Real Estate Property TaxesWhat You Should Know

A large portion of a county’s general fund comes from property taxes generated through the assessment of real estate, personal property, and motor vehicles. Property owners each pay a share of the cost of County services by paying taxes proportional to the value of their property. Property taxes are based on the assessed value of land, buildings, and personal property.

Your new property will be taxed on your purchase price. South Carolina law requires that all real property be reappraised and adjusted to current fair market value every five years. Each county is made up of numerous tax districts with varying millage rates (rates used to calculate local taxes).

Residential property that is the owner’s primary residence is assessed at 4 percent of its appraised value, provided proper application has been made. All other residential and commercial property is assessed at 6 percent.

Please note when you are searching for South Carolina properties online, you can see a huge difference from one property’s taxes to a similar property on the same street. If there are too many variables involved in calculating the taxes, those stated taxes will not be accurate to what you will pay after your purchase.