Probably not. MA DOR requires an agent of an exempt organization to provide Form ST-2 AND ST-5 to waive meals tax.

Right? I’m gonna be calling Harvard next week and get to the bottom of this. Should I cross post this in r/Harvard or save it for the call?

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They said meeting but come think of it wouldn’t it make more sense for them to pay full and write it off when the org do their taxes? But instead, having the restaurant not charge them and adding the extra leg work for the restaurant to submit paperwork when reporting their end of month sales. Like why making it harder for a restaurant when they have a million other things they need to do at the end of the day? I’m really not following the logic or am I just an idiot and confusing myself here?

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I work at a university, and it’s real. In my experience though it only should be applied to catered services, not sit down meals.

Actually, I just found this which outlines clearly that yes taxes should be removed, even for meals: https://internal.procurement.harvard.edu/files/procurement/files/2018jun28_tax_exemption_write_up.pdf

If the meal is "for a legitimate business purpose" and is being paid for by a Harvard employee using a Harvard corporate credit card (or by invoicing) then it is legit. Annoying but legit.

They do owe you both an ST-2 and ST-5, though.

It's not just Harvard btw. I've worked at multiple colleges where this is the official policy, but it's only enforced so much as individuals remember to do something about it, which isn't often.

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MIT has the same thing and all the restaurants in the Kendall area just kind of know how to deal with it. I don't know that the form is really necessary. Would be interested to hear from a server who has experience with this on what procedure they use when they get a tax-exempt card.

this is legit. make sure they used their p-card and not a personal credit card.

Current Harvard Law student here. It’s most likely a legitimate use by a student organization who will reimburse the meal. Happy to answer more questions if you want through private messages.

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Yes it's legit, no don't xpost to r/Harvard.

https://www.aau.edu/key-issues/tax-exempt-status-universities-and-colleges

I really thought this was common knowledge.

But if you need Harvard's tax exempt code, it's 10798176.

Source: I work there. Got the code off my corporate credit card.

I used to do this as the Treasurer of several MIT clubs, for events we'd run. MIT specifically told us we should say this was a tax exempt purchase, and to provide the appropriate document to the restaurant we were ordering from. We'd have to make the payment with our own credit card, and log the expense with the receipt to get reimbursed.

It was kind of a big deal to us broke college students, because we might not get reimbursed for tax on the order - MIT would (sometimes) say that tax shouldn't have been taken if we followed the correct process, so they wouldn't pay for it. For a $1000 catering order, that meant something.

For sure will give Harvard a call to get a better understand and proper way to handle this after reading comments such using P-card and not personal credit card, etc.

My main frustration is that there are tons of small businesses and mom and pop restaurants out there, and they really have no knowledge of this or know how to handle it. Restaurants where it’s just one guy in the kitchen who is also the owner, and how is he suppose to know when someone from a school show up with this and claim that they don’t need to pay the meal tax because it’s a business meal.

I’m not saying Org don’t have millions of things to do but they have people / departments who handles these things. Majority of small restaurants or retails don’t.

Funny after I posted this I was hanging out with a friend who happens to know these things and he def mention that it’s mostly for catering and business meals but they have to get pre-approved and have a P-card or a corporate card. Which he actually had one on hand and showed it to me. So I’m for sure gonna call Harvard and figure out what is the proper way to handle this in the future.

Thanks for this. Yeah I spoke to my friend who happens to deal with this stuff and he said it has to be pre approved if it is a business meal and they must use the p card or corporate card. But he did say catering is the most common.

Thank you for this. For sure spoke to my friend about it tonight and he gave me some insights so I have a better understanding and know what to talk to Harvard about when I call.

Thank you! Yeah good call not cross post.

Thanks for the offer. I got some insights from my friend tonight and will have a better way to talk to Harvard direct next week.

Yeah I might ask around some restaurant managers near campus.

Sweet! Glad this could add some context! I would hope that any student or faculty would be understanding that you don't know how to process their documentation, if you asked them for someone you could contact to figure this out.

I spent years at Harvard and had no idea!

Cambridge restaurant manager here! Tax exempt is super easy. Nearly every POS I’ve ever used has a tax exempt key. You just type in a certain code, then the tax ID # and that’s it.

Taxes are weird, and I guess you wouldn't know this if you didn't deal with purchasing or selling. Like, why would a librarian know?

Another weird thing that I learned as a student is that Universities and schools can't charge their students meal taxes. If you go to one of the HUDS cafeterias and look like a student, they'll ask if you are. Say yes, you pay no meal tax.

https://www.mass.gov/directive/directive-10-6-exemption-for-student-meals-under-gl-c-64h-s-6cc

I work at MIT and have to deal with this on the regular. Enforcement is handled differently depending on the department. I work closely with two departments, and one doesn't care, and the other will ask me to contact the restaurant and get the tax refunded if the bill wasn't tax-exempted in the first place. Talk about a pain!

This is a non-profit thing in Massachusetts in general. It's not just the colleges.

In the US.

It varies by the state. Not all states grant sales or meal tax exemptions to non-profits, some limit it to certain types, and some require additional steps to qualify.