Facility Rental – Recreation and Admissions

You can determine whether you should charge sales tax to someone renting all or part of your facility by asking these questions:

Will the renter charge admission?
Don’t collect tax from someone renting your facility if they’ll charge admission to an event they’ll hold there. They must give you a completed Form ST-101 – Sales Tax Resale or Exemption Certificate, to document this.
If the renter won’t charge admission, is the use recreational?
If the use is recreational, you must charge sales tax, even if your facility isn’t a “recreational” facility. Your records must document that the use wasn’t recreational.

Examples of uses of a facility that are taxable because the uses are considered recreational:

Receptions
Family reunions
Card parties, bingo parties or social nights
Dances
Picnics or other meals
Sports activities
Sports competitions

Examples of uses of a facility that aren't considered recreational (and are not taxable) are:

Business meetings
Educational classes
Wedding ceremonies
Religious services
Fraternal meetings
Trade shows

If you rent your facility to someone who’ll put it to both taxable and nontaxable uses, you must separately state the charge for the nontaxable use for it to be exempt (not taxable) from sales tax. Otherwise, the entire cost is taxable.

NOTE: Special rules apply to hotel and motel operators. For more information, see our Hotels, Motels and Short-Term Rentals guide.

Recreation and Admissions Events

Tournaments and events

You must collect sales tax on fees you charge participants to enter a tournament or to participate in an organized event. You also must pay sales or use tax on any tangible personal property used or consumed during the event. This includes trophies or prizes handed out at the end of the event.

Entry fees (professional athletes or events)

Fees that professional athletes pay to participate in sanctioned events or tournaments aren’t taxable. The professional athlete’s participation isn’t for recreation; it’s as an occupation.

Example: Professional golf tournaments

Mixed participants (professional and amateur)

You might have an event that has both professional and amateur athlete participation. Organizers normally segregate these events into different classifications for the athletes.

Entry fees for the professional classifications aren’t taxable.
Entry fees for the amateur classifications are taxable.

Examples of events for mixed participants:

Pro-Am golf tournaments

Recreation and Admissions Equipment

You must pay sales tax on any equipment and supplies you buy to run your facility.

Example You own a bowling alley. You must pay sales tax on all your bowling equipment and supplies.

The Idaho Supreme Court has ruled that when recreation providers buy equipment for their customers to use as part of the paid recreation fees, they're not buying this equipment for resale, rental or lease. These recreation providers are buying an item that they use to further their business. (Compare with "Items you rent to customers," below.)

Examples of recreation providers:

Health clubs
Racquetball clubs
Bowling alleys
Pool halls
Carnivals
Carnival-type rides
Outfitters
Batting cages
Skating rinks
Golf courses
Miniature golf courses

Items you rent to customers

The law treats equipment (e.g., skates, golf carts, bowling shoes) that you rent to customers for an additional charge as items you’re buying for resale. You can buy these items without paying sales or use tax if you give your supplier a completed Form ST-101, Sales Tax Resale or Exemption Certificate.

Example You own a bowling alley and you're buying shoes to rent to bowlers for a fee separate from the bowling fee. You'll charge the bowlers a shoe rental fee plus tax that's separate from the taxable bowling or lane fee. You don't have to pay sales or use tax when you buy the shoes. You must give the shoe vendor a properly completed

Form ST-101 for the shoes.

Recreation and Admissions Laws and Rules

Learn more about Recreation and Admissions:

Sale (Idaho Code section 63-3612 – (2)(e) and (f))
Mixed Transactions (Sales Tax Rule 011)
Admissions Defined (Sales Tax Rule 030)
Food, Meals, Or Drinks (Sales Tax Rule 041)
Outfitters, Guides, And Like Operations (Sales Tax Rule 047)
Sales To And Purchases By Nonprofit Organizations (Sales Tax Rule 085)
Sales And Purchases By Religious Organizations (Sales Tax Rule 086)
Lease Or Rental Of Motion Picture Television Film (Sales Tax Rule 087)
Exemptions On Purchases By Political Subdivisions, Sales By The State Of Idaho, Its Departments, Institutions, And All Other Political Subdivisions (Sales Tax Rule 094)
Use Of A Recreational Facility, Instructional Fees, And Pari-Mutuel Betting (Sales Tax Rule 129)

Recreation and Admissions Basics Guide

This area of sales tax is very complex and constantly developing. The industry is continually inventing new ways to do business and even reinventing itself. The taxability of any transaction is highly dependent on the facts involved. This reference provides general guidance. Please contact the Tax Commission with questions or seek the advice of a competent tax professional.

Do you charge admission to a place or event? Do you charge for using, or privilege of using, recreational equipment, meeting rooms or facilities? This guide can help you understand sales tax requirements for your business as they relate to recreation and admissions in Idaho.

Recreation

Recreation is defined* as the “refreshment in body or mind, as after work, by some form of play, amusement or relaxation or any form of play, amusement, or relaxation used for this purpose such as games, sports, or hobbies.”

Consider the following when determining the taxability of a recreational activity:

Taxable

Charges for the use of a facility for recreational purposes
- Example: Charges to use a swimming pool
Charges to participate in a recreational program or event
- Example: Charges to participate in sports leagues

Not Taxable

Separately stated charges for instruction
- Example: Instructional fees for jazzercise, aerobics, dance, and swimming aren’t taxable when they’re separately stated from the facility and participation fee.

NOTE: Monitoring activities, such as a lifeguard at a swimming pool, aren’t considered instruction.

* Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition, Ed. Michael Agnes, New York: Macmillan USA, 1999.

Taxable Sales – Recreation and Admissions

Taxable sales include:

Fees paid to gain admission to a place or event.
Fees paid to use, or to have the privilege of using, tangible personal property or facilities for recreation. Tangible personal property is property that you can feel or touch and that isn’t “real property” (e.g., real estate).

Examples of taxable fees:

Axe throwing fees
Escape room fees
Greens fees to a golf course
Membership or initiation fees paid before using the facility
Bowling fees
Outfitter and guide fees
Miniature golf course fees
Fees paid to fitness and health clubs, racquet clubs
Charges for using a suntan booth, flotation chambers, deprivation chambers
Renting a facility to someone for a recreational activity (unless admission will be charged)

Fees paid to participate in recreational activities

Fees paid to participate in recreation activities are generally taxable.

Examples

Sports leagues
Youth sport camps
Bowling tournaments
Fishing derbies
Amateur sporting events (e.g., amateur auto racing and golf tournaments); see Tournaments and events

Admission charges

Admissions charges are generally taxable.

Examples

Movie tickets
Nightclub cover charges
Charges for reserved seats
Minimum drink charges paid to a nightclub
Convenience fees
Admission charges to sports or entertainment events (e.g., club, school or professional basketball games; race car events; club, school or professional plays or drama performances; and music concerts)
Season tickets to sports or entertainment events
Lifetime admissions to sports or entertainment events
Student activity tickets or cards that allow for free or reduced-price admissions to sports or other events

Charging a whole-dollar amount

You must separately state the tax on the receipt, invoice or ticket you give to your customer, even if you want to charge a whole-dollar amount for the price of admission, plus tax.

Example You want to charge a whole dollar amount for an admission ticket that includes both the selling price and the tax for $5. The ticket or receipt should show: $4.72 (admission) + $0.28 (tax) = $5

“Suggested” donations

If you suggest a price for an admission, even if you call it a donation, you must collect sales tax.
If you don’t set or suggest a price (or donation) and admission is allowed, don’t collect sales tax.

Example Your nonprofit group holds a dance and posts a sign reading “$2 suggested donation.” You must charge sales tax on the total amount someone gave you because you suggested an admission price.

If the sign instead read “admission free – donations accepted,” you wouldn’t charge sales tax because you didn’t set or suggest an admission price.

Admissions that nonprofit groups charge

You don’t need to collect sales tax on sale of admissions if you’re an organization conducting an exempt function as defined in section 527 or nonprofit organization registered as a 501(c)(3) with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and all of these are true:

The event is not predominantly recreational or commercial.
Any included entertainment value is minimal when compared to the price for attendance.
Your nonprofit organization paid sales or use tax on taxable property or services used during the event.

See Nonprofit and Religious Groups for additional information.

Fees for instruction

Instruction fees for swimming, jazzercise, dance, yoga, karate or tennis lessons aren’t taxable if you separately state the instruction fees from the facility fee.

The whole fee is taxable if you don’t separately state the instruction fees from the facility fee on a sales receipt.

Recreation and Admissions

Do you charge admission to a place or event? Do you charge for using — or privilege of using — recreational equipment, meeting rooms, or facilities? This guide can help you understand sales tax requirements for your business as they relate to recreation and admissions in Idaho.

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