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 direct-cost computer, software, and manufacturing-equipment purchases for ABC Authority's Navy RAMP program subject to South Carolina sales or use tax?
No. The ruling treated the supplier transactions as sales for resale and the transfer to the Navy as exempt because title to each direct-cost item passed to the federal government upon vendor delivery…
How did South Carolina's former use tax apply when an out-of-state contractor brought new or previously used construction equipment into the state, and what counted as substantial prior use?
Equipment bought for first use in South Carolina owed the full former use tax, subject to an allowed other-state sales-tax credit. Previously used equipment generally owed prorated tax based on South …
Were separate computer hardware and software maintenance fees subject to South Carolina use tax under PLR 89-6?
The hardware maintenance fee was not taxable because it was a separately purchased service and was not part of the equipment lease. The software support fee was taxable because the software was delive…
Were prosthetic devices sold by an out-of-state supplier to South Carolina hospitals, clinics, and doctors exempt as devices sold by prescription?
No exemption applied. Hospitals, clinics, and doctors were consumers of prosthetic devices used in providing medical services. The historical exemption for devices sold by prescription applied only wh…
Were catalogs printed and mailed from South Carolina taxable when sent to the out-of-state retailer's customers inside and outside South Carolina?
Catalogs mailed to South Carolina residents were taxable; catalogs mailed to residents of other states were exempt under the out-of-state delivery rule. For the taxable South Carolina copies, gross pr…
Were plastic bags, corrugated cartons, and fiber drums supplied to medical-waste customers exempt as containers used to deliver tangible personal property?
No exemption applied. ABC was the end user of the bags, cartons, and drums in its waste-disposal service. The container exemption covered packaging used incident to the sale and delivery of tangible p…
Were a volunteer Coast Guard-related auxiliary and its separate nonprofit National Board exempt from South Carolina sales and use tax?
No. The volunteer civilian auxiliary was not a federal instrumentality, so its sales and purchases were taxable. Its separate National Board also was taxable because South Carolina gave charitable and…
Did an out-of-state clearinghouse that routed telephone billing records and payments owe South Carolina tax on communications charges?
No. XYZ did not furnish communications in South Carolina and therefore was not liable under section 12-35-1150. South Carolina retailers that actually provided communication services owed the tax, exc…
As a coin-operated laundromat, which of my charges are taxable — the wash-and-fold service, vending-machine sales, and cleaning supplies sold by attendants?
It depends on the charge. In Revenue Ruling 88-7 the South Carolina Tax Commission held that (1) 'wash and fold' laundering service is a taxable service under § 12-35-1130(A) — the 1986 phase-out only…
Was fuel used in tugboats exempt from South Carolina sales and use tax when the tugs moved ships, barges, and cargo or assisted ships in Charleston Harbor?
Fuel was exempt when XYZ's tugs generated motive power to transport ships, barges, or cargo. Fuel used only to assist ships in Charleston Harbor was taxable because the ruling did not treat that harbo…
Could a contractor credit use tax paid to another state against South Carolina use tax on materials fabricated elsewhere and installed in South Carolina?
No. Section 12-35-815 allowed a qualifying credit for sales tax paid to another state, but not for another state's use tax. The sales-tax credit also required proof of payment and substantially simila…
Were fees paid to cancel noncancelable equipment leases early subject to South Carolina sales and use tax?
Yes. A fee paid to end a noncancelable equipment lease early was part of the lease's gross proceeds and sales price. Calling the payment a cancellation fee did not remove it from South Carolina sales …
Did a North Carolina manufacturer owe South Carolina use tax when it sold equipment wholesale to an unregistered out-of-state distributor and drop-shipped it to the distributor's South Carolina customer?
No. The manufacturer's sale to the out-of-state distributor was a wholesale sale for resale and was not subject to use tax. The South Carolina purchaser was liable for use tax on the retail purchase.
Were tire-shredding machines exempt as processing machinery when they cut discarded tires into pieces before municipal landfill disposal?
No exemption applied. Cutting discarded tires into six segments for landfill disposal was not processing tangible personal property for sale. The Commission treated processing as preparing or converti…
Under South Carolina's 1989 sales-and-use-tax provisions, were facsimile, database-access, electronic-mail, credit-reporting, and voice-messaging services taxable communications?
Yes. Under the 1989 provisions quoted in the ruling, the listed services were subject to sales and use tax. The Commission treated the transmitted information or message and the means of transmitting …
When could ZIP Company avoid South Carolina sales or use tax on machinery temporarily stored, repaired, and tested before shipment to a new factory in Mexico?
Tax generally applied unless the property qualified as manufacturing machinery or direct-use equipment, had substantial prior out-of-state use, or fit a statutory storage-for-out-of-state-use exclusio…
Did SC PLR 92-9 exempt the parts and components of a 410-foot power-plant chimney stack as manufacturing pollution-control machinery?
Yes. The ruling classified the described parts, attachments, and components of a 410-foot chimney stack as exempt manufacturing machines. Federal and state agencies had certified the taller stack as n…
Did SC PLR 92-8 exempt a bioabsorbable guided tissue regeneration dental device as a dental prosthetic device?
No. The guided tissue regeneration device helped periodontal tissue or bone regrow and could help prevent tooth loss, but it did not itself replace a missing body part. The ruling therefore did not cl…
Did SC PLR 92-4 exempt prescription-only TENS pain-relief devices from sales and use tax as medicine or prosthetic devices?
No. The ruling treated TENS electrical nerve stimulators sold or leased by ABC Medical as taxable tangible personal property even when prescribed by a physician. They were devices rather than medicine…
Were Westinghouse Savannah River Company's purchases for its federal Savannah River Site contract exempt from South Carolina sales and use tax?
Yes, when Westinghouse Savannah River Company bought tangible personal property on behalf of the federal government under the described Department of Energy contract. The ruling relied on federal titl…
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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.