Rev. Rul. 57-457

Advice has been requested whether amounts paid to attend the lecture course, under the circumstances described below, are subject to the tax on admissions.

The course consists of a number of lectures on dental practice administration and dental office management. The lectures cover a definite program of study on these subjects. Each lecture is followed by group participation in discussion of the subject matter covered. The course is given under the sponsorship of a number of dental colleges and dental associations and is conducted solely for the benefit of undergraduate students of dentistry, and for graduate dentists and their auxiliary personnel. The fee charged for the course is payable upon enrollment or prior to the beginning of the course.

Insofar as it is applicable here, section 4231 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 imposes a tax upon the amount paid for admission to any place, including admission by season ticket, if such amount is in excess of 90 cents. Section 101.2 of Regulations 43, made applicable to the 1954 Code by Treasury Decision 6091, C.B. 1954-2, 47, provides that the tax is imposed on `the amount which must be paid in order to gain admission to a place.'

Generally, a tuition fee charged for a regular course of study which is available only to persons fulfilling certain prescribed prerequisites is regarded as an amount paid for educational instruction rather than an amount paid for admission to a place.

It is held that the amounts paid to attend the lecture course described above are in the nature of tuition fees for educational instruction and not amounts paid for admission. Accordingly, such fees are not subject to the tax on admissions.