When is South Carolina's 2010 sales tax holiday and what is exempt (per SC IL #10-6)?

Plain-English summary

South Carolina's 2010 sales tax holiday runs from Friday, August 6, 2010 at 12:01 a.m. through Sunday, August 8, 2010 at midnight. S.C. Code § 12-36-2120(57) provides an annual three-day sales tax holiday that starts at 12:01 a.m. on the first Friday in August and ends at midnight the following Sunday.

During the holiday weekend, the state and local sales and use tax is not imposed on a defined list of back-to-school-type items, including clothing and clothing accessories, footwear, school supplies, computers, printers and printer supplies, computer software, and certain bed and bath items.

The holiday does not apply to items such as jewelry, cosmetics, eyewear, wallets, watches, furniture, rentals of clothing or footwear, or items purchased for use in a business or trade.

The letter notes the Department has published two companion advisory opinions — SC Revenue Ruling #10-7 (detailed examples of exempt and nonexempt items) and SC Revenue Ruling #10-8 (a question-and-answer document) — and points out that the General Assembly separately enacted a Second Amendment Sales Tax Holiday as a temporary proviso.

What this means for you

If you are a shopper

Buy qualifying clothing, school supplies, computers, and listed bed-and-bath items between 12:01 a.m. Friday, August 6 and midnight Sunday, August 8, 2010 to avoid sales tax on those items. Non-listed items (jewelry, cosmetics, furniture, and so on) are still taxed.

If you are a retailer

Program the exemption for the exact weekend and item categories, and use SC Revenue Rulings #10-7 and #10-8 to resolve edge cases about which specific products qualify.

Common questions

Q: What are the exact dates and times of the 2010 holiday?
A: From 12:01 a.m. Friday, August 6, 2010 through midnight Sunday, August 8, 2010.

Q: What is exempt?
A: Clothing, clothing accessories, footwear, school supplies, computers, printers and printer supplies, computer software, and certain bed and bath items.

Q: What is not exempt?
A: Jewelry, cosmetics, eyewear, wallets, watches, furniture, rentals of clothing or footwear, and items for use in a business or trade, among others.

Subject

Sales Tax Holiday Dates for 2010

Source

• Landing page: https://dor.sc.gov/advisory-opinion-search
• Original PDF: https://dor.sc.gov/sites/dor/files/policies/IL10-6.pdf

Original ruling text

State of South Carolina

Department of Revenue
301 Gervais Street, P. O. Box 125, Columbia, South Carolina 29214
Website Address: http://www.sctax.org

SC INFORMATION LETTER #10-6

SUBJECT:

Sales Tax Holiday Dates for 2010

DATE:

June 28, 2010

SUPERSEDES:

All previous advisory opinions and any oral directives in
conflict herewith.

AUTHORITY:

S. C. Code Ann. Section 12-4-320 (2000; Supp. 2009)
SC Revenue Procedure #09-3

SCOPE:

An Information Letter is a written statement issued to the public
to announce general information useful in complying with the
laws administered by the Department. An Information Letter
has no precedential value.

Code Section 12-36-2120(57) provides for an annual three-day sales tax holiday for sales
taking place from 12:01 a.m. on the first Friday in August and ending at midnight on the
following Sunday. Accordingly, the 2010 sales tax holiday weekend will begin Friday,
August 6, 2010 at 12:01 a.m. and end Sunday, August 8, 2010 at midnight.
During this time, the 6% state sales and use tax, and any applicable local sales and use
tax, will not be imposed on clothing, clothing accessories (e.g., hats, scarves, hosiery, and
handbags), footwear, school supplies (e.g., pens, pencils, paper, binders, notebooks,
books, bookbags, lunchboxes, and calculators), computers, printers and printer supplies,
computer software, and bath wash clothes, blankets, bed spreads, bed linens, sheet sets,
comforter sets, bath towels, shower curtains, bath rugs and mats, pillows, and pillow
cases. The sales tax holiday, however, does not apply to sales of jewelry, cosmetics,
eyewear, wallets, watches, furniture, rental of clothing or footwear, items for use in a
business, or items placed on layaway or similar deferred payment and delivery plans.
The Department has published two advisory opinions concerning the sales tax holiday;
each is available on our website at www.sctax.org. These documents are:

1. SC Revenue Ruling #10-7 – a detailed list of examples of exempt items during the
   sales tax holiday and a list of examples of nonexempt items.
2. SC Revenue Ruling #10-8 – a “question and answer” document addressing frequently
   asked sales tax holiday questions.

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Note: The General Assembly has also included a Second Amendment Sales Tax Holiday
in the 2010 – 2011 State Appropriations Act (House Bill 4657 of 2010, Part 1B, Section
89, Proviso 89.107). This two-day sales tax holiday applies to purchases of handguns (as
defined in Code Section 16-23-10(1)), rifles and shotguns and will take place on the
Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving - November 26th and 27th of 2010. The Second
Amendment Sales Tax Holiday was enacted as a temporary proviso; therefore, it will not
take place in subsequent years unless the General Assembly re-enacts the temporary
proviso or codifies this sales tax holiday exemption.

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