South Carolina Homestead Exemption: $50,000 Off (Temporarily $75,000) for 65+, Disabled and Blind Owners, Plus the 4% Rate

South Carolina gives homeowners two separate breaks, and many people need both. The 4% legal residence rate lowers the taxable value of anyone’s primary home [5]. The homestead exemption takes the first $50,000 of value off the tax bill for owners who are 65 or older, disabled or legally blind [1]. For the 2026 tax year, the state added $25,000 more, temporarily [4].

Step one: the 4% legal residence rate

South Carolina taxes property on an “assessment” that’s a percentage of its fair market value. Your legal residence , plus up to five acres around it, is assessed at 4% [5]. Other homes, like a second house or a rental, are assessed at 6% [5]. On the same house, that’s a third less taxable value.

A legal residence also gets the exemption from school operating taxes for the whole year [5].

To get the 4% rate [5]:

• You must own the home (fully or in part, or through a life estate) and live in it as your domicile.
• Apply to the county assessor before the first penalty date for the first tax year you claim it. Property taxes are due between September 30 and January 15 [6].
• Certify, under penalty of perjury, that neither you nor anyone in your household claims residency in another state or the 4% rate on another home.
• Bring proof the assessor asks for, including your most recent South Carolina income tax return and the SC vehicle registrations at that address.

The 4% rate doesn’t apply if the home is rented out more than 72 days a year [5]. If the assessor finds you ineligible, the 6% rate applies and you can appeal [5].

Step two: the homestead exemption

Who qualifies

The exemption covers the first $50,000 of your home’s fair market value. It applies to county, municipal, school and special assessment property taxes [1]. You qualify if all of these are true [1][3]:

1. You hold fee simple title or a life estate to your home, or you’re the beneficiary of a trust that holds title.
2. By December 31 before the tax year, you’ve lived in South Carolina for a full year as your permanent home.
3. By December 31 before the tax year, you are:
   • at least 65 years old,
   • classified totally and permanently disabled by a state or federal agency, or
   • legally blind, as certified by a licensed ophthalmologist.

There’s no income limit [1]. A married couple who own the home together qualifies if either spouse meets the age, disability or blindness test [1].

If you consider yourself totally and permanently disabled but no agency has classified you, you can apply to the state’s Vocational Rehabilitation agency for an evaluation [1].

The 2026 temporary increase

The state budget for July 2026 through June 2027 includes a temporary proviso. Anyone who qualifies for the homestead exemption gets an additional $25,000, raising the total to $75,000. It applies to the same taxes as the regular exemption [4]. Your county auditor decides whether it applies to your account [2].

Temporary provisos expire on June 30, 2027 unless lawmakers renew them [4]. Don’t count on the extra $25,000 in later years until it’s renewed.

Mobile homes and leased land

If you own a mobile home on land you rent, the mobile home itself can be exempt from personal property tax in the same way [1]. Owners of a house on leased land can also qualify [1].

Deadlines and how to apply

Apply in writing to your county auditor, and to your city if you live inside one, on forms they provide [1]. You can apply [1]:

• in person at the auditor’s office,
• by mail, with a copy of your proof of age, disability or blindness, or
• online, where your county offers it.

Deadline: the application must be made before July 16 of the tax year [1]. If you apply after July 15 but before the first penalty date on that year’s taxes, your taxes for that year are still reduced. Otherwise, the exemption starts the next year [1]. Not applying means you lose the exemption for that year [1].

Documents to bring

The Department of Revenue lists common proof [3]:

• Age: birth certificate or South Carolina driver’s license.
• Disability: documentation from the state or federal agency that certified it.
• Blindness: certification from a licensed ophthalmologist.
• Trust: a copy of the trust agreement.

Surviving spouses

A surviving spouse can keep the exemption if the spouse who died was eligible, and the survivor gets title to the home within nine months, lives there as their legal residence, and stays unmarried [1][3]. If the surviving spouse sells and buys another home in South Carolina, they can apply on the new home [1].

Where to get help

• County auditor: homestead exemption applications.
• County assessor: the 4% legal residence application.
• SC Department of Revenue, Property Division: general questions about both programs [2].