The South Carolina Department of Revenue pushes Use Tax collection

We previously made you aware of the South Carolina Department of Revenue’s emphasis on collection of use tax in this January 15, 2012 post.  The SCDOR has now issued the following announcement concerning Use Taxes and filing your individual income tax return.

Use tax informational pages available online

During individual income tax season, South Carolina taxpayers are reminded to report and remit use tax on all purchases in which no sales tax has been paid.

Use tax should be remitted on goods purchased from out-of-state vendors or from online retailers for consumption or use in South Carolina.

Sales tax is imposed on all retail sales within South Carolina and in-state retailers are required to remit the sales tax to the SC Department of Revenue. The use tax is imposed on out-of-state purchases of goods for use, consumption or storage in South Carolina. If the out-of-state retailer does not collect the tax to submit to South Carolina, the taxpayer should then report and remit use tax on those items. If the taxpayer purchases goods in another state for use in South Carolina, the taxpayer is allowed a credit for the other state’s tax and would only owe the difference.

How do I pay use tax?

When paying use tax, taxpayers are required to pay the state tax rate of 6% as well as any applicable local option taxes, which vary by county.

Use tax can be remitted in one of three ways: taxpayers can report use tax on their Individual Income Tax Return Form SC 1040; or use tax can be remitted throughout the year via DOR-ePay, an electronic payment system available online, or via a UT-3 Form, submitted to DOR.

Why is the use tax important?

Use tax is important to the state of South Carolina as it protects local businesses from an economic disadvantage with out of state retailers. The state’s collections from the sales and use tax fund South Carolina’s public school system.

To learn more about South Carolina’s sales and use tax, and to submit use tax on your purchases, visit www.sctax.org and click on the ‘Use Tax’ icon.