Charges for admission to certain nonprofit museums are exempt from sales tax in Missouri.
Missouri sales tax is imposed on charges for admission and seating to or in “any place of amusement, entertainment or recreation, games and athletic events” under Section 144.020.1(2), RSMo Supp. 2013.
However, under Section 144.030.2(21), RSMo Supp. 2013, “all sales made by or to not-for-profit civic … organizations … in their civic or charitable functions and activities” are exempt.
A museum recognized as a civic organization by the Missouri Department of Revenue asked the department if it was required to collect sales tax on the cost of admission. In response, the department wrote, “Applicant’s charges for admission to its museum are exempt from sales tax due to Applicant’s functions and activities.”
The critical component is not that the museum is a museum or a nonprofit. It is that it a nonprofit museum that has been recognized as a civic organization. Read the letter ruling in full for additional details.
Admission charges to museums are exempt in South Carolina and subject to sales tax in North Carolina. Learn more about how sales tax applies to nonprofits across the country.
