Venue rentals only Renting a venue for an event, without selling or leasing tangible personal property, is a rental of real estate and no taxes are applied to the rental rate. Charges for optional entertainment are not taxable. Assuming that the lighting and seating are not the same as those used to serve meals, these charges are also not taxable. I just checked some of my estimates and the current contract for the venue, and there are no fees or taxes included for the venue here in South Carolina.
I suppose the service fee would be something like corking the wine, cutting cakes, or cleaning the rental space. With respect to the accessories that the catering company designs and builds, they are not rented in substantially the same way as those purchased and rental expenses are subject to tax. I don't see taxes on renting the space here (unless they're included in the cost), but they might be different for you. A coordinator from a place I visited told me that they were not allowed to tax what they charged for renting the space.
