South Carolina Form ST-8 is a one-page exemption certificate you fill out and hand to a seller so the seller does not charge the state’s 6% sales tax on a single transaction. You pick one exemption from the list printed on the form, describe what you are buying, sign it, and give it to the seller at the time of sale. The form does not go to the South Carolina Department of Revenue, and there is no fee or prior approval.
Is the ST-8 the Right Form for You?
The ST-8 covers a single tax-exempt sale under one of the specific exemptions listed on the form itself, drawn from South Carolina Code Section 12-36-2120. Federal government purchases, manufacturing machinery, residential heating fuel, and library materials are typical examples.
If you are buying goods for resale, you need a different form. Licensed retailers, wholesalers, and out-of-state resellers use Form ST-8A, a resale certificate that stays in effect for ongoing purchases from the same vendor until it is revoked in writing. Everything below is about the ST-8.
Exemptions Listed on the ST-8
The form contains a schedule of exemptions with the full statutory language and code section for each. You check exactly one. The major categories are:
- Tangible personal property sold to the federal government.
- Machines, parts, and attachments used in manufacturing, processing, mining, quarrying, recycling, compounding, or agricultural packaging of goods for sale. Automobiles and trucks are excluded.
- Wrapping paper, twine, paper bags, and containers used in selling and delivering tangible personal property.
- Books, magazines, periodicals, newspapers, and online information systems sold to publicly supported state, county, or regional libraries.
- Textbooks and related items used in coursework at primary schools, secondary schools, and colleges, or in their libraries.
- Fuel, lubricants, and supplies consumed aboard ships in intercoastal or foreign commerce.
- Electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, kerosene, LP gas, coal, and other heating materials used for residential purposes.
- Certain prescription medicines, including drugs to prevent respiratory syncytial virus and to treat cancer, lymphoma, leukemia, and rheumatoid arthritis, plus drugs that relieve side effects of those treatments.
If nothing on that schedule fits your purchase, the ST-8 is not the correct form and the sale is presumed taxable.
How to Complete Form ST-8
Download the current version from the SCDOR’s sales tax forms page at dor.sc.gov. The form is titled “Exemption Certificate for Sales and Use Tax (Single Sale Only).” Complete every field.
Purchaser’s printed name. Your full legal name if you are an individual, or the entity’s legal name if the purchase is for a business or organization.
Address, city, state, ZIP. Your business or mailing address.
Amount of sale. The dollar amount of the specific transaction the certificate covers. The ST-8 is a single-sale certificate, so this is one figure tied to one purchase.
Description of tangible personal property purchased. Be specific. “Industrial sewing machine” is a usable description; “equipment” is not. The description should make it obvious on the face of the form why the item qualifies under the exemption you are claiming. If a seller or an auditor cannot connect your item to your chosen exemption without asking, the description needs more detail.
Exemption checkbox. Check exactly one exemption from the schedule on the form. Do not check more than one, and do not check a category that only loosely resembles your situation. The statutory language printed next to each box controls.
Signature and date. Sign and date the certificate. Your signature is a certification that if you use the property for any purpose other than the exempt one you claimed, you will file a return and pay the sales or use tax due on it.
Hand the completed form to the seller at the time of the transaction. Do not mail it to the SCDOR. The seller keeps it in their records; you should keep a copy in yours.
What the Seller Does With Your ST-8
South Carolina presumes every sale is taxable. A properly completed exemption certificate is what allows the seller to skip collecting the tax on your purchase, and the seller has to be able to produce it during an audit. If the seller cannot, the seller becomes liable for the uncollected tax.
The seller is also expected to review the certificate in good faith rather than accept it blindly. The SCDOR’s own examples of red flags include a resale certificate for weed killer from a funeral home or toilet bowl cleaner from a state police office. If your stated use and your listed item do not fit together, expect the seller to ask questions before accepting the form. That is why a specific, accurate description matters: it protects both sides.
South Carolina requires sales tax records, including exemption certificates, to be kept for at least four years after the return was filed or was due to be filed, whichever is later. Keep your own copy for the same period.
What Happens if You Misuse the Exemption
Claiming an exemption on the ST-8 for a purchase that does not qualify creates tax liability for you, not the seller. The civil penalty is 5% of the unpaid tax for each month or partial month the tax remains unpaid, up to a maximum of 50% of the tax due, on top of the tax itself and any other penalties the SCDOR assesses. The civil penalty applies whether or not you meant to misuse the certificate.
Willful misuse can be prosecuted under South Carolina Code Section 12-54-44. Willful tax evasion is a felony punishable by up to $10,000 in fines, up to five years in prison, or both. Filing a false statement on a certificate or return is a misdemeanor punishable by up to $1,000 in fines, up to one year in prison, or both. Signing a fraudulent document under penalty of perjury is a felony punishable by up to $500 in fines, up to five years in prison, or both. The criminal provisions require the state to show you acted knowingly; the civil penalties do not.
Where to Get the Current Form
The ST-8 is a free PDF on the SCDOR’s sales tax forms page at dor.sc.gov. There is no fee to file it and no advance approval from the SCDOR. The current ST-8 was revised in July 2024. Download a fresh copy each time you need one rather than reusing an old blank, because the exemption schedule and form language are updated periodically and using an outdated version can leave you claiming an exemption in language the state no longer recognizes.