South Carolina Transfer Tax: Rates, Who Pays, and Exemptions

The South Carolina transfer tax on real estate is the state’s deed recording fee: $1.85 for every $500 of a property’s value, with $1.30 going to the state and $0.55 to the county.¹ On a $300,000 sale, that comes to $1,110. The seller is legally responsible, more than a dozen exemptions exist, and a separate withholding rule kicks in when the seller lives out of state.

How Much You Actually Pay

The rate applies to every $500 of value, “including any fractional part of $500.”¹ That fractional language matters: a $200,250 sale pays on 401 units, not 400. Round up, not down.

“Value” usually means the price paid, but the statute lets you deduct any lien or mortgage that existed before the transfer and stays on the property afterward.² Buy a $200,000 property while assuming the seller’s $50,000 mortgage, and the fee is calculated on $150,000.

A clean example: a $200,000 sale, no assumed liens. Divide by $500 to get 400 units. Multiply by $1.85. The total is $740, of which $520 is the state share and $220 goes to the county.

Who Owes It

The seller (the “grantor” on the deed) is legally on the hook. Multiple sellers share joint and several liability, so the state can collect the full amount from any one of them. The buyer is secondarily liable if the seller doesn’t pay.³

What the purchase contract says between buyer and seller is a different question. Parties often shift or split the cost, and that’s fine as between them. The state still looks to the seller first. The practical wrinkle: the fee has to be paid before the deed can be recorded, so if nobody pays, the buyer ends up holding an unrecorded deed with no constructive notice against later claims.

Exemptions

Not every transfer triggers the fee. The statute lists more than a dozen exemptions, and the filing affidavit requires you to identify the specific subsection you’re claiming.⁴ The ones that come up most often:

Transfers where the property’s value (after deducting assumed liens) is $100 or less.
Transfers between spouses and transfers incident to divorce, where no gain or loss is recognized under IRC Section 1041.
Partitions of co-owned property among the co-owners, provided no one pays anything beyond the exchanged interests.
Transfers into a corporation, partnership, or trust when the person transferring the property receives only stock, a partnership interest, or a beneficiary interest in return. Transfers back out of the entity to an owner are generally not exempt, with limited exceptions for family trusts.
Distributions from a family partnership to a partner, or from a family trust to a beneficiary, when the only “payment” is a reduction in that person’s interest. “Family” is defined broadly and includes spouses, parents, grandparents, siblings, children, stepchildren, grandchildren, and their spouses and descendants.¹
Deeds transferring property to the heir of a decedent’s estate, or from a trust to a trust beneficiary after the settlor’s death, are not treated as deeds subject to the fee at all.

Foreclosure transfers are exempt, whether the property passes by a deed in lieu or a deed issued through foreclosure proceedings.⁵ Transfers to or from federal, state, or local government entities (including school districts) for a public purpose are also exempt.⁶

Deeds to religious, charitable, or educational organizations can qualify, but only when the property would be exempt from property tax under South Carolina law, and the deed itself has to include a statement to that effect.⁶

A common misread: a straight transfer from a parent to an adult child, with no trust or partnership involved, is not automatically exempt. If the property has value above $100 and doesn’t fit one of the listed categories, the fee applies even between close relatives.

Penalties for Getting It Wrong

If the responsible party fails to pay the correct amount, the Department of Revenue can impose a penalty of $50 to $500 per violation. The same range applies to a clerk of court or register of deeds who fails to collect properly. The department can waive or reduce either penalty.⁷

The statute also incorporates the general tax penalty provisions of Chapter 54 of Title 12, which cover fraud and willful evasion.⁷ Understating a property’s value on the affidavit to shave the fee can expose you to those broader consequences.

Filing the Deed and Affidavit

Every deed submitted for recording has to be accompanied by an affidavit disclosing the property’s value and the consideration paid. When claiming an exemption, the affidavit must identify the specific statutory subsection. The Department of Revenue provides the form, and a closing attorney or title company usually completes it.

File the deed and affidavit with the county register of deeds (or clerk of court, depending on the county) where the property sits. Many counties accept electronic recordings; in-person and mail submissions are still available. Payment is due at filing. Once the office processes everything, it assigns a book and page number and stamps the recording information on the original before returning it.

Nonresident Seller Withholding

Buying South Carolina real estate from a seller whose permanent home is outside the state pulls in a separate obligation, and it lands on the buyer. You have to withhold state income tax from the sale proceeds and remit it to the Department of Revenue.

For individual nonresident sellers, the withholding rate is South Carolina’s maximum individual income tax rate, which is 5.21% for the 2026 tax year.⁸ For nonresident corporations, it’s 5%. What that percentage applies to depends on whether the seller provides a gain affidavit:⁹

With a gain affidavit, withhold 5.21% (or 5% for corporations) of the recognized gain only.
Without a gain affidavit, withhold 5.21% (or 5%) of the total amount realized on the sale.
If the required withholding exceeds the net proceeds payable to the seller, withhold the entire net proceeds.

The gap between the two methods can be dramatic. On a $400,000 sale where the seller’s gain is $100,000, a gain affidavit brings withholding down from $20,840 to $5,210. Sellers who skip the affidavit recover the excess by filing a South Carolina return, but the money sits with the state until then.

The buyer must remit by the 15th of the month following the sale.¹⁰ Exceptions include tax-deferred exchanges, principal residence sales excluded under IRC Section 121, and situations where the nonresident seller meets specific criteria such as having filed South Carolina returns and maintaining an ongoing business in the state.⁹

1
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 12 Chapter 24 – Deed Recording Fee
2
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 12-24-30 – Value Defined
3
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 12-24-20 – Liability for Fee
4
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 12-24-40 – Exemptions
5
South Carolina Department of Revenue. SC Revenue Ruling 04-6 – Deed Recording Fee
6
South Carolina Department of Revenue. South Carolina Deed Recording Fee Manual
7
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 12-24-120 – Penalties
8
South Carolina Department of Revenue. Information About H. 4216
9
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 12-8-580 – Withholding by Purchasers of Real Property From Nonresidents
10
South Carolina Department of Revenue. Nonresident Real Estate Withholding