Property Taxes

In South Carolina, only local government levies property taxes. There is no state tax on real or personal property. A company’s property tax liability is a function of: Property Value (less depreciation) x Assessment Ratio x Millage.

Example: Property tax due assuming $1,000 property value with the depreciation removed and millage of 300.  

$1,000 x 10.5% x .300 = $31.50

 Property Tax Exemptions

• All inventories (raw materials, work-in-progress, and finished goods)
• All intangible property
• All pollution control equipment

Five-Year Property Tax Abatement

Manufacturers investing at least $50,000 or more in land, building, or equipment are entitled to a five-year property tax abatement from county operating taxes. This abatement usually represents a savings of 15% to 25% depending on the location. The abatement does not include the school portion of the local millage.

Fee-In-Lieu of Property Tax (FILOT)

This discretionary local incentive allows qualifying companies to negotiate a fee instead of paying property taxes. Advantages include:

• Significantly lowering property tax payments by negotiating a lower assessment ratio (from 10.5% to as low as 6%)
• Ability to lower property tax payments 43% on average by negotiating a fee-in-lieu
• Negotiating the applicable millage rate to a 20-year locked rate or a five-year adjustable rate
• Term of the agreement can be 20 years and in some cases 30 years.

Special Source Revenue Credit (SSRC)

The county has the discretion to offer a Special Source Revenue Credit to help offset a project’s infrastructure and/or machinery and equipment costs. This is done in the form of a credit off the tax payment due to the county in designated years.