When do I remit South Carolina's 5% admissions tax on advance ticket sales, season tickets, season passes, and gift certificates — in the month I sell them or the month of the event?

Plain-English summary

South Carolina's 5% admissions tax [§ 12-21-2420] is paid by the patron but collected and remitted by the place of amusement. Revenue Procedure #26-2 answers a timing question: when tickets are sold in advance, in which month does the venue report and remit the tax?

The answer turns on the statutory definition of "admission" — the right or privilege to enter into or use a place [§ 12-21-2410] — and specifically when that right actually activates:

• Advance and season tickets for a specific scheduled event: the patron buys the right to enter on a particular future date and time, so the tax is reported and remitted for the month the ticketed event takes place, even if the ticket was sold months earlier.
• Gift certificates redeemable for advance tickets: no right to enter exists until the certificate is exchanged for a ticket and the event happens, so the venue reports the tax in the month of the event for which the certificate was redeemed.
• Season passes (e.g., an amusement park pass usable whenever the patron wants): the right to enter activates on purchase, so the tax is reported and remitted in the month the pass is sold.
• Groups billed after the event: there is no "paid admission" until the group pays, so the venue reports those receipts in the month the group pays.

This procedure supersedes SC Revenue Ruling #94-3. It is a same-day companion to Revenue Ruling #26-2, which lists what counts as a taxable "place of amusement."

What this means for you

Venues and event operators (theaters, stadiums, arenas, festivals)

Match your admissions-tax reporting to the event month, not your cash-receipts month, for advance and season tickets and for redeemed gift certificates. If you sell 2027 season tickets in late 2026, you don't remit the admissions tax when the money comes in — you remit it as each ticketed event occurs. Keep your ticketing records tied to event dates so the return for each month captures the events held that month.

Amusement parks and "go whenever" attractions

Watch the distinction between a ticket to a scheduled event and an all-access season pass. If your pass lets the holder come and go on any open day, the right to enter activates at purchase, so you remit the admissions tax in the month you sell the pass — the opposite timing from event-specific tickets.

Accountants and tax professionals

The rule is a "right-to-enter accrual" test, not a cash or deferred-revenue test: the taxable event is when the patron's right to enter/use the place attaches. That produces four different reporting months depending on the arrangement (event month for scheduled tickets and redeemed gift certificates; sale month for open season passes; payment month for pay-after-the-event groups). Reconcile advance-sale liabilities against event calendars, and note this supersedes RR #94-3 for periods open under the statute.

Common questions

Q: We sold season tickets in the fall for a spring concert series. When do we remit the admissions tax? A: As each concert occurs — report the tax on the admissions-tax return for the month of each ticketed event, not the month you sold the tickets.

Q: What about gift certificates that customers later trade for tickets? A: Report and remit when the underlying event happens. The right to enter isn't granted until the certificate is exchanged for a ticket and the event for which it was redeemed takes place.

Q: We sell an annual amusement-park pass good any day. Same rule? A: No — that's a season pass, not an event ticket. The right to enter activates at purchase, so remit the admissions tax in the month you sell the pass.

Q: A group settles its bill after the event. When is the tax due? A: In the month the group actually pays. Until they pay, there's no "paid admission" to tax.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• S.C. Code Ann. § 12-21-2420 (2014) — imposes the 5% admissions license tax; collection and remittance by the place of amusement
• S.C. Code Ann. § 12-21-2410 (2014) — defines "admission" as the right or privilege to enter into or use a place

Related SC advisory opinions (described in prose, not linked): RR #94-3 (superseded by this procedure); RR #26-2 (same-day companion defining taxable places of amusement).

Source

• Landing page: SC Advisory Opinion Search
• Original PDF: RP26-2.pdf

Original ruling text

STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA

DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
300A Outlet Pointe Blvd., Columbia, South Carolina 29210
P.O. Box 125, Columbia, South Carolina 29214-0575

SC REVENUE PROCEDURE #26-2
SUBJECT:

Paid Admissions—Advance Ticket Sales
(Admissions Tax)

EFFECTIVE DATE:

Applies to all periods open under the statute

SUPERSEDES:

SC Revenue Ruling #94-3
All previous documents and any oral directives in conflict herewith.

REFERENCE:

S.C. Code Ann. § 12-21-2410 (2014)
S.C. Code Ann. § 12-21-2420 (2014)

AUTHORITY:

S.C. Code Ann. § 12-4-320 (2014)
S.C. Code Ann. § 1-23-10(4) (2005)
SC Revenue Procedure #09-3

SCOPE:

The purpose of a Revenue Procedure is to provide procedural guidance to the public. It is an advisory opinion issued to assist in the administration of laws and regulations by providing guidance that may be followed in order to comply with the law. It is effective until superseded or modified by a change in statute, regulation, court decision, or another Departmental advisory opinion.

INTRODUCTION:
South Carolina Code Section 12-21-2420 imposes an admissions tax upon paid admissions to places of amusement. Many sporting events, theaters, and other entertainment activities and facilities sell tickets in advance through season tickets or on an individual ticket basis, such as selling gift certificates that patrons can redeem for tickets prior to an event. This advisory opinion provides guidance on when a place of amusement should remit any collected admissions taxes to the Department of Revenue (“Department”) for these advance ticket sales situations.

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DISCUSSION:
Code Section 12-21-2420 imposes the admissions tax and reads, in part: There must be levied, assessed, collected and paid upon paid admissions to places of amusement within this State a license tax of five percent.

The tax imposed by this section shall be paid by the person or persons paying the admission price and must be collected and remitted to the South Carolina Department of Revenue by the person or persons collecting the admissions price.... “Admission” means “the right or privilege to enter into or use a place or location.” Code Section 12-21-2410. (Emphasis added). The admissions tax is imposed upon the paid right or privilege to enter into or use a place of amusement. In the case of advance ticket sales, such as season tickets, a patron pays for the right or privilege to enter into a place of amusement prior to the ticketed event, in some cases months prior. In those cases, the patron has paid admittance into a place of amusement for a particular date and time in the either near or distant future to attend a scheduled event. In other words, the place of amusement has granted the patron the “right to enter into or use a place or location” to attend a scheduled event on a specific date at a specific time. Accordingly, the patron has not paid for “the right or privilege to enter into or use a place or location” on the date the patron purchases the tickets, but rather the patron has paid for the right to enter into a place on a future date and time for a specifically scheduled event. 1 Therefore, revenue from paid admissions for advance ticket sales must be reported to the Department on the admissions tax return for the month in which the ticketed event takes place. If a place of amusement allows a group to pay the admissions price after the event, then the place of amusement must report these receipts in the month the group pays the admissions price, since there has been no “paid admissions" until the group pays the admissions price. With respect to gift certificates redeemed prior to an event, the right to enter or use a place of amusement is not granted until (1) the customer exchanges the gift certificate for a ticket, and (2) the ticketed event for which the customer redeemed the gift certificate takes place. Therefore, if a place of amusement sells gift certificates allowing a recipient to use it to purchase advance tickets, the place of amusement must report and remit the sales of such gift certificates during the month of the event for which customer redeemed the certificate. 1

This is distinguishable from season pass sales for places of amusement such as amusement parks. In those cases, a patron has the right to enter into or use the place of amusement upon purchase of the season pass and does not have to wait for a specific date or time in the near or distant future for their “right to enter into or use a place or location” to activate. Any admissions taxes collected from the sale of season passes which allow a patron to enter into or use a place of amusement whenever the patron wants should be reported and remitted to the Department during the month in which the season pass is sold. 2

CONCLUSION:
When it comes to advance ticket sales, specifically for season tickets, the revenue from such sales must be reported and remitted to the Department on the admissions tax return for the month in which the ticketed event takes place. Regarding the sale of gift certificates, once the gift certificate has been redeemed, the place of amusement must report and remit the admissions tax from such sales on the admissions tax return for the month in which the event occurs for which the customer redeemed their certificate. SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE

W. Hartley Powell
W. Hartley Powell, Director
January 20
,2026
Columbia, South Carolina

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