Are sales of honey bees subject to South Carolina sales and use tax, or are they exempt as 'livestock'?

Plain-English summary

South Carolina exempts sales of "livestock" from sales and use tax. SC Revenue Ruling #21-6 answers a narrow but practical question for beekeepers: are honey bees livestock? The Department's answer is yes — so sales of honey bees are exempt from South Carolina sales and use tax under Code § 12-36-2120(4).

Two consequences follow from that:

• Every buyer buys tax-free. Because all sales of livestock are exempt, it doesn't matter who is buying — a commercial honey bee retailer or a honey bee hobbyist can both purchase honey bees without paying tax.
• No exemption certificate needed. Unlike some agricultural exemptions that require a certificate, buying honey bees tax-free requires no exemption certificate at all.

How the Department got there. The statute defines livestock as "domesticated animals customarily raised on South Carolina farms for use primarily as beasts of burden, or food, and certain mammals when raised for their pelts or fur," and excludes dogs, cats, reptiles, most fowl, and animals "of a wild nature." Regulation 117-301.1 gives examples (horses, cattle, swine, sheep, goats, rabbits, and other animals raised as food are exempt; dogs, cats, reptiles, minnows, and wild animals are not). Following long-standing South Carolina practice of using the dictionary to read undefined statutory words (citing Hay, Fennell, and Etiwan Fertilizer), the Department applied the ordinary meanings of "domesticated," "animal," and "farm" and concluded that honey bees are domesticated animals customarily raised on a farm to produce food. They are therefore livestock, and their sale is exempt.

What this means for you

Beekeepers and honey bee buyers

Whether you keep bees commercially or as a hobby, when you buy honey bees the seller should not charge you South Carolina sales or use tax, and you don't need to hand over an exemption certificate. This ruling is specifically about the bees themselves as livestock — it does not address the taxability of other beekeeping supplies (hives, tools, protective gear, feed), which are governed by their own rules.

Retailers who sell honey bees

Treat honey bees like other exempt livestock: don't collect sales tax on the sale of the bees. Because the exemption is built into the nature of the item (livestock), you are not relying on the buyer's status or a certificate for this particular sale.

Accountants and agricultural advisors

The reasoning is a clean example of South Carolina's statutory-interpretation method — reading an undefined term ("livestock," and within it "domesticated," "animal," "farm") by its dictionary meaning. The same method drives many other South Carolina exemption questions.

Common questions

Q: Do I pay South Carolina sales tax when I buy honey bees?
A: No. Sales of honey bees are exempt as livestock under Code § 12-36-2120(4).

Q: Do I need an exemption certificate to buy honey bees tax-free?
A: No. The ruling states that an exemption certificate is not needed or required to purchase honey bees tax free.

Q: Does the exemption depend on whether I'm a commercial beekeeper?
A: No. Because all sales of livestock are exempt, both a commercial honey bee retailer and a hobbyist can buy honey bees tax free.

Q: Are hives, tools, and other beekeeping supplies also exempt?
A: This ruling addresses only the honey bees themselves as livestock. It does not decide the tax treatment of other beekeeping equipment or supplies, which follow their own rules.

Citations and references

Statute and regulation:

• S.C. Code Ann. § 12-36-2120(4) — exempts the gross proceeds/sale price of livestock from sales and use tax, with the definition of "livestock"
• S.C. Regulation 117-301.1 — examples of animals that are and are not exempt as livestock

Cases (statutory interpretation by dictionary meaning):

• Hay v. South Carolina Tax Commission, 273 S.C. 269, 255 S.E.2d 837 (1979)
• Fennell v. South Carolina Tax Commission, 233 S.C. 43, 103 S.E.2d 424 (1958)
• Etiwan Fertilizer Co. v. South Carolina Tax Commission, 217 S.C. 484, 60 S.E.2d 682 (1950)

Source

• Landing page: SC Advisory Opinion Search
• Original PDF: RR21-6.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 RULING #21-6
SUBJECT:

Honey Bees – Livestock Exemption
(Sales and Use Tax)

EFFECTIVE DATE:

Applies to all periods open under the statute.

SUPERSEDES:

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

REFERENCES:

S.C. Code Ann. Section 12-36-2120(4)
SC Regulation 117-301

AUTHORITY:

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

SCOPE:

The purpose of a Revenue Ruling is to provide guidance to the public.
It is an advisory opinion issued to apply principles of tax law to a set
of facts or general category of taxpayers. It is the Department’s
position until superseded or modified by a change in statute,
regulation, court decision, or another Departmental advisory opinion.

QUESTION
Are sales of honey bees exempt from the sales and use tax as “livestock” under Code Section 1236-2120(4)?
CONCLUSION
Sales of honey bees are exempt from the sales and use tax as “livestock” under Code Section 1236-2120(4).
Since honey bees are livestock, and all sales of livestock are exempt from sales and use tax under
Code Section 12-36-2120(4), all purchasers (e.g., a commercial honey bee retailer, a honey bee
hobbyist) can purchase honey bees tax free. An exemption certificate is not needed or required
to purchase honey bees tax free.

DISCUSSION
Code Section 12-36-2120(4) exempts the gross proceeds of sales, or sales price of livestock from
sales and use tax. It defines livestock as:
…domesticated animals customarily raised on South Carolina farms for use
primarily as beasts of burden, or food, and certain mammals when raised for their
pelts or fur. Animals such as dogs, cats, reptiles, fowls (except baby chicks and
poults), and animals of a wild nature, are not considered livestock.
Regulation 117-301.1 provides examples of items exempt and not exempt as livestock and reads
in part:
The practical result of the above is to exempt from the tax horses, mules, cattle,
swine, sheep, goats, rabbits, ostriches and any other animals raised as food for
human consumption, domesticated fish produced for human consumption, and
chinchillas. Animals such as dogs, cats, reptiles, fowls (except baby chicks and
poults), minnows, worms, fish (except for those cultivated for human
consumption) and animals of a wild nature are not considered livestock.
It is an accepted practice in South Carolina to resort to the dictionary definition to determine the
literal meaning of a word used in statutes. For cases where this has been done, see Hay v. South
Carolina Tax Commission, 273 S.C. 269, 255 S.E.2d 837 (1979); Fennell v. South Carolina Tax
Commission, 233 S.C. 43, 103 S.E.2d 424 (1958); Etiwan Fertilizer Co. v. South Carolina Tax
Commission, 217 S.C. 484, 60 S.E.2d 682 (1950).
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary1 provides the following definitions:

1

“Domesticated”

1. Adapted over time (as by selective breeding) from a wild or natural
   state to life in close association with and to the benefit of humans.

“Animal”

1. Any of a kingdom (Animalia) of living things… and in having
   the capacity for spontaneous movement and rapid motor
   responses to stimulation.

“Farm”

5. A plot of land devoted to the raising of animals especially
   domesticated livestock….

Merriam-Webster.com Merriam-Webster, 2021. Https://www.merriam-webster (March 3, 2021).
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Based on the above, honey bees are animals that are domesticated and customarily raised on a
farm to produce food. Therefore, honey bees are livestock and are exempt from sales and use tax
under Code Section 12-36-2120(4).
SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
s/W. Hartley Powell
W. Hartley Powell, Director
April 14 ___, 2021
Columbia, South Carolina

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