Charges for hotel and motel accommodations to a federal employee on official government business are exempt from sales tax pursuant to Code Section 12-36-2120 if the accommodations are purchased directly by the federal government.
Therefore, the 7% sales tax on accommodations in not applicable when:
Charges for hotel and motel accommodations to a federal employee on official government business are subject to the sales tax if the accommodations are purchased by the federal employee, even if the employee is reimbursed for the charges. This includes transactions in which:
S.C. Code Regs. § 117-307.6
The presentation by a federal employee of a tax exemption certificate issued by the federal government is not sufficient to exempt the transaction from the tax. In order to be tax exempt, a transaction involving a tax exemption certificate must also meet one of the above requirements.