How were horse trailers, stock trailers, and trailers with camper packages taxed under South Carolina's 2008 guidance?

Plain-English summary

The South Carolina Department of Revenue distinguished horse trailers from stock trailers under the historical sales and use tax rules. A basic horse trailer, including one with a tack room, dressing room, or gooseneck design but no camper package, was taxed at the lesser of 5% or $300. A comparable stock trailer was taxed at 6% plus applicable Department-administered local tax.

A camper package changed the result. Whether labeled a horse trailer or stock trailer, a trailer primarily designed as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, or travel purposes qualified as a recreational vehicle and received the lesser-of-5%-or-$300 treatment.

The ruling excluded trailers that could be pulled only by a truck tractor and excluded statutory house trailers or campers from its horse- and stock-trailer definitions. It superseded SC Revenue Ruling #93-8 to reflect the June 1, 2007 general rate increase.

What this means for you

Horse-trailer buyers

Under the historical rule, the horse-trailer classification itself supported maximum-tax treatment even when the trailer included a tack room, dressing room, or gooseneck configuration.

Stock-trailer buyers

A stock trailer generally remained subject to the full 6% state rate and local tax unless a qualifying camper package made it a recreational vehicle or another exemption applied.

Sellers of living-quarter trailers

The camper-package treatment depended on primary design as temporary living quarters for recreation, camping, or travel, not merely the presence of a single accessory.

Common questions

Q: Did a basic horse trailer qualify for the $300 maximum?
A: Yes. The ruling applied the lesser of 5% or $300.

Q: Did a basic stock trailer qualify?
A: No. It was generally subject to 6% plus applicable local sales and use tax.

Q: Did a tack room or dressing room change the classification?
A: No. Horse trailers retained the capped treatment, while stock trailers remained at the general rate.

Q: What did a camper package do?
A: If the trailer was primarily designed as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, or travel purposes, the ruling treated it as a recreational vehicle subject to the historical maximum tax.

Q: Are these rates current?
A: No. The ruling predates South Carolina's later infrastructure maintenance fee rules and should be treated as historical.

Citations and references

• S.C. Code § 12-36-2110 (historical maximum tax for horse trailers and recreational vehicles)
• S.C. Code § 12-36-1110 (June 1, 2007 general rate increase)
• S.C. Code §§ 12-36-910 and 12-36-1310 (sales and use tax)
• S.C. Code § 56-3-710 (house-trailer definition quoted by the ruling)
• SC Revenue Ruling #18-1 (later vehicle and trailer guidance under the infrastructure maintenance fee rules)

Source

• Landing page: https://dor.sc.gov/advisory-opinion-search
• Original PDF: https://dor.sc.gov/sites/dor/files/policies/RR08-9.pdf
• Later guidance: SC Revenue Ruling #18-1

Original ruling text

State of South Carolina

Department of Revenue
301 Gervais Street, P. O. Box 125, Columbia, South Carolina 29214

SC REVENUE RULING #08-9

SUBJECT:

Sales of Horse Trailers and Stock Trailers
(Sales or Use Tax)

EFFECTIVE DATE:

June 1, 2007

SUPERSEDES:

SC Revenue Ruling #93-8 and all previous advisory opinions
and any oral directives in conflict herewith.

REFERENCES:

S.C. Code Ann. Section 12-36-910 (2000; Supp 2007)
S.C. Code Ann. Section 12-36-1310 (2000; Supp 2007)
S.C. Code Ann. Section 12-36-1110 (2000; Supp 2007)
S.C. Code Ann. Section 12-36-2110 (2000; Supp 2007)

AUTHORITY:

S. C. Code Ann. Section 12-4-320 (Supp. 2000)
S. C. Code Ann. Section 1-23-10(4) (2005)
SC Revenue Procedure #05-2

SCOPE:

The purpose of a Revenue Ruling is to provide guidance to the
public and to Department personnel. It is an advisory opinion
issued to apply principles of tax law to a set of facts or general
category of taxpayers. It is the Department’s position until
superseded or modified by a change in statute, regulation, court
decision, or another Departmental advisory opinion.

Question:
What amount of sales and use tax should be imposed upon the sales of horse trailers and
stock trailers?
Conclusion:
The following outlines the proper sales and use tax to be imposed upon sales of horse
trailers and stock trailers:

1. Basic stock trailers with no options are subject to tax at the rate of 6% 1 of the gross
   proceeds from the sale, plus any applicable local sales and use tax administered and
   collected by the Department of Revenue on behalf of a local jurisdiction.
   1

The 6% state tax rate became effective June 1, 2007. Prior to June 1, 2007, the state tax due on this sale
was 5%, plus any applicable local sales and use tax administered and collected by the Department of
Revenue on behalf of a local jurisdiction.

1

Basic horse trailers with no options are subject to tax at the lesser of 5% of the gross
proceeds from the sale or $300.

2. Stock trailers with a tack room and/or dressing room are subject to tax at the rate of 6% 2
   of the gross proceeds from the sale, plus any applicable local sales and use tax
   administered and collected by the Department of Revenue on behalf of a local
   jurisdiction.
   Horse trailers with a tack room and/or dressing room are subject to tax at the lesser of
   5% of the gross proceeds from the sale or $300.
3. Gooseneck stock trailers without a camper package are subject to tax at the rate of 6%3
   of the gross proceeds from the sale, plus any applicable local sales and use tax
   administered and collected by the Department of Revenue on behalf of a local
   jurisdiction.
   Gooseneck horse trailers without a camper package are subject to tax the lesser of 5% of
   the gross proceeds from the sale or $300.
4. Trailers with a camper package4 (whether stock trailers or horse trailers) are subject to
   tax at the lesser of 5% of the gross proceeds from the sale or $300.
   Note: For purposes of this document, a stock trailer and a horse trailer do not include trailers
   or semitrailers that can only be pulled by a truck tractor and do not include house trailers or
   campers as defined in Section 56-3-7105 .
   Facts:
   Questions have arisen concerning the application of sales and use tax on sales of horse
   trailers and stock trailers.
   Horse and stock trailers can be purchased with a variety of options. Examples of the types
   of horse and stock trailers available include:
   1.
   2.

basic trailers with no options,
trailers with a tack room and/or dressing room,

2

See footnote #1.
See footnote #1.
4
For purposes of this document, a trailer with a camper package, whether a stock trailer or a horse trailer, is
one designed primarily to serve as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping or travel purposes.
5
Code Section 56-3-710 defines a "house trailer" as “every trailer or semitrailer which is designed,
constructed, and equipped as a dwelling, living abode, or sleeping place, permanently or temporarily, and is
equipped for use as a conveyance on streets or highways or a trailer or semitrailer of similar nature whose
chassis and exterior shell is designed and constructed for use permanently or temporarily for advertising,
sales, display, or promotion of merchandise or services or for another commercial purpose, except the
transportation of property for hire or the transportation of property for distribution by a private carrier.”
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2

3.
4.

gooseneck trailers without a camper package,
trailers with a camper package.

The full camper packages can be custom built and include such options as a shower, vanity,
holding tank, water tank, electrical hook-up, kitchen and beds.
The purpose of this document is to update SC Revenue Ruling #93-8 to address the
imposition of the state sales and use tax and the $300.00 maximum tax with respect to sales
of horse trailers and stock trailers as a result of the increase in the state sales and use tax rate
from 5% to 6% on June 1, 2007.
Discussion:
The sales tax and use tax are transactional taxes imposed upon the privilege of the business
of selling at retail, or using, storing, or consuming tangible personal property in South
Carolina. The general state sales and use tax rate was increased from 5% to 6% on June 1,
2007; however, the state sales and use tax rate on sales of items subject to the maximum tax
remained 5% 6 .
Code Section 12-36-2110 establishes the maximum tax on the sale, use, storage, or
consumption of certain items and reads, in part:
The maximum tax imposed by this chapter is three hundred dollars for each
sale...of each:

(5) trailer or semitrailer, pulled by a truck tractor ... and horse trailers
but not including trailers or campers as defined in Section 56-3-710
…;
(6) recreational vehicle, including tent campers, travel trailer, park
model, park trailer, motor home, and fifth wheel ...

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Code Section 12-36-1110, which increased the state sales and use tax rate from 5% to 6% on June 1,
2007, states:
Beginning June 1, 2007, an additional sales, use, and casual excise tax equal to one
percent is imposed on amounts taxable pursuant to this chapter, except that this additional
one percent tax does not apply to amounts taxed pursuant to Section 12-36-920(A), the
tax on accommodations for transients, nor does this additional tax apply to items subject
to a maximum sales and use tax pursuant to Section 12-36-2110 nor to the sale of
unprepared food which may be lawfully purchased with United States Department of
Agriculture food coupons. (Emphasis added.)

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In summary, Code Section 12-36-2110(A) establishes a maximum tax on trailers and
semitrailers capable of being pulled only by a truck tractor, recreational vehicles and horse
trailers.
We must now consider the issue of recreational vehicles that are subject to the $300.00
maximum tax under Code Section 12-36-2110(A)(6).
A definition of "recreational vehicles" in not provided in Title 12 of the South Carolina
Code of Laws. However, it is an accepted practice in South Carolina to resort to the
dictionary to determine the literal meaning of words used in statutes. For cases where this
has been done, see Hay v. South Carolina Tax Commission, 273 S.C. 269, 255 SE 2d 837
(1979); Etiwan Fertilizer Co. v. South Carolina Tax Commission, 217 S.C. 484, 60 SE 2d
682 (1950).
The Second College Edition of the American Heritage Dictionary defines recreational
vehicle as:
[a] vehicle, as a camper or a motor home, used for traveling and recreational
activities
The Second College Edition of the American Heritage Dictionary defines camper in part as:
2.a. A compact, vanlike vehicle resembling an automobile-and-trailer
combination, designed to serve as a dwelling and used for camping or on
long motor trips b. a portable shelter resembling the top part of a trailer,
made to be mounted on a pickup truck to form such a vehicle
Based upon the above discussion, a recreational vehicle is one that is designed to serve as
temporary living quarters for recreational, camping or travel purposes. Accordingly, a horse
trailer or stock trailer also qualifies as a recreational vehicle if it is primarily designed to
serve as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping or travel purposes.
SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE

s/Ray N. Stevens
Ray N. Stevens, Director
, 2008
July 18
Columbia, South Carolina

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