Florence County Property Tax: Exemptions, Payments, and Appeals

Florence County property tax is calculated by multiplying your property’s fair market value by an assessment ratio (4% for an owner-occupied home, 6% for most other real estate), then multiplying that assessed value by the total millage rate for your tax district. Real property bills are due by January 15, or 30 days after the tax notice is mailed, whichever is later.¹ The rest of this article walks through how the number on your bill is built, what can reduce it, how to pay, and what to do if you think the valuation is wrong.

How Your Tax Bill Is Calculated

The Florence County Tax Assessor appraises real property at current market value using recent sales, property characteristics, and local market conditions.² The most recent countywide reassessment was in 2024. Between reassessment years your value generally stays the same unless you improve the property or sell it.

You are not taxed on that full market value. South Carolina law applies an assessment ratio based on how the property is used:³

Owner-occupied legal residence and up to five contiguous acres: 4%
Second homes, rental property, vacant land, commercial real estate: 6%
Qualifying agricultural land: 4% of use value for individuals and partnerships, 6% of use value for most corporate owners⁴
Personal motor vehicles: 6% (business-registered and heavier trucks: 10.5%)⁴

If the Assessor finds that a property does not qualify for the 4% owner-occupied rate, the 6% rate applies automatically.³

The assessed value is then multiplied by the total millage for your tax district. A mill is one-tenth of a cent, so one mill produces $1 of tax per $1,000 of assessed value. Your total rate stacks several levies together: county operations (about 102.3 mills for 2025), the school district you fall within, and any applicable fire or watershed districts. School millage is the largest piece and varies by district. For 2025, Florence School District 1 operations ran about 213.7 mills, and Florence District 5 operations ran closer to 283 mills.⁵

Here is the math on a $200,000 home. As an owner-occupied residence it has an assessed value of $8,000 (4% of $200,000). At a combined 320 mills, the annual tax is $2,560 before exemptions. The same house used as a rental is assessed at $12,000 (6%), producing a $3,840 bill in the same district.

Exemptions That Can Lower Your Bill

Homestead Exemption

The Homestead Exemption removes the first $50,000 of fair market value from taxation on your legal residence, which at the 4% ratio takes $2,000 of assessed value off your bill.⁶ You qualify if you meet any one of these conditions by December 31 of the tax year:

Age 65 or older
Totally and permanently disabled as classified by a state or federal agency
Legally blind under South Carolina law

You also must have been a South Carolina resident for the full year before the tax year and hold fee simple title or a life estate in the home.⁶ Applications go to the Florence County Auditor’s office.⁷

Disabled Veterans and Military

A veteran with a permanent service-connected disability, or a qualifying surviving spouse, may be exempt from taxes on their dwelling, and up to two personal vehicles may be exempt for eligible disabled veterans.⁸ Active-duty service members whose home of record is outside South Carolina can also claim a personal property tax exemption on vehicles under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. The Auditor’s office asks for current military documentation, such as a Leave and Earnings Statement, when the vehicle is registered in the county.⁷

How to Pay

You can look up your bill through the Florence County online tax inquiry system using your map/block/parcel number, your name, street address, or receipt number.⁹ Three ways to pay:

Online through the Treasurer’s Paystar portal. Card payments carry a convenience fee of 1.7% plus $1, charged by the processor rather than the county.¹⁰
In person at any Treasurer’s office location with cash, check, or card (same 1.7% + $1 fee on cards).¹⁰
By mail to Florence County Treasurer, P.O. Box 100501, Florence, SC 29502-0501. The Treasurer honors postmarks when applying penalties, so mail early enough to get a timely postmark.¹⁰

If your mortgage company pays through escrow, confirm after the January deadline that the payment actually posted. The county holds the property owner responsible for delinquent taxes regardless of who was supposed to pay them.

Deadlines and Late Penalties

Real property taxes are due by January 15, or 30 days after the tax notice is mailed, whichever is later. Penalties then escalate on a fixed state schedule:¹

After January 15: 3% penalty on the unpaid balance
After February 1: an additional 7% (10% total)
After March 16: an additional 5% (15% total)

After March 16 the Treasurer issues a tax execution to the delinquent tax collector, and enforcement begins.¹

What Happens If You Do Not Pay

South Carolina is a tax deed state, so the county can sell the property itself to recover unpaid taxes, not just a lien against it. Around April 1 the delinquent tax collector mails a notice of the unpaid balance. If payment still has not arrived after 30 days, a second notice goes out by certified mail and the county takes legal possession for collection purposes. The property is advertised in a local newspaper for three consecutive weeks before the public sale.¹¹

After the sale you have 12 months to redeem the property by paying the full delinquent amount plus interest, which climbs each quarter:¹²

Months 1–3: 3% of the bid amount
Months 4–6: 6%
Months 7–9: 9%
Months 10–12: 12%

If you do not redeem within 12 months, the purchaser receives a tax deed. These are quitclaim deeds and do not guarantee clear title, but they do transfer ownership. Any action to recover the property has to be filed within two years of the sale date.¹³ Personal property sold at a delinquent tax sale has no redemption period.

Appealing a Valuation You Think Is Too High

In a reassessment year, you have 90 days from the date the Assessor mails your notice to file a written objection. You can challenge the fair market value, special use value, assessment ratio, or the overall tax assessment. In non-reassessment years you can appeal at any time, but timing controls which tax year the appeal affects: filed before the first penalty date, it applies to the current year; filed on or after the penalty date, it applies to the following year.¹⁴

Florence County requires every appeal to include your opinion of the property’s value. Commercial appeals must also include income and expense statements. An agent filing on your behalf must be a licensed appraiser, accountant, attorney, a full-time employee of the owner, or an immediate family member.²

The strongest appeals use recent sales of genuinely comparable properties nearby, with an explanation of why they are comparable and how differences in size, condition, or location affect the comparison. Photographs of deferred maintenance, written contractor repair estimates, and an independent appraisal can all strengthen your case. If the Assessor denies your appeal, you can continue through South Carolina’s administrative hearing process.

A Note on Vehicle Taxes

Vehicle property tax runs on a different cycle than real estate tax. The South Carolina Department of Revenue sets fair market values for vehicles, the Auditor applies the 6% personal-vehicle ratio, and the bill is tied to your license plate renewal date rather than January 15. You typically pay 12 months in advance, and unpaid vehicle tax will block your registration renewal. Cars, light trucks, motorcycles, watercraft, campers, and aircraft all fall under personal property taxation in the county.⁷

1
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 12-45-180 – Penalties on Delinquent Taxes
2
Florence County. Florence County Tax Assessor
3
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 12-43-220 – Classifications Shall Be Equal and Uniform
4
South Carolina Department of Revenue. Local Government Services
5
South Carolina Association of Counties. 2025 South Carolina Property Tax Rates by County
6
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 12-37-250 – Homestead Exemption for Taxpayers Sixty-Five and Over or Those Totally and Permanently Disabled or Legally Blind
7
Florence County. Florence County Auditor
8
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 12-37-220 – General Exemptions From Taxes
9
Florence County. Florence County Taxes Inquiry
10
Florence County. Florence County Treasurer’s Office
11
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 12-51-40 – Alternate Procedure for Collection of Property Taxes
12
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 12-51-90 – Redemption Period and Interest
13
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 12-51-160 – Action for Recovery of Land Sold
14
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 12-60-2510 – Property Tax Assessment Appeals