Must a tax-exempt nonprofit collect Georgia sales tax on admission to a historic home and its docent-led tour?

Plain-English summary

A Section 501(c)(3) organization preserved historic sites and charged visitors to enter a historic home and take a tour led by a trained docent. The Department ruled that the organization had to collect and remit Georgia sales tax. Admission to the home was admission to a place of exhibition or display, which Georgia defines as a retail sale. Nonprofit status did not change that result.

Common questions

Q: Does the docent's historical explanation make the charge a nontaxable educational service?

A: No. The ruling treats the combined home admission and tour as a taxable admission charge.

Q: Does Section 501(c)(3) status exempt the sale?

A: No. A nonprofit making retail sales must comply with Georgia collection and remittance rules.

Citations and references

• O.C.G.A. § 48-8-2(31)(C) -- admission to exhibition or display
• O.C.G.A. § 48-8-30 -- sales and use tax
• Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 560-12-2-.22 -- nonprofit retail sales

Source

• Landing page: Georgia Sales & Use Tax Letter Rulings
• Original PDF: LR SUT-2016-15

Original ruling text

Dated: October 24, 2016
Georgia Letter Ruling: LR SUT-2016-15
Topic: Admission Charges
This letter is in response to your request for guidance on the application of Georgia sales and use tax to charges made
for home tours by [Redacted] (“Taxpayer”).
Facts as Presented by Taxpayer
Taxpayer preserves historic sites in [Redacted] County, including a home built in [Redacted]. Taxpayer charges
visitors for admission into the home, and this charge includes a tour of the home with a trained docent. During the
tour, the docent explains the history of the home’s owners. Although Taxpayer is a tax-exempt organization under
Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, admission fees are not tax-deductible donations (for income tax
purposes).
Issue
Are Taxpayer’s charges for home admission and tours subject to sales and use tax?
Analysis
Georgia sales and use tax is levied and imposed upon the retail purchase, retail sale, rental, storage, use, or
consumption of tangible personal property and on certain enumerated services. 1 “Retail sale” specifically includes
sales of tickets, fees, or charges made for admission to, or voluntary contributions made to places of, amusement,
sports, entertainment, exhibition, or display.2
Generally, when a nonprofit organization engages in a retail sale, the organization is required to comply with
provisions of Georgia law relating to collection and remittance of sales and use tax. 3 As such, Taxpayer must collect
and remit the tax when making retail sales. Since a charge for admission to a place of exhibition or display is a retail
sale, Taxpayer’s charge for home admission with a tour is subject to the tax.
Ruling
Georgia imposes the tax on charges made for admission to places of entertainment, exhibition, or display. Thus,
Taxpayer must collect and remit tax on its charges for home admission with a tour.
The opinions expressed in this ruling are based upon the information contained in your request and limited to the
specific transactions, facts, circumstances, and taxpayer in question. Should the circumstances regarding the
transactions change or differ materially from those represented, this ruling may become invalid. Subsequent statutory
or administrative rule changes or judicial interpretations of the statutes or rules upon which this ruling is based may
subject similar future transactions to different tax treatment than that expressed in this ruling.

1

O.C.G.A. § 48-8-30.
O.C.G.A. § 48-8-2(31)(C).
3
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 560-12-2-.22.
2