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South Carolina

Financial data for local governments across South Carolina

69 Cities
46 Counties
202 Towns
204 CDPs

Tax Snapshot (Beta)

Beta: source-backed tax context only. This is not a personalized tax-burden estimate.

Current source-backed tax context for South Carolina.

Component Summary Effective Coverage Sources
SC state individual income tax South Carolina starts from the federal taxable income on Form 1040 line 15, taken whole: SC1040 line 1 is "Enter federal taxable income from your federal form", so this estimate cites IRS sources alongside South Carolina's and grants no state standard deduction of its own. One thing does change that figure. S.C. Code § 12-6-40(A)(1)(a) conforms to the Internal Revenue Code only as amended through December 31, 2024, so for tax year 2025 the standard-deduction increase enacted by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is added back — a single filer subtracts $15,000 here rather than the $15,750 taken federally, $1,125 less for a head of household and $1,500 less for a married couple filing jointly. South Carolina then subtracts a dependent exemption of $4,790 (2024) or $4,930 (2025) for each dependent. Whether the state conforms to the newer federal rule is a live question the General Assembly could settle retroactively; this estimate reflects the law as the Department stated it on January 30, 2026. The tax itself comes from the SC1040TT tax table, which the instructions make mandatory below $100,000 of South Carolina income subject to tax and which this estimate reproduces rather than approximates: the statutory schedule is evaluated at the midpoint of the printed band — $50 wide below $7,000, $100 wide above — and rounded to the nearest whole dollar, with an exact half going to the even dollar. At or above $100,000 the schedule itself applies: 6.2% of income minus $659 for tax year 2024, 6% minus $642 for 2025. There is ONE schedule for every filing status — "Use this Tax Rate Schedule for any filing status claimed on the SC1040" — so filing status affects South Carolina tax only through the federal deduction upstream of line 1. The estimate applies the state earned income tax credit, 125% of the federal credit and nonrefundable by the words of S.C. Code § 12-6-3632. The disclosures are headed by the conditions the federal base assumes: no itemizing, no qualified tips, no qualified overtime, no qualifying vehicle-loan interest, no qualified business income deduction, and nobody 65 or over, since age also unlocks South Carolina's own $15,000 deduction. It also excludes the extra under-6 dependent subtraction, the Two Wage Earner Credit and the child and dependent care credit, each of which needs a fact the calculator does not collect. Every one of those, if untrue or applicable, means the estimate OVERSTATES South Carolina tax rather than understating it. No South Carolina county, city or school district levies an income or payroll tax on residents: S.C. Code § 6-1-310 has barred a local governing body from imposing any new tax since December 31, 1996 without specific authorization from the General Assembly, and the local instruments the state does authorize are business license taxes on gross receipts rather than household income taxes. Tax years 2024 and 2025. Source verified SC DOR 2025 SC1040TT Income Tax Tables (the mandatory table below $100,000, the 6% rate and $642 schedule constant, and the "any filing status" instruction); SC DOR 2024 SC1040TT Income Tax Tables (the 6.2% rate and $659 schedule constant); SC DOR 2025 SC1040 Instructions (line 1 as federal taxable income; the conformity date; the $4,930 dependent exemption; the under-6 subtraction, care credit and Two Wage Earner Credit this estimate discloses); SC DOR Information Letter; SC DOR Information Letter; S.C. Code Title 12 Chapter 6 (§ 12-6-510 the schedule, § 12-6-520 its indexing, § 12-6-3632 the nonrefundable 125% earned income tax credit, § 12-6-40 IRC conformity); S.C. Code § 6-1-310 (no new local tax after December 31, 1996 without General Assembly authorization)
SC sales and use tax (state base) South Carolina statewide sales and use tax rate is 6%; counties may impose an additional 1% local sales tax when approved. Current SCDOR sales/use guidance and index (as accessed April 19, 2026). Rate missing South Carolina sales tax; South Carolina sales and use tax index
SC property tax policy (local administration) South Carolina property tax is administered and collected by local governments with assistance from SCDOR. Current SCDOR property-tax guidance (as accessed April 19, 2026). Needs review South Carolina property tax

Retirement income taxes in South Carolina

Tax year 2026. Verified 2026-10-11.

Retirement income

Social Security
Not taxed: exempt from the state income tax.
Sources (4)
Government pensions and plans, in-state and federal
Partly taxed: The first $3,000 a year is deductible, $10,000 from the year you turn 65; the rest is taxed. One deduction covers all of a person's pension, plan and IRA income together.
Sources (13)
Government pensions and plans from other states
Partly taxed: The first $3,000 a year is deductible, $10,000 from the year you turn 65; the rest is taxed. One deduction covers all of a person's pension, plan and IRA income together.
Sources (11)
Military retired pay
Not taxed: exempt from the state income tax.
Sources (9)
Private pensions
Partly taxed: The first $3,000 a year is deductible, $10,000 from the year you turn 65; the rest is taxed. One deduction covers all of a person's pension, plan and IRA income together.
Sources (13)
Private employer plan withdrawals (401(k) and similar)
Partly taxed: The first $3,000 a year is deductible, $10,000 from the year you turn 65; the rest is taxed. One deduction covers all of a person's pension, plan and IRA income together.
Sources (23)
IRA withdrawals
Partly taxed: The first $3,000 a year is deductible, $10,000 from the year you turn 65; the rest is taxed. One deduction covers all of a person's pension, plan and IRA income together.
Sources (11)
Dividends and interest
Taxed.
Sources (11)
Capital gains
Partly taxed: 44% of net long-term capital gains is deductible and the rest is taxed; short-term gains are taxed in full.
Sources (8)
A deduction for all income, by age or low income
Yes: From the year they turn 65, residents can deduct up to $15,000 of any income ($30,000 for a married couple filing jointly when both are 65), less their retirement deduction. From 2026 everyone also gets a deduction of up to $15,000 ($22,500 head of household, $30,000 married filing jointly) that shrinks once federal adjusted gross income passes $40,000 and is gone at $95,000 ($60,000 to $142,500 head of household; $80,000 to $190,000 married filing jointly).
Sources (19)
Other state taxes on this income
None.
Sources (14)
Local income taxes
None.

This rests on a search, not on a ban. We found no local tax on personal retirement or investment income, employee wages or payroll for tax year 2026 in the listed sources; the supplied FY2022 Census count shows none of 650 local governments reporting individual income tax. Counties and municipalities may levy business-license taxes measured by business gross receipts or gross revenue: section 6-1-400(E)(1)(a) defines that measure, and section 6-1-315(A) requires an ordinance adopted by a positive majority vote. Those grants do not establish a tax on an employee's wages or personal retirement receipts. Section 6-1-310 bars a county, municipality or special purpose district from a tax it had not enacted by December 31, 1996 unless specifically authorized by the General Assembly; it preserves existing taxes and express legislative grants, and is not a ban on every local income tax.

Sources (12)

Estate and inheritance taxes

Estate tax
Conditional: nothing is collected today. The law still imposes a tax on the transfer of a resident's taxable estate, measured by the federal credit for state death taxes, which federal law has not allowed for a death after December 31, 2004, so the Department of Revenue says South Carolina has no estate tax for a death on or after January 1, 2005. The law reads the federal tax code as amended through December 31, 2024, so the tax would revive only if Congress restored the credit and South Carolina then adopted that change.
Sources (11)
Inheritance tax
No.
Sources (4)

Compare retirement income taxes in every state

Demographics

Census Bureau ACS 5-year estimates (2023)

5,212,774 Population
$66,818 Median Household Income
$236,700 Median Home Value
40.1 Median Age
14.2% Poverty Rate
5.0% Unemployment Rate
71.4% Homeownership Rate
31.5% Bachelor's+ Rate
Population
5,212,774 (2023)
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2010 2023
Median Household Income
$66,818 (2023)
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2010 2023
Per Capita Income
$37,993 (2023)
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2010 2023
Median Home Value
$236,700 (2023)
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2010 2023
Median Gross Rent
$1,126 (2023)
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2010 2023
Median Age
40.1 (2023)
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2010 2023
Gini Index
0 = perfect equality · 1 = perfect inequality
0.5 (2023)
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2010 2023

Local Governments

Cities (69)
Counties (46)
Towns (202)
Census-Designated Places (204)

Largest by Population

Greenville County County 537,575
Richland County County 418,725
Charleston County County 414,711
Horry County County 368,937
Spartanburg County County 338,096

Explore Governments

Data: NYS Comptroller · CA State Controller · US Census Bureau benchmarkusa.org