How to Fill Out the SC Homestead Exemption Application Form PT-401-I

South Carolina’s SC Homestead Exemption Application Form PT-401-I is the form you file with your county auditor to remove the first $50,000 of your home’s fair market value from property taxes. You fill out Sections A through E, attach proof of age, disability, or blindness along with your deed information, and submit it to the auditor in the county where the home sits. Once approved, the exemption stays in place year after year without reapplying.¹

Confirm You Qualify Before You Start

By December 31 of the year before the tax year you’re claiming, you must meet one of three personal criteria: you are 65 or older, a state or federal agency has declared you totally and permanently disabled, or a licensed ophthalmologist has certified you as legally blind.¹

You also need to hold fee simple title, a life estate, or be the beneficiary of a trust that holds title to the home, and it must be your primary residence.² You must also have been a legal resident of South Carolina for at least one full calendar year.³

If more than one person owns the home, the exemption still applies as long as at least one owner meets the criteria and lives there. A surviving spouse can continue an existing exemption after acquiring fee simple title or a life estate within nine months of the death, but remarrying ends that surviving-spouse benefit.¹

One other prerequisite catches applicants off guard: the exemption sits on top of the 4% assessment ratio for owner-occupied property, and your county assessor must already have granted that classification. If you haven’t applied for the 4% ratio, contact the assessor’s office before filing PT-401-I.⁴

What to Gather Before You Fill Out the Form

Missing documentation is the most common reason approval slips past a deadline and pushes the benefit to the next tax year. Pull these together first:

Your Social Security number and date of birth. If you’re applying as a surviving spouse, you’ll also need your deceased spouse’s SSN, date of birth, and date of death.⁵
Proof of age when applying based on being 65 or older. A copy of your driver’s license, birth certificate, or passport works when filing by mail.¹
A formal disability award letter from the Social Security Administration, VA, or another state or federal agency showing the date your disability began.
Your recorded deed, with the deed book and page number. Look at your closing documents or contact your county’s register of deeds.
The property’s tax map number, found on a prior property tax bill or through the county’s online GIS mapping tool.⁵
For mobile homes: the bill of sale, DMV title, or a recorded Bond for Title, plus the year, make, and permit number.⁴
For a surviving spouse: a death certificate and proof of continued residency.
A marriage certificate if the property is jointly titled with your spouse.

Filling Out the Form Section by Section

The form is available as a PDF on the South Carolina Department of Revenue website or in paper at your county auditor’s office. It has five sections labeled A through E.⁵

Section A: Exemption Information

Enter the tax year you’re applying for. Check whether the property is real property (a house and land) or personal property (a manufactured home taxed as personal property). Then select the specific exemption category that fits your situation. The form lists age 65 and older, total disability, legal blindness, disabled veterans, and disabled law enforcement or firefighters.

Section B: General Information

This is the longest section, and where your preparation pays off. Fields 4 and 5 collect the owner’s personal details and, if applicable, deceased spouse information. Field 6 asks which exemption you’re claiming. Field 7 covers the property: date acquired, tax map number, number of acres, county, physical address, and deed book and page number. Mobile home applicants add the year, make, and permit number here as well.

Fields 8 through 11 ask about how the property is used. You’ll describe the use of the land and buildings, disclose whether another person or business occupies part of the property, and confirm whether you receive rent or lease any part of it. Renting out a room or sharing space with a business doesn’t automatically disqualify you, but concealing it can result in denial.

Sections C and D: Vehicles

These sections cover vehicle tax exemptions tied to the property. If you’re applying only for the dwelling exemption and don’t need a vehicle exemption, you can leave these blank. Otherwise, list each vehicle by VIN, type, make, year, registered owner, and county of registration.

Section E: Declaration

Sign and date the form. The declaration is signed under penalties of perjury, and the form warns that any misstatement or concealment of fact is grounds for denial of the exemption.⁵

Where and When to File

File the completed PT-401-I, along with your supporting documents, with the county auditor in the county where the property is located. You can apply in person or by mail. If you mail it, include copies of your proof of age, disability, or blindness. The statute specifically requires that documentation for mailed applications.¹

Timing depends on when you first became eligible:

In the year you turn 65, first become disabled, or first become legally blind, you can file a pre-application between July 16 and December 31.
In the following year, file between January 1 and July 15 so the exemption appears on your fall tax bill.
If you apply between July 16 and the first penalty date for that tax year, the exemption may not reduce your initial bill. You could pay the full amount and receive a refund later.⁶

After You File

The county auditor will send you a written notice of approval or denial. Once approved, you do not reapply every year. The exemption stays active unless you move, the property title changes, or your eligibility changes (for example, a surviving spouse remarries). If any of those happen, notify the auditor and reapply at your new address if applicable.⁷

If Your Home Is Held in Trust

When a trust owns the home and you’re the beneficiary living there, the trustee is the one who applies, in person or by mail. A copy of the trust agreement must accompany the application to verify that you are the income beneficiary.⁸

The trustee also carries a reporting duty after approval. If the trustee fails to notify the county auditor within six months of a change in classification, the penalty is 100% of the tax paid plus interest at half a percent per month, treated as an ad valorem tax on the property.⁸

Notes for Disabled Veterans

Totally and permanently disabled veterans use the same PT-401-I but attach a certificate from the VA or a local county veterans service officer confirming total and permanent service-connected disability, along with the effective date. You’ll also need your recorded deed, proof of the 4% assessment ratio, and a marriage certificate if the property is jointly titled.⁵

Veterans who were eligible in prior years but didn’t apply can claim the exemption retroactively for up to two previous tax years, as long as property taxes were paid on time during those years. A veteran applying in 2026, for instance, could claim the exemption back to 2024.⁹

1
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
2
Georgetown County. Homestead Exemption Information and Application
3
Dorchester County, SC website. Homestead Exemption
4
South Carolina Department of Revenue. Exempt Property
5
South Carolina Department of Revenue. SC Homestead Exemption Application Form PT-401-I
6
County of Lexington. South Carolina Homestead Exemption Program
7
County of Lexington. Homestead Exemption Program
8
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 12-37-266 – Homestead Exemption for Dwelling Held in Trust
9
South Carolina Department of Revenue. Veterans – Learn More About SC Property Tax Exemptions