirements in a clear and user friendly fashion.

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Harvard units that sell prepared food are also expected to know and understand Harvard's policy, "[Tax Compliance for External Income-Generating Activities in the U.S.](http://policies.fad.harvard.edu/files/fad_policies/files/tax_compliance_download_3.pdf?m=1403888218)"

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**Tax-Exempt Meals**

The following meal sales at Harvard are exempt from meals tax:

- Sales to Harvard students presenting a valid University ID purchasing meals in Harvard-operated dining facilities
- Sales from vending machines where each individual item costs less than $3.50
- Sales of meals to other 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations, with proper documentation
- Sales of meals directly to the federal or Massachusetts governments, with proper documentation
- Sales of beverages in unopened containers of 26 fluid ounces or more
- Meals that require significant further preparation in order to make them edible. For example:
- If a convenience store sells hot slices of pizza to go, the sale of the pizza slices is taxable, but
- If the same store sells frozen pizzas that customers take home to cook then the sale is not taxable because the pizza requires significant additional preparation

Please contact [Harvard's Tax Reporting Department](mailto:brian_carithers@harvard.edu) with any questions.