South Carolina State Tax Rulings
Free plain-English summaries of state tax letter rulings and advisory opinions issued in South Carolina, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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Were ABC's Advantage Card and Business Card warehouse-club membership fees subject to South Carolina sales tax under PLR 92-11?
Yes. The paid membership fees were part of the consideration for buying merchandise because Advantage Card and Business Card members paid the posted wholesale price, while 90-day free members paid tha…
Did SC PLR 92-10 impose sales or use tax when exempt manufacturing machines were sold to a lessor and leased back to the manufacturer?
No. The sale to the lessor, the lease back to ABC, and ABC's continued use of the machines were exempt because the equipment was used to manufacture tangible personal property for sale. The ruling sai…
Did South Carolina Revenue Ruling 92-15 treat state agencies, counties, municipalities, and other political subdivisions as generally subject to sales and use tax?
Yes. The historical definition of 'person' included the state, agencies, authorities, political subdivisions, and municipalities. Their retail sales were subject to sales tax, and their retail purchas…
Why did South Carolina Revenue Ruling 92-16 permit 'Two Anyway Bingo' but reject 'Almost Two Anyway Bingo' under the historical Bingo Act?
'Two Anyway Bingo' was permissible because the caller could preannounce several geometric configurations and require players to complete any two of them using called numbers. 'Almost Two Anyway Bingo'…
How did South Carolina Revenue Ruling 92-13 treat corporate dividends received from foreign subsidiaries after the U.S. Supreme Court's Kraft decision?
The historical ruling treated foreign dividends like domestic dividends to avoid unconstitutional discrimination under the Foreign Commerce Clause. A corporation could reduce federal taxable income by…
Under South Carolina Revenue Ruling 92-12, how did the historical 5% tax and $300 maximum apply when boats, motors, and boat trailers were sold alone or together?
The historical $300 maximum applied to a boat sold alone and to a boat sold with a permanently attached motor; otherwise the ordinary 5% rate applied. A motor sold alone and an ordinary boat trailer s…
Under South Carolina Revenue Ruling 92-14, who owed deed documentary tax, and how were master-in-equity deeds and transfers to or from governments, GNMA, FNMA, Freddie Mac, and Farm Credit entities treated?
The purchaser or grantee was primarily liable; the seller or grantor could be assessed only when collection from the grantee was impractical. Master-in-equity foreclosure deeds to private buyers were …
How did South Carolina Revenue Ruling 92-11 tax contractors that fabricated standard finished products or one-project-only unique products for use in real-property construction?
The historical ruling split the result by product type and business activity. A taxpayer regularly selling standard finished products was a manufacturer; when it used those products in its own South C…
When did South Carolina Revenue Ruling 92-10 apply casual excise tax, use tax, or no tax to transfers of vehicles, motorcycles, boats, motors, and airplanes?
The historical ruling used a transaction matrix. An in-state purchase triggered casual excise tax at titling if sales tax had not been paid. An out-of-state retailer purchase generally triggered use t…
Under South Carolina Revenue Ruling 92-9, could banks request return extensions, use a noncalendar tax year, and seek refunds of pre-1991 bank-tax overpayments?
Yes, subject to the historical procedures. A bank could request an extension for good cause by the original due date, filing a tentative return showing 100% of anticipated tax and remitting that amoun…
Did South Carolina Revenue Ruling 92-8 permit bonus-number, bonus-card, progressive, wheel-or-balloon, or odd/even cover-all bingo games?
No. The historical ruling rejected all five formats. Bonus-number and bonus-card prizes improperly increased the announced prize; progressive play offered multiple prizes and reused covered spaces as …
How did South Carolina Revenue Ruling 92-5 apply sales and use tax to vending-only businesses and businesses also making counter sales?
A vending-only operator generally paid tax when buying inventory. A business also making counter sales could buy common inventory for resale, then report vending withdrawals and counter sales separate…
Which restaurant purchases did South Carolina Revenue Ruling 92-3 treat as tax-free resale or packaging items, and which as taxable supplies?
Food, beverage ingredients, and containers or wrapping used to sell and deliver them were generally tax-free. Napkins, straws, utensils, cleaning items, furniture, office supplies, and other operating…
Which outboard motors were subject to South Carolina's historical casual excise tax under Revenue Ruling 92-2?
Motors of five horsepower or more were taxable because they had to be titled. Motors below five horsepower were not taxable because no title, registration, or license was required, even if the owner v…
Under South Carolina Revenue Ruling 92-1, when were for-profit health-club and fitness-center membership fees exempt from admissions tax?
Fees were exempt when the business was a qualifying for-profit physical fitness center covered by the Physical Fitness Services Act and offered only listed or approved fitness activities plus support …
Under SC Revenue Ruling 91-20, when was a tax preparer's electronic-filing charge subject to sales tax?
When the same preparer prepared and electronically filed the return, the filing was incidental to the nontaxable preparation service and the combined charge was not taxable. When the preparer only tra…
Did ABC's South Carolina quality-control and customer-complaint visits exceed Public Law 86-272 solicitation protection?
Yes. ABC's technicians and plant managers inspected rejected yarn, decided whether it was defective, proposed remedies, and advised customers how to adjust machinery or processes. The ruling held that…
Which dental-lab charges did SC Revenue Ruling 91-19 treat as exempt prosthetic production, taxable products, or services?
Charges for listed stages used to manufacture exempt dentures or crowns were part of the exempt prosthetic-device sale, even when several labs billed separate stages. Surgical trays and night guards w…
Which for-profit country-club membership dues did historical SC Revenue Ruling 91-18 subject to admissions tax?
The ruling taxed social dues that included discounts or privileges for other club facilities for all open periods. Beginning April 1, 1992, it also taxed true social dues and the full amount of golf, …
Under historical SC Revenue Ruling 91-17, which county's one-percent local option sales or use tax applied to a delivery?
The historical one-percent sales tax followed delivery within the imposing county where the retailer was located. When property was delivered into another local-option county, the purchaser owed that …
Which South Carolina activities did historical SC Revenue Ruling 91-16 treat as protected solicitation under Public Law 86-272?
The ruling protected an out-of-state seller only when its South Carolina activity stayed within solicitation of orders for tangible personal property, with approval and fulfillment from outside the st…
Which interest did SC Revenue Ruling 91-15 treat as exempt from South Carolina income tax, including through a mutual fund?
The ruling exempted qualifying interest on South Carolina obligations, federally designated tax-exempt agency or instrumentality obligations, and direct U.S. obligations meeting the four-part Smith v.…
Under SC Revenue Ruling 91-14, did a coin-operated batting cage owe admissions tax and an amusement-machine license tax?
The charge to use a coin- or token-operated batting cage was subject to the historical admissions tax because the cage was a place of amusement. But a batting machine on which admissions tax was impos…
When did SC Revenue Ruling 91-13 let a machine shop buy production inputs, machinery, and electricity without sales or use tax?
A machine shop qualified when manufacturing tangible personal property for sale was regular, continuous, and a substantial part of its business. Inputs becoming components or used directly in that pro…
Did SC Revenue Ruling 91-11 allow bingo players to cover every even or odd number, or every number sharing a drawn ball's final digit?
No. A single randomly selected ball could not authorize players to cover every number with the same ending digit, and a random selection could not authorize covering every even or odd number. The hist…
Which personal property in ABC's headquarters expansion qualified for the historical SC headquarters credit under PLR 91-3?
Personal property used by employees performing headquarters functions or qualifying experimental software research and development qualified. Property for custom client programming, installations, cus…
When did SC Revenue Ruling 91-9 tax lease payments for tangible personal property delivered in or later brought into South Carolina?
In-state delivery from a South Carolina lessor made every lease payment taxable even if the lessee immediately moved the property out of state. Lessor-required out-of-state delivery made the payments …
Which components of a municipal water-treatment-plant expansion qualified for the manufacturing-machine sales-tax exemption under SC RR 91-8?
Equipment within the processing window—from the rapid-mix tank through final filtration—generally qualified, including mixers, flocculators, sludge machinery, processing piping, filter tanks, media fi…
Which leased-facility, design, job, and property-tax costs did SC PLR 91-2 allow for ABC's historical headquarters incentives?
The credit used ABC's actual first-five-year lease payments, not straight-line book expense. Qualifying leased personal property and outside design or development services could count under the stated…
What property counted as inventory under SC Revenue Ruling 91-7's historical business-inventory property-tax exemption?
Inventory meant merchandise purchased and held for resale. The property's purpose when bought and held controlled—not the fact that it might later be sold. Equipment primarily rented to customers and …
When did SC Revenue Ruling 91-6 treat a large, fixed manufacturing structure as machinery or equipment rather than a general real-property improvement?
A structure qualified as manufacturing machinery or equipment when it was used directly in manufacturing, was necessary and integral to the process, was used solely to make the intended products, and …
What conditions did SC Revenue Ruling 91-5 require for a civic or fraternal organization's event to qualify for the admissions-tax exemption?
The exemption required seven event-specific conditions: exclusive sponsorship and operation by a qualifying nonprofit civic or fraternal organization; donation of net proceeds to an exclusively charit…
How did SC Revenue Ruling 91-3 tax hotel-guest valet laundry charges, the cleaner's charge to the hotel, and cleaning of hotel-owned linens?
The independent cleaner's charge to a hotel for cleaning a guest's clothing was a nontaxable wholesale sale for resale. The hotel's valet-service charge to the guest was a taxable additional guest cha…
When did SC Revenue Ruling 91-2 allow free bingo, and could licensed promoters or nonprofit organizations give players free cards?
Licensed bingo promoters and licensed nonprofit organizations could not give away cards or pay any part of a player's card cost. Unlicensed persons could conduct bingo without charging only if players…
What qualified as a written contract of sale under SC Revenue Ruling 91-1's historical 1987 long-term-capital-gain transition rule?
A qualifying contract had to become legally binding between January 1 and June 22, 1987, identify the parties, describe the property, state the consideration, and require the seller to convey title. O…
Was electricity used to turn customers' grease wool into customer-specific wool top exempt as electricity used to manufacture tangible personal property for sale?
Yes for production power. Turning grease wool into customer-specific wool top was manufacturing tangible personal property for sale even though ABC worked on customer-owned wool. Electricity used in o…
How did South Carolina's original 1% county local-option sales and use tax apply to retailer sourcing, exemptions, contracts, utilities, and credits?
The 1990 guide generally sourced in-state retail sales to the order-receiving business location and use-tax transactions to the customer's first storage, use, or consumption. It also carried state exe…
When did service charges and credit-card fees on computerized ticket sales enter South Carolina's admissions-tax base?
A service charge was taxable when everyone had to pay it for admission, but not when it applied only to remote or mail buyers. A credit-card fee was excluded unless every entrant had to pay by card.
Did South Carolina sales or use tax apply when a company nominally sold equipment and leased it back but retained title, possession, costs, and risk of loss?
No. The purported equipment sale and leaseback were a financing arrangement, not an actual sale and lease, because ABC retained legal title, possession, ownership costs, risk of loss, and tax ownershi…
How did South Carolina classify coin-operated amusement machines and game tables for license tax under its 1990 guidance?
The ruling used the machine's function, payment method, free-play feature, and whether it was a physical for-profit game table. Historical fees were $25, $100, or $1,500, with specified physical table…
Could a South Carolina bingo operator price a multicard paper sheet so each card cost a fraction of a cent?
Yes. A sheet could produce a fractional-cent price per card, such as three cards for $1, if every card for that game had the same value. In that example, all cards had to be sold in sheets of three or…
Did historical SC Revenue Ruling 90-7 tax membership fees for health clubs, gyms, spas, and fitness centers?
Yes. Beginning May 1, 1991, membership fees for for-profit health clubs, gyms, spas, fitness centers, and similar places of amusement were subject to admissions tax. Charges to members of a nonprofit …
When did SC Revenue Ruling 90-6 tax video-rental club membership fees and late-return charges?
A video-club membership fee was taxable when it entitled the customer to free or discounted movie or VCR rentals. A fee serving only as a security-deposit substitute or nominal processing charge, with…
Did a federal contractor owe South Carolina sales or use tax on supplies bought for Army watercraft kits when title vested in the government upon vendor delivery?
No under the stated contract. Purchases of reimbursable end-item hardware were wholesale sales for resale because title vested in the Army upon vendor delivery, and the contractor's transfers to the f…
Did superseded SC Revenue Ruling 90-4 tax health-club, gym, spa, and fitness-center membership fees?
Yes. RR 90-4 treated for-profit health clubs, spas, gyms, fitness centers, and similar facilities as places of amusement and taxed membership fees received after October 1, 1990. It exempted a nonprof…
Under South Carolina's June 1990 guidance, when and how much did a buyer withhold from a nonresident seller of real estate?
The buyer generally withheld 7% of the nonresident seller's recognized gain, or 5% for a corporate seller. Without a valid gain affidavit, the rate applied to amount realized, but withholding could no…
Could a bingo operator charge less per card for a game when the card was included in a multigame package?
No. A card for a particular game had to carry the same per-card price whether sold individually or inside a package with cards for other games. Effective July 1, 1990, licensees also had to keep an on…
Did South Carolina's former military automobile exemption cover a nonresident service member who stopped in the state to pick up a car while traveling to an out-of-state assignment?
No. The ruling said a service member merely passing through South Carolina under orders was not settled or established in the state and therefore was not “located” there as the former exemption requir…
Were separately stated freight charges on coaxial cable included in South Carolina use tax when the seller arranged delivery and retained title to destination?
Yes. Because XYZ arranged the common-carrier delivery, remained responsible for the cable until receipt, and passed title at the customer's location, the billed freight was part of sales price even th…
How did South Carolina tax meals a nursing facility prepared for affiliated facilities and for its own patients?
Meals supplied to the affiliated hospital and nursing facility were taxable retail sales measured by the full reimbursement. Meals for the preparer's own patients were taxed when food was withdrawn, u…
When did South Carolina tax a resort travel-points program—when customers bought points or when they redeemed them?
Tax applied at redemption, not when the customer bought the points. A redemption for tangible personal property or accommodations was the taxable transfer, and the points were valued at the customer's…
Was the XYZ Foundation exempt from South Carolina admissions tax on its fundraising events as an exclusively charitable nonprofit?
Yes. The Foundation's bylaws, fundraising and grant activity, dissolution clause, and federal 501(c)(3) determination showed it was organized and operated exclusively for charitable purposes, so its a…
Would South Carolina follow federal income-tax treatment for a savings-bank conversion and corporate reorganization involving X, Y, and Z?
Generally yes. South Carolina followed federal law as of December 31, 1988 for the listed reorganization provisions, but applied IRC § 593 as of December 31, 1986—including the Tax Reform Act of 1986—…
Were textbooks sold to students by two accredited South Carolina vocational business colleges exempt from sales tax?
Yes. The two accredited vocational business colleges were institutions of higher learning under the historical exemption, so their sales of textbooks to students were exempt from South Carolina sales …
Were concrete, reinforcing steel, and a metal pool liner used to construct a gamma irradiator exempt as manufacturing-machine materials?
Yes. The integrated irradiator—including its nearly six-foot concrete radiation shield and storage pool—was a manufacturing machine rather than a building, so the contractor's concrete, reinforcing ba…
Which items did SC Revenue Ruling 90-1 classify as exempt dental prosthetic devices when purchased by a dentist?
The ruling defined a dental prosthetic device as an artificial device or part replacing a missing body part, not one that merely straightens or supports. It exempted crowns, inlays, bridges, veneers, …
Could a chief warrant officer certify a higher-ranking service member's eligibility for South Carolina's historical military vehicle sales-tax exemption?
Yes. Chief warrant officers in grades W-2 through W-4 were commissioned by the President and counted as commissioned officers, so a higher-ranking chief warrant officer could provide the certification…
Were sales to and purchases by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond's Columbia Office exempt from South Carolina sales and use tax?
Yes. The Commission treated Federal Reserve Banks as federal instrumentalities performing important governmental functions, so sales to and purchases by the Richmond Bank's Columbia Office were exempt…
Did a $25 million South Carolina headquarters expansion qualify for a county property-tax exemption and corporate headquarters and new-jobs credits?
Yes. Under the proposed facts, the $25 million expansion qualified for five years of county property-tax exemption, a headquarters credit equal to 20% of the full investment, and the new-jobs credit. …
Were time-based charges for accessing an out-of-state computer research database over telephone lines subject to South Carolina sales and use tax?
Yes. Charges for computer database access time were taxable as charges for transmitting messages through a modem and telephone lines. XYZ became liable for sales and use tax on those charges effective…
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These are official tax letter rulings and advisory opinions issued by South Carolina's revenue authority in response to questions from specific taxpayers about how the tax law applies to their facts. A ruling is binding on the department only for the taxpayer who requested it and cannot be relied on by anyone else, but it is strong evidence of how the state reads the law. Every ruling above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original source.