Two South Carolina tax rules show up on almost every purchase: the fee for recording the deed, and the assessment ratio that sets the property tax bill a lender builds into the monthly payment. Neither one is set by the lender, and both are easy to get wrong.
| Part | Amount per $500 of value |
|---|---|
| State fee | $1.30 |
| County fee | $0.55 |
| Total | $1.85, which works out to $3.70 per $1,000 |
Value means the consideration paid for the property, and a fractional part of $500 counts as a full $500. On a $300,000 sale the fee is $1,110. The statute makes the fee the liability of the grantor, the seller, with the buyer secondarily liable. Deeds from a master in equity or from a government are the exception: there the buyer owes it.
A home owned and occupied by the owner, with up to five contiguous acres, is taxed on an assessment equal to 4 percent of fair market value.
Other real property, which takes in second homes and rentals, is assessed at 6 percent of fair market value.
The 4 percent ratio is claimed from the county assessor. A buyer who occupies within ninety days of acquiring ownership, and otherwise qualifies, gets it back to the date of ownership.
A qualified legal residence also carries the exemption from property taxes levied for school operations, so the gap between an owner-occupied bill and a rental bill on the same house is wider than 4 versus 6 suggests.
Property tax is part of the housing payment a lender qualifies you on, and part of the escrow account it collects every month. A payment estimated from the prior owner's tax bill can be off in either direction if that owner was taxed at a different ratio than you will be. Ask which ratio a quoted payment assumes. The choices you have over the closing itself are on South Carolina borrower protections.
Source: S.C. Code 12-24-10, 12-24-20, 12-24-30, 12-24-90; 12-43-220(c) and (e). General information, not legal or tax advice.
Home Loans Inc is a South Carolina mortgage broker in North Charleston. One application, priced across many wholesale lenders, with a person who answers the phone.