Facts & Figures 2024: How Does Your State Compare?
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.
2 min readHow does South Carolina’s tax code compare? South Carolina has a graduated state individual income tax, with rates ranging from 0.00 percent to 6.40 percent. South Carolina has a 5.0 percent corporate income tax rate. South Carolina also has a 6.00 percent state sales tax rate and an average combined state and local sales tax rate of 7.50 percent. South Carolina has a 0.46 percent effective property tax rate on owner-occupied housing value.
South Carolina does not have an estate tax or inheritance tax. South Carolina has a 28.75 cents per gallon gas tax rate and a $0.57 cigarette excise tax rate. The State of South Carolina collects $4,375 in state and local tax collections per capita. South Carolina has $7,260 in state and local debt per capita and has a 60 percent funded ratio of public pension plans. Overall, South Carolina’s tax system ranks 29th on our 2024 State Business Tax Climate Index.
Each state’s tax code is a multifaceted system with many moving parts, and South Carolina is no exception. The first step towards understanding South Carolina’s tax code is knowing the basics. How does South Carolina collect tax revenue? Click the tabs below to learn more! You can also explore our state tax maps, which are compiled from our annual publication, Facts & Figures 2024: How Does Your State Compare?
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SubscribeFacts & 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.
2 min readIn recognition of the fact that there are better and worse ways to raise revenue, our Index focuses on how state tax revenue is raised, not how much. The rankings, therefore, reflect how well states structure their tax systems.
111 min readTax burdens rose across the country as pandemic-era economic changes caused taxable income, activities, and property values to rise faster than net national product. Tax burdens in 2020, 2021, and 2022 are all higher than in any other year since 1978.
24 min readIndividual 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?
8 min readGraduated corporate rates are inequitable—that is, the size of a corporation bears no necessary relation to the income levels of the owners.
7 min readRetail sales taxes are an essential part of most states’ revenue toolkits, responsible for 32 percent of state tax collections and 13 percent of local tax collections (24 percent of combined collections).
9 min readStates have generally tried to encourage capital investment. Throwback and throwout rules are an unfortunate example of penalizing it.
4 min readOne relatively easy but meaningful step policymakers can take to make future tax seasons less burdensome is to modernize their state’s nonresident income tax filing, withholding, and reciprocity laws.
7 min readFacts & 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.
2 min readSavings and investment are critical activities, both for individuals’ and families’ financial security and for the health of the national economy as a whole. As such, policymakers should consider how they can help mitigate—rather than add to—tax codes’ biases against saving and investment.
5 min readWith state tax revenues receding from all-time highs, there’s been a great deal of handwringing about whether states can afford the tax cuts adopted over the past few years. Given that 27 states reduced the rate of a major tax between 2021 and 2023, is there reason for concern?
4 min readReforming economic nexus thresholds would not only be better for businesses but for states as well. It is more cost-effective for states to focus on—and simplify—compliance for a reasonable number of sellers than to impose rules that have low compliance and are costly to administer.
4 min readDo taxes affect individuals’ decisions regarding where to live and work? Can high taxes cause the outmigration of wealthy individuals?
5 min readDoes your state have a small business exemption for machinery and equipment?
3 min readIndividual 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?
8 min readIn 2021 and 2022 alone, more states enacted laws converting graduated-rate individual income tax structures into single-rate income tax structures than did so in the whole 108-year history of state income taxation up until that point.
10 min read