Fall & winter calendar
Most of what an owner here has to do between now and the end of January runs on a clock set by the state or the county, and none of it arrives with a reminder. These are the dates I put in my clients' calendars, each linked to the page that explains it.
I’m a REALTOR®, not a tax adviser or an attorney. Each date below comes from the statute or agency page listed under Sources, and for anything specific to one parcel the county assessor or treasurer has the final word.
Storm season
Through November 30
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30. Its end is a good moment to look at how the house came through and to read your wind, hail and flood coverage while nothing is heading for the coast.
Property tax
September 30 to January 15
South Carolina makes property taxes due and payable between September 30 and January 15 after they are assessed. A penalty is added to anything unpaid before January 16, or thirty days after the notice was mailed if that is later. If you bought this year, expect the bill to look nothing like the seller's.
Community rules
By January 10
To stay enforceable, rules and amendments an association adopted during the year must be recorded with the county by January 10 of the following year. If your community changed rental, pet or architectural rules this year, the county record is where that change becomes something you can check.
Tax ratio
Before the first penalty date
An owner-occupied legal residence is assessed at four percent of its value instead of six, but only if you or your agent apply before the first penalty date for the first year you claim it. That is January 16 unless the tax notice went out late. Nobody applies it for you.
Second homes and rentals
Before January 31
A second home or rental that changed hands can qualify for an exemption of twenty-five percent of its transfer value, subject to a floor. It does not apply unless the owner or their agent notifies the county assessor before January 31 of the first tax year it is claimed.
Assessment
A sale re-values the property, and the first notice after you buy is often a surprise. You have ninety days from the day the assessor mails it to object in writing. The clock starts at the mailing, not the day you open the envelope.
Exemptions
At 65, South Carolina exempts the first $50,000 of a legal residence's value from property tax, and the same exemption covers total disability and legal blindness at any age. It sits on top of the 4% ratio, and it is the break I see missed most often.
Rentals
Whether you may rent, and on what terms, depends first on which jurisdiction the address sits in and then on the community's recorded documents. If you are buying a place that already has bookings on the calendar, state law decides which of them come with it.
Relocating
I moved here myself in 2022. The questions that come with relocating or holding a home from out of state, from taxes and insurance to renting it when you are away, are answered one at a time in the FAQ.
Selling
Before deciding anything, it helps to know what your home is worth as it stands. Send me the address and the community, plus anything you have changed since you bought it. The market reports page carries the figures the local REALTORS® association publishes, and nothing I have added to them.
Ask me
Tell me the address and what the property is to you, a home you live in, a second home or a rental, and I’ll go through it with you.
Every rule below is set by someone other than me, and each one changes on its own schedule. The date is when I last opened the link and checked that this page still matches it. Before you act on any of it, open the source — and for anything specific to one address or one parcel, confirm it for that address.
Send me the property and I'll go through which of these dates apply to it.
