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Admissions tax must be collected by all places of amusement when an admission price has been charged. The tax is 5% of the paid admissions. If you operate a place of amusement, you must obtain an admissions tax license. There is no charge for the license. You may also be required to obtain a retail license. Examples of "places of amusement" are: nightclubs, college and professional sporting events, amusement parks, golf courses, miniature golf or putt putt courses, tennis courts, bowling alleys, water slides, movie theaters, musical concerts, health clubs, spas, gyms, swimming pools, skating rinks, baseball batting cages and craft shows.
Exemptions from the admissions tax are:
- Stage plays or pageants in which only local or nonprofessional talent or players perform
- Certain Junior American Legion athletic events
- High school or grammar school athletic events
- Admissions to the State Fair or county or community fairs
- Admissions charged by eleemosynary and nonprofit organizations organized exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific or educational purposes or the presentation of performing artists by an accredited college or university (except athletic events of a college or university, and admissions to rides, places of amusement, shows, exhibits and other facilities at a circus, carnival or community fair, except when the proceeds are donated to a hospital)
- Nonprofit public swimming pools
- Hunting or shooting preserves
- Privately-owned fish ponds or lakes
- Circuses operated by nonprofit organizations organized exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific or educational purposes when the proceeds will be used for those same purposes
- Properties or attractions named to the National Register of Historical Places
- Classical musical performances of a nonprofit organization operated exclusively to promote classical music
- Admissions to events sponsored by nonprofit organizations organized exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, civic, fraternal or educational purposes, when the entire net proceeds are donated to an organization operated exclusively for charitable purposes
- Admissions charged by nonprofit community theater companies, community symphony orchestras, county and community arts councils and other commissions and companies promoting the arts
- Boats which charge a fee for pleasure fishing, excursion, sight-seeing and private charter
- Admissions to physical fitness centers which provide only aerobics, calisthenics, weight-lifting equipment, exercise equipment, running tracks, racquetball, handball, squash or swimming pools for aerobics or lap swimming
Frequently Asked Questions
All banks engaged in business in South Carolina are required to register and pay the annual bank tax. The tax is 4.5% of SC net income. Banks are required to make estimated tax payments as required for corporations. Estimated payments are not required for taxpayers whose estimated tax is less than $100 annually. Each bank is required to operate on a calendar year and file Form 1101-B, Bank Tax Return, by the 15th day of the third month following the close of the tax year.
For the purposes of allocation and apportionment of the income of multi-state banks, all of the provisions of the income tax code of laws that may be appropriate or applicable have been adopted for banks.
A license tax applies to all cigarettes and tobacco products sold in South Carolina. All persons selling, purchasing, distributing or importing cigarettes and tobacco products in South Carolina are required to pay the license tax. The tax is paid only once. If cigarettes and tobacco products are purchased from a licensed distributor, then the retailer would owe no tax.
The rate on tobacco products other than cigarettes is 5% of the manufacturer's price.
The tax on cigarettes is 7 cents per pack of 20's and 8.75 cents per pack of 25's. For packs other than 20 or 25, the tax is .0035 per cigarette.
For all tobacco products including cigarettes, the tax is paid with a monthly report, Form L-922, Monthly Tobacco Tax Return, due on the 20th day of the month following the month in which sales were made.
Frequently Asked Questions
A recording fee will be imposed by the clerk of court or register of mense conveyance of each county for the privilege of recording a deed, with respect to any deed whereby any land, tenements or other realty is transferred to another person.
The fee is $1.85 on realty value of $100 to $500 and $1.30 for each $500 increment afterwards.
The state's portion of the fees collected by the clerks of court and registers of mense conveyances will be reported and remitted to the Department of Revenue on a monthly return which is due on or before the 20th of the month following the month in which the transaction was recorded. Counties retain their portion of the fee - 55 cents of each $1.85.
Click Here for a copy of the Deed Recording Fee Summary
Every person who sells electric power for resale and every public utility and cooperative which sells electric power to the consumer must pay an electric power tax. The tax does not apply to electric power purchased from vendors previously taxed under the statute. The tax is 5/10 of one mill (.0005) upon each kilowatt hour of electric power sold. Every person subject to the tax is required to file Form L-814-A, Electric Power Excise Tax Return, showing the amount of electricity sold during the month. The return and the tax due must be filed by the 20th of the month following the month in which the electricity was sold. A biannual report is due in January and July of each year listing exempt sales to industrial customers for the preceding six months.
Frequently Asked Questions
The forest renewal tax is assessed on all primary forest products harvested from South Carolina and is paid by the processor of the primary forest products. The amount of tax to be collected for the fiscal year is determined by the Forestry Commission's budget requirement. The tax is collected based on fiscal quarters beginning with quarter ending September 30th through quarter ending March 31st or until the required revenue is reached. The Forestry Commission provides to the Department of Revenue a list of processors required to report and pay this tax. The due date for this quarterly return is the 25th of the month following the end of the quarter. Processors are required to maintain product records for three fiscal years.
The tax rates are:
- Softwood products measured in board feet: 20 cents per cord
- Hardwood products measured in board feet: 25 cents per 1,000 board feet
- Softwood products measured in cords: 25 cents per cord
- Hardwood products measured in cords: 7 cents per cord
A new motor fuel tax law was implemented May 1, 1996. The point of taxation for motor fuel is when the product is removed from the terminal. The tax rate for gasoline and low sulfur diesel is 16 cents per gallon. The inspection fee is one-quarter cent (.0025) and the environmental impact fee is one-half cent (.0050) for all product except LP gas and compressed natural gas. Licensed suppliers are responsible for reporting and remitting the taxes and fees on a monthly report due by the 22nd of the month following the removal of the product from the terminal.
The tax for gasoline and low sulfur diesel must be charged by the supplier and fuel vendor regardless of how the product will be used. However, there are refund provisions that allow end users to receive a refund based on how the product is used. There are also refund provisions for companies selling motor fuel to exempt users. Refund applicants that are not required to license under the motor fuel provision must complete a refund registration form to set up a refund account.
Refund Applications:
- L-325 Motor Fuel Tax Refund on Diesel Fuel Used in Non-Highway Equipment
- L-2087 Tax Paid on Motor Fuel Used in Auxiliary Equipment (Diesel, Gasoline, LP)
- L-304 Farm Gasoline Refund (applicant must also complete a special information form)
- L-2131 Motor Fuel Refund on Gasoline Used for Aviation Purposes
- L-2133 Motor Fuel Refund Application Covers:
-Sales to the federal government
-Sales for use in state-owned school buses
-Product diverted to another state
-Contaminated product
-Refund to regional transportation authorities
-Other
- Eligible Purchaser List
- Fuel Vendor List
- Licensed Supplier List
A tax is levied on the disposal of low-level radioactive waste at the facility in Barnwell County for long-term disposal. The tax is $235 per cubic foot of low-level radioactive waste disposed of in South Carolina. The owner or operator of the low-level radioactive waste disposal facility must report the quantity and type of waste disposed during the quarter and pay the tax by the 30th day following the end of the quarter.
In addition to the disposal tax imposed pursuant to this section, there is imposed a contingent annual license tax on any company which operates a licensed disposal site in the State for the disposal of low-level radioactive waste. The tax is an amount determined as follows:
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For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1996, and ending June 30, 1997, the shortfall, if any, in amounts credited for the fiscal year to the Higher Education Scholarship Grants portion of the Children's Education Endowment Fund and twenty-two million dollars.
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For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1997, and ending July 1, 1998, an amount calculated as provided in item (1), except that the applicable fiscal year is 1997-98 and the applicable amount is twenty-three million dollars.
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For fiscal years beginning after June 30 1998, an amount as determined in item (1), except that the applicable fiscal year is the then current fiscal year and the applicable amount is twenty-four million dollars.
This tax is due and payable at the same time as the disposal fee. Both taxes are reported on form L-2092.
Each savings and loan association doing business in South Carolina is required to register and pay the tax. The tax rate is 6% of net income. Net income is taxable income as determined for a corporation after deducting earnings paid, accrued, credited or set aside for holders of savings or investment accounts. Savings and loan associations are required to file Form 1104, Savings and Loan Associations Tax Return, by the 15th day of the third month following the close of the tax year.
Manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers or retailers who first receive untaxed soft drink products are required to obtain a soft drink tax license and pay the soft drinks tax. The tax is paid only once.
The tax rates are:
- Syrups used in making soft drinks: 95 cents/gallon
- Simple syrups used in making soft drinks: 95 cents/gallon
- Soft drinks made from concentrates, powders or bases: 16 cents/finished gallon
- Bottled soft drinks: $1.22/gross for each one cent of face value.
Distributors, wholesalers or retailers must apply for a license on Form L-1109-A. A license must be obtained for each place of business.
SOFT DRINK TAX - PHASE OUT AND REPEAL
The phase out incrementally reduces the soft drinks license tax in fiscal years beginning in 1996 through 2000. Effective July 1, 2001, the soft drinks license tax (Article 13, Chapter 21) is repealed.
The license tax due is reduced as follows for returns due during the applicable fiscal year:
| Fiscal Year |
Liability Reduction |
| July 1, 1996 - June 30, 1997 |
One-sixth |
| July 1, 1997 - June 30, 1998 |
One-third |
| July 1, 1998 - June 30, 1999 |
One-half |
| July 1, 1999 - June 30, 2000 |
Two-thirds |
| July 1, 2000 - June 30, 2001 |
Five-sixths |
If you have any additional questions, please call (803) 898-5800.
Frequently Asked Questions
Retailers of tires and batteries and wholesalers of appliances and motor oil are required to report and pay the solid waste excise tax on the sale of these items. The tax is $2 per tire, battery and appliance sold and 8 cents for each gallon of motor oil sold. The tax is reported on Form ST-390. Register for the tax by checking block 8-A on Form SCTC-111.
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