South Carolina has a graduated state individual income tax, with a top rate of 5.21 percent, a flat 5.00 percent corporate income tax rate, a 6.00 percent state sales tax rate, and an average combined state and local sales tax rate of 7.49 percent. South Carolina has a 0.49 percent effective property tax rate on owner-occupied housing value. South Carolina does not have an estate tax or inheritance tax. South Carolina’s gas tax is 28.75 cents per gallon, and its cigarette excise tax is $0.57 per pack of 20 cigarettes.
South Carolina raises tax revenue primarily through property taxes (29.9 percent of total state and local tax revenue), general sales taxes (25.2 percent), and individual income taxes (21.7 percent). South Carolina collects $4,984 in state and local tax collections per capita, carries $6,823 in state and local debt per capita, and has a 67 percent funded ratio of public pension plans. South Carolina’s tax system ranks 29th overall on the 2026 State Tax Competitiveness Index.
Each state’s tax code is a multifaceted system with many moving parts, and South Carolina is no exception. Use the tabs below to compare South Carolina taxes with other states and to see how South Carolina raises tax revenue. You can also browse our tax maps, which are compiled from our annual publication, Facts & Figures 2026: How Does Your State Compare?
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The State Tax Competitiveness Index enables policymakers, taxpayers, and business leaders to gauge how their states’ tax systems compare. While there are many ways to show how much state governments collect in taxes, the Index evaluates how well states structure their tax systems and provides a road map for improvement.
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Facts & Figures serves as a one-stop state tax data resource that compares all 50 states on over 40 measures of tax rates, collections, burdens, and more.
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Retail sales taxes are an essential part of most states’ revenue toolkits, responsible for nearly a quarter of combined state and local tax collections.
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Individual income taxes are a major source of state government revenue, accounting for more than a third of state tax collections. How do income taxes compare in your state?
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Forty-four states levy a corporate income tax, with top rates ranging from a 2 percent flat rate in North Carolina to an 11.5 percent top marginal rate in New Jersey. Four states—Georgia, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania—reduced their corporate income tax rates effective January 1, 2026.
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Property taxes are the primary tool for financing local governments. While no taxpayers in high-tax jurisdictions will be celebrating their yearly payments, property taxes are largely rooted in the benefit principle of taxation: the people paying the property tax bills are most often the ones benefiting from the services.
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Rental cars are some of the most heavily taxed transactions in the US. Rather than levying additional taxes on rental cars by trying to export the tax burden to nonresidents, municipalities should enact principled, neutral transportation tax policy that is unlikely to discourage visitors, tourists, and other economic activity.
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These debates are often framed in terms of fairness. Raise taxes on a few to provide benefits for most, the thinking goes. But in policy, the more important question should focus on mechanics: will this change achieve its stated goal?
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Nearly half of US states regulate and tax recreational markets, and only 10 states still lack a comprehensive medical marijuana program.
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Facts & Figures serves as a one-stop state tax data resource that compares all 50 states on over 40 measures of tax rates, collections, burdens, and more.
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Property taxes are the primary tool for financing local governments. While no taxpayers in high-tax jurisdictions will be celebrating their yearly payments, property taxes are largely rooted in the benefit principle of taxation: the people paying the property tax bills are most often the ones benefiting from the services.
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The vaping industry has grown rapidly in recent decades, becoming a well-established product category and a viable alternative to cigarettes for those trying to quit smoking. US states levy a variety of tax structures on vaping products.
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Notably, the OBBBA makes permanent the individual tax changes first put in place by the TCJA, which avoids a tax hike on an estimated 62 percent of tax filers in 2026.
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Coming into 2026, several states are eyeing new or increased Alternative Tobacco Product (ATP) taxes.
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