Rates last verified: September 4th, 2026
Sources: South Carolina Code of Laws; South Carolina Department of Revenue; South Carolina Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office. Full citations at the bottom of this page.
South Carolina folds communications into its sales and use tax by defining tangible personal property to include them. The taxable base is broad: the Department of Revenue reads "charges for the ways or means for the transmission of the voice or messages" to cover telephone service over any technology, including Voice over Internet Protocol, plus paging, faxing, voice mail, and streaming. Add local sales taxes, a municipal business license tax on telecom revenue, 911 and dual party relay charges, and a state universal service fund, and a South Carolina invoice carries more layers than its single 6% headline rate suggests.
Quick Facts
| Item | South Carolina Treatment |
|---|---|
| State sales and use tax | 6% of gross proceeds from charges for the ways or means for the transmission of the voice or messages (SC Code §§ 12-36-910(B)(3) and 12-36-1310(B)(3); the rate is 6% after the 1% increase in § 12-36-1110) |
| Local sales and use taxes | Counties and school districts add local sales taxes, which the Department of Revenue collects; the Department describes them as general taxes on retail sales taxable under the state tax, with certain exemptions |
| Municipal business license tax | Municipalities may tax retail telecom revenue at up to 1% of gross income, levied the same way on all providers (SC Code § 58-9-2220) |
| Wireless 911 charge | $0.65 per month per mobile identification number for calendar year 2026, set annually by the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office board (Department of Revenue 911 User Fees page; RFA Board Meeting Minutes, November 18, 2025; SC Code § 23-47-50(F)) |
| Wireline 911 charge | Set by tier: ongoing charges of $1.00, $0.60, or $0.50 per access line by provider size, under SC Code § 23-47-50(A); the Voice over Internet Protocol 911 charge is identical to the local exchange charge (§ 23-47-67) |
| Prepaid wireless 911 charge | Collected by the seller on each retail transaction, equal to the average 911 charges under § 23-47-50(F); the seller keeps 3% as an administrative fee (SC Code § 23-47-68); the current dollar amount is not published separately and is unverified |
| Dual party relay charge | $0.03 per mobile identification number and per Voice over Internet Protocol outward voice path, capped by statute at $0.10 (Department of Revenue 911 User Fees page; SC Code § 58-9-2530) |
| State universal service fund | Contribution factor of 3.74%, effective January 1, 2026, for commercial mobile radio service, Voice over Internet Protocol, and telephone utility providers, certified by the Office of Regulatory Staff; prepaid wireless pays a fixed $0.50 per retail transaction instead (SC Code § 58-9-280(E); Office of Regulatory Staff 2026 Universal Service Fund Contribution Factor public notice) |
| Prepaid wireless sales tax | Taxed at retail at 6% as a prepaid wireless calling arrangement, sourced to the point of sale (SC Code § 12-36-910(B)(5)) |
| 900/976 service | Taxed at 11% (SC Code § 12-36-2645; SC Revenue Ruling #17-2) |
| Internet access | The Department does not enforce sales tax on internet access; the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act bars it permanently (SC Revenue Ruling #17-2) |
| Key exemptions | Toll charges between telephone exchanges, carrier and customer access charges set by the Federal Communications Commission or the state Public Service Commission, telegraph messages, and automatic teller machine transactions (SC Code § 12-36-2120(11)) |
How South Carolina Taxes Telecom Services
South Carolina's sales and use tax statute defines tangible personal property to include communications, so the state's 6% rate applies to telecom the same way it applies to goods. The imposition sits in SC Code sections 12-36-910(B)(3) and 12-36-1310(B)(3): tax on the gross proceeds from "charges for the ways or means for the transmission of the voice or messages," including charges for equipment the seller furnishes. The Department of Revenue's controlling guidance, SC Revenue Ruling #17-2, reads that phrase to cover access to or use of any communication system, whatever the technology. Telephone service over the public switched network, wireless, or Voice over Internet Protocol is taxable, and so are teleconferencing, paging, fax transmission, voice mail, email services, database access, and streaming.
The base has statutory edges. SC Code section 12-36-2120(11) exempts toll charges between telephone exchanges, carrier access and customer access line charges set by the Federal Communications Commission or the state Public Service Commission, telegraph messages, and automatic teller machine transactions. Data processing is excluded under section 12-36-910(C). The Department treats internet access as within the statute yet does not enforce tax on it, because the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act made the moratorium permanent in 2015. Resale exists here too: because communications are tangible personal property by statute, there can be wholesale sales of communications, a point the Department's Sales and Use Tax Manual anchors to the PalmettoNet decision.
Sourcing follows federal rules for mobile service. The statute adopts the Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act, so charges for mobile service are sourced to the customer's place of primary use for bills rendered after August 1, 2002. Prepaid wireless takes a different path: the sale or recharge of a prepaid wireless calling arrangement is taxed at retail under section 12-36-910(B)(5) and sourced to the point of sale. Since January 1, 2004, bundled bills carry a burden of proof; when taxable and nontaxable services share one nonitemized price, the whole price is taxable unless the provider can reasonably identify the nontaxable portion from books and records kept for other purposes.
Two more layers sit outside the sales tax. Counties and school districts impose local sales and use taxes that the Department collects, described in its manual as general taxes on retail sales taxable under the state tax, with certain exemptions. And SC Code section 58-9-2220 lets municipalities levy a business license tax on retail telecom revenue, capped at 1% of gross income, levied on all providers in a competitively neutral way, measured for mobile service by the fixed monthly recurring charges of customers whose service address is in the municipality, and remitted annually. Federal law adds one local carve-out: direct-to-home satellite service is exempt from taxes imposed by local jurisdictions.
911 And Other Per-Line Fees
South Carolina funds 911 through Title 23, Chapter 47. Wireline carriers collect a monthly 911 charge per local exchange access line, with statutory tiers by provider size: ongoing charges of $1.00, $0.60, or $0.50 under SC Code section 23-47-50(A). The Voice over Internet Protocol 911 charge is identical to the local exchange charge under section 23-47-67. Wireless carriers collect a 911 charge that the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office approves each year, capped at the average wireline 911 charge; the Department of Revenue lists the current charge at $0.65 per month per mobile identification number, and the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office board kept that rate for calendar year 2026 at its November 18, 2025 meeting.
Prepaid wireless pays at the register. Under SC Code section 23-47-68, the seller collects a prepaid wireless 911 charge on each retail transaction, equal to the average 911 charges calculated under section 23-47-50(F), and keeps 3% of what it remits as an administrative fee. The Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office calculates that average by dividing statewide landline 911 collections by statewide access lines, but does not publish the result as a figure distinct from the wireless fee it caps, so we were unable to verify the current dollar amount.
Two smaller charges follow the same collection path through the Department of Revenue. The dual party relay charge funds the state's relay system for deaf, hearing impaired, and speech impaired users: $0.03 per mobile identification number and per Voice over Internet Protocol outward voice path, under a statutory cap of $0.10 and a uniformity rule across provider types (SC Code section 58-9-2530). The state universal service fund supports carriers of last resort; the Public Service Commission requires all telecom companies to contribute, and the Office of Regulatory Staff certifies the contribution factor each year. Effective January 1, 2026, the Office of Regulatory Staff set that factor at 3.74% for commercial mobile radio service providers, Voice over Internet Protocol providers, and telephone utilities; prepaid wireless pays a fixed $0.50 per retail transaction instead, with the seller keeping 3% (SC Code section 58-9-280(E)). Wireless and Voice over Internet Protocol providers keep 2% of the 911, relay, and universal service charges they collect and remit.
Taxability By Service Type
- Telephone service, by wire, wireless, or Voice over Internet Protocol: subject to the 6% state sales and use tax as a charge for the ways or means for the transmission of the voice or messages.
- Toll charges between telephone exchanges, and carrier or customer access charges set by the Federal Communications Commission or the state Public Service Commission: exempt under SC Code section 12-36-2120(11).
- Sales for resale: possible, because communications are tangible personal property by statute and can be sold at wholesale.
- Prepaid wireless: taxed at 6% at retail as a prepaid wireless calling arrangement, sourced to the point of sale; pays the prepaid wireless 911 charge, the dual party relay charge, and a $0.50 universal service charge per retail transaction.
- 900/976 service: taxed at 11%.
- Internet access: not taxed; the Department does not enforce the tax and the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act bars it. Charges to access an individual website or database remain taxable.
- Streaming, paging, fax, voice mail, and teleconferencing: taxable as communications under SC Revenue Ruling #17-2.
How CereTax Handles South Carolina
South Carolina's difficulty is layering, not the headline rate. One invoice can carry the 6% state tax, local sales taxes that vary by county, a municipal business license tax measured by service address, and four per-line or per-transaction fees with three different collection paths. CereTax assigns each charge to the right jurisdiction at the rooftop level, applies South Carolina's base rules by service type, and keeps an audit trail behind every calculation. If you serve customers in South Carolina, book a demo and bring a real invoice.
For the full evaluation checklist, see what a telecom tax engine should do.
Sources
- SC Revenue Ruling #17-2, Communications: Ways or Means for the Transmission of the Voice or Messages and Other Communications, South Carolina Department of Revenue. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- South Carolina Sales and Use Tax Manual, 2025 edition, Chapters 12 and 17, South Carolina Department of Revenue. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- 911 User Fees page, South Carolina Department of Revenue. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- SC Code of Laws, Title 23, Chapter 47 (911 charges, §§ 23-47-50, 23-47-67, 23-47-68), South Carolina Legislature. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- SC Code of Laws, § 58-9-2220 (municipal business license tax on retail telecommunications), South Carolina Legislature. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- SC Code of Laws, § 58-9-280(E) (universal service fund) and § 58-9-2530 (dual party relay charge), South Carolina Legislature. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- State 9-1-1 Program and fee calculation pages, South Carolina Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- RFA Board Meeting Minutes, November 18, 2025 (adopting the calendar year 2026 wireless 911 fee), South Carolina Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- 2026 Universal Service Fund Contribution Factor public notice, South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- Internet Tax Freedom Act, 47 U.S.C. § 151 note, as cited in SC Revenue Ruling #17-2.
See how other states compare on the telecom tax by state hub.
Note: Always confirm current rates and filing obligations directly with the state’s DOR, PUC, or 911 authority before applying charges or remitting payments.
