South Carolina: Sales Tax Handbook

South Carolina Sales Tax Exemption / Resale Forms 3 PDFs

If you are a retailer making purchases for resale, or need to make a purchase that is exempt from the South Carolina sales tax, you need the appropriate South Carolina sales tax exemption certificate before you can begin making tax-free purchases. This page explains how to make tax-free purchases in South Carolina, and lists three South Carolina sales tax exemption forms available for download.

Printable South Carolina Exemption Certificates

We have three South Carolina sales tax exemption forms available for you to print or save as a PDF file. If any of these links are broken, or you can't find the form you need, please let us know. You can find resale certificates for other states here.

Sales Tax Exemption Certificate	Download Now
Resale Exemption Certificate	Download Now
Agricultural Exemption Certificate	Download Now

South Carolina allows the use of uniform sales tax exemption certificates, which are general exemption certificates that can be used across multiple states. You can find more info about these uniform certificates at the bottom of this page.

How to use sales tax exemption certificates in South Carolina

A sales tax exemption certificate is a form you can fill out yourself certifying that you meet the qualifications outlined for making sales-tax-free purchases. You will need to present this certificate to the vendor from whom you are making the exempt purchase - it is up to the vendor to verify that you are indeed qualified to make a tax-exempt purchase.

The state of South Carolina provides certain forms to be used when you wish to purchase tax-exempt items such as prescription medicines.

The "Exemption Certificate" can be considered to be a general exemption certificate, as there are many items which it may be used for.

The "Resale Certificate" Is utilized when items are purchased specifically to be resold.

These forms may be downloaded on this page.

To apply the certificate, the buyer must first present the seller with their written certificate, which legally documents the exemption. The certificate should include the date it was created, the signature of the buyer or an employee or agent who signed on behalf of the buyer, both the seller's and buyer's addresses and names, the legal basis of the exemption being utilized, the buyer's tax registration or business license number, and a description of the merchandise that the buyer wishes to purchase.

How long is my South Carolina sales tax exemption certificate good for?

There is no explicitly stated expiration period for these exemption certificate, the business the apply to must simply still be in operation.

Can I use a blanket resale exemption certificate in South Carolina?

South Carolina does permit the use of a blanket resale certificate, which means a single certificate on file with the vendor can be re-used for all exempt purchases made from that vendor. A new certificate does not need to be made for each transaction.

Acceptance of uniform sales tax certificates in South Carolina

South Carolina is a member of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, an interstate consortium with the goal of making compliance with sales taxes as simple as possible in member states.

Because South Carolina is a member of this agreement, buyers can use the Multistate Tax Commission (MTC) Uniform Sales Tax Certificate when making qualifying sales-tax-exempt purchases from vendors in South Carolina.