Income Tax
South Carolina’s income tax tops out at 6.2% and is being gradually reduced, with generous retirement income exclusions.
Individual income tax collections
1990–2025Census State Government Tax Collections (FRED SCINCTAX).
Property Tax
South Carolina's effective property tax rate of about 0.5% is among the lowest in the nation.
State-level property tax collections
1990–2025Census State Government Tax Collections; excludes local property taxes (FRED SCPROPTAX).
| Indicator | South Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|
| Effective Property Tax Rate | 0.5 | 0.9 |
- •South Carolina's constitutional cap limits owner-occupied homes to a 4% assessment ratio, well below the 6% ratio applied to other property.
Sales Tax
South Carolina's state sales tax rate is 6.0%, with an average combined state-local rate of about 7.46%.
General sales tax collections
1990–2025Census State Government Tax Collections (FRED SCSALESTAX).
| Indicator | South Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|
| Average Combined Sales Tax Rate | 7.46 | 7.04 |
- •South Carolina exempts unprepared groceries from its state sales tax, a policy shared by roughly half of U.S. states.
Tax Burden
South Carolina's overall state and local tax burden is about 6.4% of income, among the lowest in the country.
State tax collections per resident
1990–2025Census tax collections (SCTOTLTAX) divided by Census resident population (SCPOP).
| Indicator | South Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|
| Total Tax Burden (% of income) | 6.4 | 9.9 |
- •South Carolina has ranked among the ten lowest states for overall tax burden in multiple recent Tax Foundation reports.
Tax Revenue
South Carolina's general fund collected roughly $11.9 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2024.
State tax collections
1990–2025Census Annual Survey of State Government Tax Collections, fiscal years (FRED SCTOTLTAX).
- •South Carolina's General Assembly has used recent revenue surpluses to fund phased reductions in the state's top income tax rate.