Tag Archives: Use Tax

Mark your calendar! The Sales Tax Holiday Weekend is coming up!

July 1, 2016
The 2016 Sales Tax Holiday Weekend begins Friday, August 5, 2016 and continues through Sunday, August 7. During this time, the 6% state sales and use tax and any local sales and use taxes will not be imposed on*:
  • clothing and clothing accessories (e.g., hats, scarves, hosiery, handbags)
  • footwear
  • school supplies (e.g., pens, pencils, paper, binders, notebooks, books, bookbags, lunchboxes, calculators)
  • computers and computer software
  • printers and printer supplies
  • bath washcloths, bath towels, shower curtains, bath rugs and mats
  • blankets, bed spreads, bed linens, sheet sets, comforter sets
  • pillows and pillowcases
Sales Tax Holiday Resources

*The list above is not comprehensive. For a more detailed list of exempt items, please see SC Revenue Ruling #10-7 provided above.

Annual Sales Tax Holiday in South Carolina is August 2 – 4

Columbia, SC (July 17, 2013) — The popular Sales Tax Holiday weekend in South Carolina will take place Friday, August 2 at 12:01 am and continue through Sunday, August 4 at midnight.

During the 14th Annual Sales Tax Holiday, shoppers will benefit from an exemption of the 6% state sales tax and any applicable local taxes on the purchase of school supply items. In addition to shoppers saving approximately $3 million over the course of the weekend, the Sales Tax Holiday also benefits in-state businesses by encouraging taxpayers to do their back-to-school shopping in South Carolina.

During this time, taxes will not be imposed on items such as clothing, shoes, school supplies, book bags, computers, printers, bedspreads and linens.

Nonexempt items during the weekend include the sale of jewelry, cosmetics, eyewear, furniture, or items placed on layaway. With the growing popularity of computer tablets, portable devices that have computing functions which allow users to access multiple software applications are considered computers and are therefore tax-exempt, provided they do not allow users to make telephone calls.

For more information about this year’s Sales Tax Holiday, including a sample list of exempt and nonexempt items, visit the SC Department of Revenue website, www.sctax.org, under the “What’s New” section.

South Carolina tax free weekend begins today

In case you forgot about it, this is the weekend to purchase school type supplies tax free in South Carolina today thru Sunday at midnight.  This can be particularly beneficial for those big ticket items such as computers, ipads and laptops.

Officially known in South Carolina as the Sales Tax Holiday, you are allowed to purchase many items that you might not think of as school supplies without incurring the normal state sales tax of 6% or the additional local sales taxes.

Click here to view a list of items eligible for the sales tax exemption. (PDF)

Click here to see FAQ on the South Carolina sales tax holiday. (PDF)

Tax On Wheels, LLC can be reached at 803 732-4288

First weekend in August: South Carolina “Sales Tax Holiday”

Columbia, SC — Less than a month away in South Carolina is the annual Sales Tax Holiday – the state’s popular three-day sales and use tax break on traditional back-to-school purchases.

The 13th annual Sales Tax Holiday, which was implemented in 2000, will begin Friday, August 3 at 12:01 a.m. and tax-exempt purchases can be made through Sunday, August 5 at midnight. While providing taxpayers with an exemption on the 6% statewide sales tax as well as any applicable local taxes, the tax-free weekend also benefits in-state businesses by urging taxpayers to do their back-to-school shopping in South Carolina.

During this time, taxes will not be imposed on clothing, shoes, school supplies, book bags, computers, printers, bedspreads and linens, and more. Nonexempt items during the weekend include the sales of jewelry, cosmetics, eyewear, furniture, or items placed on layaway. Portable devices whose function is primarily used for telephone calls, listening or downloading music, watching videos, or reading books, are not exempt during the tax-free weekend. However, with the growing popularity of computer tablets, portable devices that have computing functions and allow users to access multiple software applications are considered computers and are therefore tax-exempt, provided they do not allow users to make telephone calls. More information on the exemption of computer tablets can be found at www.sctax.org.

The popularity of the tax-free weekend has made it the third busiest shopping period of the year, surpassed only by the weekends after Thanksgiving and before Christmas, as South Carolina shoppers save approximately $3 million during the tax-free weekend.

For more information about this year’s Sales Tax Holiday, including an example list of exempt and nonexempt items as well as a listing of frequently asked questions, visit the SC Department of Revenue website, www.sctax.org, under the “What’s New” section. 

If you need assistance planning your tax free weekend shopping please feel free to call Tax On Wheels, LLC at 803 732-4288.

 

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.

South Carolina tax filers must now declare use tax liability

Many states, including South Carolina, seem to be searching for ways to increase revenues.  One way to do that is to become more aggressive in enforcing the often ignored Use Tax.

A use tax is the government’s way of saying you still have to pay sales taxes even if you bought goods out of state.  If you personally ventured across the state line and bought goods in another state and paid that state’s sales taxes that is generally the end of the matter.  You may owe a use tax but you are generally given credit for any sales taxes paid to the other state which reduces your Use Tax liability.  However, if you purchased goods online or over the telephone you most likely did not pay any sales tax on the purchase and the Use Tax is now a factor in preparing your state tax return.

The South Carolina Use Tax has been around since the early fifties.  But just like highway speed limits and jay walking laws, this law was frequently ignored, by both the tax payers and their governments.  The line for declaring Use Tax liability has been on the Form SC1040 for many years now.  In previous years everyone was pretty much free to ignore this line item if they so chose.  The assumption was that if you put nothing on that line then you had no use tax liability.  This all seems to be changing now.

This year each South Carolina taxpayer will have to affirmatively declare a use tax liability under penalty of perjury as indicated by their signature on the tax return.  .  If you bought goods that are subject to the use tax you will have to declare that amount and pay the corresponding use tax with your income tax return.  If you did all of your shopping locally and do not owe Use Tax then you will still need to affirmatively declare that you had a zero tax liability.

So what does this mean for you?  It means that you now need to keep track of all those out of state purchases, whether online or otherwise, and report those purchases on your state tax return.  Your tax preparer must ask you about your purchases subject to Use Tax.  You must put an entry on the form.  If the number is zero then so be it.  You will owe nothing.  But if you thought you saved a few pennies on birthday presents for the grandkids by shopping out of state to avoid paying sales tax on those purchases then you must report this on your state tax return and pay the appropriate percentage.  This will either reduce your refund or increase your balance due.

If you have questions about Sales and Use Tax issues please give us a call at 803 732-4288