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H 3876

Accommodations

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Lucas Atkinson and 11 co-sponsors

Shifts tax collection to accommodations intermediaries: they must collect/remit state/local accommodations taxes (with merchant-of-record rules) and file annual reports.

Committee report: Favorable with amendment Finance
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Bill Summary · H 3876

Bill Summary — H 3876 (Title: Accommodations)

Status: Roll call Yeas-66 / Nays-38
Introduced: February 27, 2025
Primary sponsor: Rep. Hewitt
Committee referrals / actions: Referred to Ways and Means (1/30/2025); Committee report favorable with amendment (4/30/2025); Read second time and amended (5/8/2025); Roll call 66–38 (5/8/2025); Hearing scheduled 09/16/2025 (A‑1).

Note: The submitted file also included an unrelated Massachusetts draft (providing headstones for certain Massachusetts National Guard members). The summary below covers the principal, cohesive content of H 3876 as it pertains to accommodations taxes and fees (text amending South Carolina statutes).

Purpose / Intent

To clarify which party (accommodations intermediaries, providers, or professional property managers) is legally responsible for collecting and remitting state and local accommodations taxes and related fees; to require reporting and information sharing to support tax administration; and to standardize collection/remittance procedures for certain local fees (including beach preservation fees and uniform service charges).

Key provisions

  • Adds new Section 12‑36‑72 establishing rules for "accommodations intermediaries" (e.g., online travel agencies, booking platforms), "accommodations providers," "merchant of record," and "professional property management company."
  • Primary rule: unless an exception applies, an accommodations intermediary that facilitates a transaction must collect and remit the state accommodations tax (Section 12‑36‑920) and applicable local accommodations taxes/fees (Sections 5‑7‑30, 6‑1‑520, 6‑1‑630).
  • Invoice and debt rule: intermediaries must separately state taxes on invoices/receipts; those taxes become a debt from the customer to the intermediary.
  • Merchant‑of‑record exception: where a professional property management company is the merchant of record (contracts to manage the property), that company is responsible for collection/remittance. Intermediaries must provide transaction/payment details to the merchant of record within one business day.
  • Annual reporting: intermediaries and providers must submit a confidential annual report (form prescribed by the Department of Revenue) listing physical addresses of accommodations rented for more than 14 days in the prior calendar year.
  • Exclusion: hotels that already collect and remit the state accommodations tax are not affected by the new section.
  • Amends definitions in Section 12‑36‑70 to include accommodations intermediaries as retailers/sellers.
  • Amends local tax statutes (6‑1‑510, 6‑1‑520, 6‑1‑570, 6‑1‑630, and municipal powers 5‑7‑30) to (a) include gross proceeds of merchants of record, (b) require local governments to notify the Department of Revenue and State Treasurer when imposing fees, and (c) require uniform collection/remittance procedures for beach preservation fees and certain service charges.

Who is affected

  • Online travel agencies, digital booking platforms, marketplaces, and intermediaries
  • Accommodations providers and property owners
  • Professional property management companies (merchant‑of‑record)
  • Hotels (explicitly preserved if already collecting)
  • Local governments implementing accommodations taxes/fees (must notify DOR/treasurer)
  • South Carolina Department of Revenue and State Treasurer (administration, confidential reporting/ enforcement)
  • Customers (tax may be separately billed by intermediaries)

Potential impact

  • Shifts or clarifies compliance responsibilities toward intermediaries in many platform‑facilitated transactions, reducing tax leakage and simplifying enforcement.
  • Requires data sharing and reporting that could improve auditability but raises confidentiality compliance needs.
  • May alter commercial arrangements (pricing, fee structures, contracts between platforms and managers/providers) to address new collection obligations.
  • Municipalities must follow notification procedures before imposing local fees; collection procedures for local fees are standardized.

Procedural / timeline notes

  • Introduced and first read in January 2025; reported favorably with amendment by Ways and Means 4/30/2025; amended and read second time 5/8/2025 with roll call 66–38. A public hearing was scheduled for 09/16/2025. Sponsors and co‑sponsors were added/removed during spring 2025 activity; a scrivener’s correction was made 5/6/2025.

If you want, I can:
- Produce a short one‑page fact sheet for affected stakeholders (OTAs, property managers, municipalities), or
- Extract the specific statutory text changes by code section for legal/compliance review.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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