How South Carolina property tax works
South Carolina treats your primary home very differently from everything else:
- Assessment ratio: a legal residence is assessed at 4% of market value; second homes, rentals and other property at 6%.
- School operating tax: since 2006 (Act 388), a legal residence is exempt from school operating millage, the largest single levy, which was replaced with an extra penny of sales tax. School bond millage still applies.
Put together, a second home can pay roughly three times what the same house would pay as a legal residence. You don't get the 4% rate automatically: you must apply to the county assessor (form PT-401-I), usually after you buy.
Millage is tax per $1,000 of assessed value. A $400,000 legal residence is assessed at $16,000, so each mill costs $16. As a second home it's assessed at $24,000, $24 per mill.
2025 millage and what a $400,000 home pays
"Legal residence" totals exclude school operating millage; "Other" totals include it. Tax figures are before local option sales tax credits, flat fees and fire or public service district levies.
| City | County | Legal residence mills | Tax as legal residence | All mills | Tax as second home |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sumter | Sumter | 285.9 | $4,574 | 448.3 | $10,759 |
| Columbia | Richland | 276.6 | $4,426 | 530.9 | $12,742 |
| Florence | Florence | 222.9 | $3,566 | 436.6 | $10,478 |
| Summerville (Dorchester part) | Dorchester | 219.4 | $3,510 | 405.6 | $9,734 |
| Rock Hill | York | 214.9 | $3,438 | 430.0 | $10,320 |
| North Charleston (Charleston Co.) | Charleston | 165.1 | $2,642 | 307.6 | $7,382 |
| Goose Creek | Berkeley | 164.6 | $2,634 | 306.5 | $7,356 |
| Aiken | Aiken | 164.0 | $2,624 | 318.2 | $7,638 |
| Charleston | Charleston | 155.6 | $2,490 | 298.1 | $7,154 |
| Myrtle Beach | Horry | 145.5 | $2,328 | 254.6 | $6,110 |
| Mount Pleasant | Charleston | 117.9 | $1,886 | 260.4 | $6,250 |
| Hilton Head Island | Beaufort | 115.2 | $1,843 | 241.3 | $5,791 |
Columbia has the biggest gap: its school operating levy alone is over 250 mills, so a second home or rental there pays nearly three times what an owner-occupant does. Coastal resort areas (Hilton Head, Mount Pleasant, Myrtle Beach) have the lowest rates on owner-occupied homes.
Several counties also give local option sales tax credits that come straight off the bill. In Columbia, for example, the city and county credits together would take about $1,557 off the $400,000 example; in Charleston, about $656 (plus a $150 solid waste fee is added). Check your county auditor's millage sheet for the credit factors.
For 2026, Charleston County's rates edged up: about 300.8 mills in the City of Charleston for non-owner-occupied property, with the legal residence total unchanged at 155.6.
The homestead exemption and the 15% cap
- Homestead exemption: if you're 65 or older, totally and permanently disabled, or legally blind, the first $50,000 of your home's value is exempt from all property taxes. Apply with the county auditor. A 2026 bill to raise it to $150,000 passed the Senate but hasn't passed the House. See senior exemptions.
- 15% cap: when the county reassesses (every five years), the taxable value of a property can't rise more than 15% from reassessment alone. The cap resets when the property is sold or improved, which is why a buyer can pay much more than the previous owner.
Deadlines and appeals
- Payments: bills are due by January 15. Penalties are 3% after January 15, another 7% after February 1 and another 5% after March 16.
- Appeals: file a written objection with the assessor within 90 days after your assessment notice is mailed. See our appeal guide.
- Moving in? File for the 4% legal residence rate as soon as you can.
Where these numbers come from
Charleston, North Charleston and Mount Pleasant figures are from the Charleston County Auditor's 2025 and 2026 millage cards, and Rock Hill's from York County's 2025 millage rates. The other cities' totals are our sums from the South Carolina Association of Counties' 2025 South Carolina Property Tax Rates by County, compiled from county auditors' data. Rules on assessment ratios, the school operating exemption, the homestead exemption, the 15% cap, due dates, penalties and appeals are from S.C. Code Title 12 (§§ 12-37-220, 12-37-250, 12-37-3140, 12-45-70, 12-45-180, 12-60-2510) and the South Carolina Department of Revenue. The $400,000 examples are our calculations. For ZIP-level data, start from our South Carolina page.