Did South Carolina PLR 93-2 impose the historical accommodations tax on reserved recreational-vehicle parking at a raceway?

Plain-English summary

South Carolina PLR 93-2 held that reserved recreational-vehicle parking at a raceway was not subject to the historical 7% accommodations tax. The raceway sold spaces for $125 per race weekend, separately from required infield admission tickets. RVs could enter on Friday, and each space had electricity but no water or sewer hookup.

The statute taxed rooms, campground spaces, lodging, and sleeping accommodations furnished by listed lodging businesses or other places providing sleeping accommodations. An RV parking space could fall within that language only as a campground space. Because the raceway was not a campground, the Department concluded the parking charge was outside the tax.

Common questions

Q: Did the electrical hookup make the space a campground space? No, not on the stated facts.

Q: Did customers also need race admission? Yes, but the reserved parking space was sold separately.

Q: Was the conclusion generally binding? No. The PLR said it applied only to the requesting taxpayer's specific facts and had no precedential value.

Citations and references

• S.C. Code Ann. § 12-36-920(A) (1992 Supp.) — historical 7% accommodations tax
• South Carolina Technical Advice Memorandum 90-5 — analogy to boat slips and storage docks discussed in the ruling

Subject

Reserved Recreational Vehicle Parking

Source

• Landing page: https://dor.sc.gov/advisory-opinion-search
• Original PDF: https://dor.sc.gov/sites/dor/files/policies/PLR93-2.pdf

Original ruling text

SC PRIVATE LETTER RULING #93-2

TO:

XYZ Corp.

SUBJECT:

Reserved Recreational Vehicle Parking
(Accommodations Tax)

TAX ANALYST:

Deana West

DATE:

April 6, 1993

REFERENCES:

S.C. Code Ann. Section 12-36-920 (Supp. 1992)

AUTHORITY:

S.C. Code Ann. Section 12-4-320 (Supp. 1992)
SC Revenue Ruling #87-1

SCOPE:

A Private Letter Ruling is a temporary document issued to a taxpayer,
upon request, and it applies only to the specific facts or circumstances
related in the request.
Private Letter Rulings have no precedential value and are not intended for
distribution.

Question:
Is the rental of recreational vehicle parking spaces at the ABC Raceway subject to the 7% sales
tax on accommodations?
Facts:
ABC Raceway offers special reserved recreational vehicle parking for both of its racing
weekends. The spaces are sold separately at a cost of $125 for each race weekend.
The reserved spaces are located in the central portion of the infield and are sold on a first-come,
first-served basis. Recreational vehicles with reserved parking stickers are allowed to enter the
track on Friday of each race weekend. Each space has an electrical hookup. Water and sewer
hookups are not provided as part of the infield parking packages.
Customers renting reserved recreational vehicle spaces must also purchase individual infield
admission tickets.
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Discussion:
Code Section 12-36-920(A) imposes a tax on accommodations for transients and reads, in part:
A sales tax equal to seven percent is imposed on the gross proceeds derived from the
rental or charges for any rooms, campground spaces, lodging, or sleeping
accommodations furnished to transients by any hotel, Inn, tourist court, tourist camp,
motel, campground, residence, or any place in which rooms, lodgings, or sleeping
accommodations are furnished to transients for a consideration.
In other words, a seven percent accommodations tax is imposed upon the gross proceeds derived
from the rental or charges for accommodations furnished to transients if: (1) the type of
accommodations furnished is a room, campground space, lodging, or sleeping accommodation,
and (2) the accommodation is provided by a hotel, Inn, tourist court or camp, motel,
campground, residence, or any place which furnishes sleeping accommodations for a
consideration.
Since a recreational vehicle parking space is not a room, a lodging or a sleeping accommodation
furnished by a hotel, Inn, or other place listed in the statutes, then it would be subject to the
accommodations tax only if considered a campground space.
In addressing the question at hand, it is helpful to review the legislative history of Code Section
12-36-920. In 1976, the legislature added the words “campground spaces” and “campground” in
the first sentence of the code section. Prior to this amendment, charges for campground spaces
were not subject to the tax as transient accommodations.
SC Technical Advice Memorandum #90-5 addressed the applicability of the accommodations
tax to short term rentals of wet and dry boat storage facilities. It concluded that “it does not
appear to be the legislative intent to include boat slips or storage docks within the realm of the
sales and accommodations tax. Boat slips and storage docks are analogous to campground
spaces, and would require specific listing in Code Section [12-36-920], similar to ‘campground
spaces’, to be subject to the sales and accommodations tax.”
Based upon the above discussion, parking spaces for recreational vehicles at the Darlington
Raceway are not subject to the accommodations tax since the raceway is not a campground.
Conclusion:
The rental of reserved recreational vehicle parking spaces at the ABC Raceway is not subject to
the 7% sales tax on accommodations imposed by Code Section 12-36-920.

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