What Is the Maximum Vehicle Sales Tax in South Carolina?

The maximum vehicle sales tax in South Carolina is $500. The state doesn’t charge a traditional sales tax on vehicles; it charges a 5% Infrastructure Maintenance Fee (IMF) that caps out at $500 no matter how expensive the vehicle is. A buyer paying $10,000 for a used car owes the full 5% ($500). A buyer paying $60,000 for a new truck also owes $500. Everything above a $10,000 purchase price is effectively untaxed at the point of sale.

How the 5% Fee Is Calculated

South Carolina replaced its vehicle sales tax with the IMF on July 1, 2017. The fee applies to every motor vehicle, motorcycle, trailer, and semitrailer that has to be registered with the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles.¹

The rate is 5%, and how it’s measured depends on who you’re buying from:

Dealership purchase: 5% of the gross proceeds of the sale, capped at $500.
Private-party purchase: 5% of the vehicle’s fair market value, capped at $500.²

That distinction matters on a private sale, because the SCDMV may rely on a national valuation guide rather than just your bill of sale to decide what the vehicle is worth. A low written sale price won’t necessarily lower the fee.

Trade-ins come off the top before the 5% is calculated. If you buy a $30,000 vehicle and trade in one worth $22,000, the IMF applies only to the $8,000 difference, so you pay $400 rather than hitting the $500 cap. The statutory definitions of “gross proceeds of sales” and “fair market value” both exclude the value of any trade-in.¹

Leases work the same way. The statute covers any “owner or lessee” of a vehicle that has to be registered, and the 5% calculation and $500 cap apply identically to leased vehicles.¹

Vehicles Brought in From Out of State

If you move to South Carolina with a vehicle that was first titled or registered somewhere else, you pay a flat $250 IMF to register it here. The percentage calculation doesn’t apply, and the state gives no credit for sales tax you already paid elsewhere.² A $5,000 car and an $80,000 car both cost $250.

Active-duty military members, their spouses, and their dependents are exempt from this $250 fee.²

When the Fee Is Zero

Some transfers don’t trigger the IMF at all. The most common exemption covers transfers between immediate family where no money changes hands. The statute defines “immediate family” as a spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, or grandchild.²

Other exemptions on the private-sale side include:

Vehicles passed to a legal heir or beneficiary of an estate.
Vehicles transferred from an individual to a partnership or corporation when the entity is first formed.
Vehicles transferred to a licensed dealer, financial institution, or secured party for resale, including repossessions.
Vehicles on which South Carolina sales or use tax has already been paid.

Transactions already exempt under the state’s general sales tax exemptions in Code Section 12-36-2120, which cover certain government and qualifying organizational purchases, are also exempt from the IMF.²

What the $500 Cap Doesn’t Cover

The $500 ceiling applies to the IMF itself. A few related costs sit outside it.

If you buy from a dealership, expect a closing fee (sometimes called a documentation fee) for the dealer’s paperwork. Dealers charging more than $225 have to register the fee with the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs. The closing fee is separate from the IMF and is not subject to the $500 cap.

ATVs, UTVs, golf carts, dirt bikes, legend race cars, boats, aircraft, horse trailers, recreational vehicles, and self-propelled light construction equipment aren’t taxed under the IMF. They fall under South Carolina’s “maximum tax” instead. The rate and ceiling are the same, 5% capped at $500, but the legal framework is different, which can matter for exemption eligibility because IMF-specific exemptions don’t automatically carry over.³

One boundary worth knowing before you budget: the $500 cap is a one-time purchase cost, not the whole cost of owning a vehicle here. South Carolina assesses personal property tax on every registered vehicle every year. A vehicle is assessed at 6% of its fair market value, and that assessed value is then multiplied by the county’s millage rate. On a $25,000 vehicle, the assessed value is $1,500, and the resulting annual bill in many counties ends up larger than the one-time $500 IMF. Electric vehicle owners also pay a $120 biennial road use fee, and hybrid owners pay $60. Standard title and registration fees are separate again: $15 for a title, $40 for biennial passenger car registration.⁴

Paying the Fee and the 45-Day Deadline

The SCDMV collects the IMF and won’t issue a title or registration until it’s paid.² A newly purchased vehicle has to be registered within 45 days of the purchase date.⁵

Dealers typically collect the IMF at closing and submit it to the SCDMV along with the title and registration paperwork. For a private sale, you handle it yourself by submitting a completed application for title and registration (Form 400) with proof of purchase, in person at an SCDMV office, by mail, or through the MyDMV portal.

Driving past the 45-day window on an expired temporary plate is a misdemeanor, with a fine of up to $100 on conviction.⁵ Penalties climb sharply for willful avoidance: if the county auditor finds a nonregistered vehicle after you’ve ignored an inquiry, or if you file a false sworn statement, the charge is a misdemeanor carrying fines up to $1,000, up to a year in prison, and double the property taxes that would have been owed plus penalties and interest.

1
South Carolina Department of Revenue. SC Revenue Ruling 18-1 – Motor Vehicles, Motorcycles, Trailers, Semitrailers, Pole Trailers and Other Vehicles
2
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 56-3-627 – Infrastructure Maintenance Fee
3
South Carolina Department of Revenue. Maximum Tax (Max Tax)
4
SCDMV. Fees
5
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws Title 56 Chapter 3