South Carolina Sales Tax: 6% State Rate Plus Local Taxes

South Carolina collects one statewide sales tax and lets voters in each county approve local option taxes on top, so the rate you pay depends on where you shop.

This guide explains the 6% state rate, how local taxes add to it, what is exempt (groceries from the state tax only, prescriptions), use tax on online purchases, hotel and short-term rental taxes and the August tax holiday, using SCDOR pages and the South Carolina Code of Laws read on 2 November 2026.

The State Rate and Local Add-Ons

The South Carolina Department of Revenue (SCDOR) states: "The statewide Sales Tax rate is 6%." The Code of Laws builds that figure from a five percent sales tax on retail sales of tangible personal property (Section 12-36-910) plus an additional one percent that has applied since June 1, 2007 (Section 12-36-1110). SCDOR says that, generally, all retail sales are subject to the sales tax.

Local taxes sit on top. SCDOR says counties and municipalities can impose additional local sales taxes if voters in that county approve them, and names these types: Capital Projects, Catawba Tribal Tax, County Green Space, Education Capital Improvement, Local Option Sales & Use, School District, Tourism Development, and Transportation. Which ones apply depends on the county and, for some, the municipality, so the combined rate differs across the state.

SCDOR publishes a county rate table (form ST-500), a municipality table (ST-575) and points to a district-information search map run by the SC Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office for looking up the rate at an address. We do not reproduce the tables here because they change; use SCDOR's current ones.

Combined County Rates in SCDOR's Table

SCDOR's rate table (column "5/1/26 & after") lists combined rates (state plus local) per county. Counting the 47 rows in that column ourselves, the spread is:

The table has one row per county plus a separate row for Myrtle Beach in Horry County. Individual cities can differ from their county, so check the municipality table or the lookup map for your address. SCDOR's recent-change notes list: Lexington County extended its School District Tax from March 1, 2026 (rate remains 7%); Aiken County reimposed its Capital Projects Tax from May 1, 2026 (rate remains 8%); Williamsburg County added a new Capital Projects local tax from May 1, 2026 (new rate 8%). Rates can change when local taxes start, end or are extended, so recheck before relying on a figure.

Groceries, Prescriptions and Other Exemptions

The statutory exemption for food reads: "(75) unprepared food that lawfully may be purchased with United States Department of Agriculture food coupons", and it "applies only to the state sales and use tax". The extra one percent also does not apply to that food. In practice this means unprepared groceries carry no state tax but are still subject to whatever local sales taxes apply where you buy them. The Code history shows 2026 Act No. 217 amended this item in 2026 (it added wording about USDA demonstration projects); we did not find in the sources we read a change to the basic rule that groceries are exempt from the state tax only.

The exemption is written around unprepared food. Meals and other food that is not unprepared food are not covered by this item, so check SCDOR's Sales and Use Tax Manual before assuming a restaurant meal or a prepared item is exempt.

The Code also exempts medicine and prosthetic devices sold by prescription (Section 12-36-2120(28)). The statute has many other exemptions with conditions; we list only the ones we read, so confirm any others with SCDOR.

Our Worked Example: $200 of General Goods vs $200 of Unprepared Groceries

This is our arithmetic, not an official calculation. It assumes the county's whole combined rate from the SCDOR table applies to general goods, and that for exempt unprepared groceries only the local part (combined rate minus the 6% state rate) applies. Some local taxes may be structured differently, so use the exact rate for your address.

Online Purchases and Use Tax

SCDOR explains that use tax applies when South Carolina sales tax has not been paid on an out-of-state purchase: tangible goods bought at retail to be used, stored or consumed in South Carolina are subject to a statewide 6% use tax plus any applicable local taxes. The purchaser pays it, and SCDOR's examples include catalog purchases, goods bought online and furniture. The statute allows a credit for sales or use tax due and paid to another state on the same property (Section 12-36-1310(C)); read the full subsection for its limits.

Businesses that regularly make untaxed out-of-state purchases are told to report use tax on their sales and use tax return; individuals have a separate use tax worksheet and payment return (UT-3/UT-3W) on SCDOR's use tax page.

Hotels, Short-Term Rentals and Accommodations

SCDOR says the accommodations tax applies to sleeping accommodations of any kind rented to guests for less than 90 consecutive days, including rooms in your own home, hotels, condos and campgrounds. State law imposes a seven percent sales tax on the rental (Section 12-36-920(A)); SCDOR describes it as a 5% sales tax plus a 2% accommodations tax, plus any local sales and use tax it collects for counties. Local governments can also charge up to an additional 3% accommodations tax, and many counties and municipalities impose local accommodations taxes that SCDOR does not administer, so check with the local office where the property is.

SCDOR lists exemptions including rentals to the same person for 90 continuous days and a facility with six or fewer bedrooms where the owner lives on the premises and does not use a rental agency or online travel company. If you rent through a property management or online travel company that takes the booking and payment, SCDOR says they are responsible for remitting the tax for the full amount of the booking. Accommodations tax must be filed and paid electronically.

Sales Tax Holiday and Filing for Businesses

South Carolina's back-to-school sales tax holiday is written into the Code, not set year by year: sales from 12:01 a.m. on the first Friday in August to midnight the following Sunday of clothing, accessories, footwear, school supplies, computers and software, and certain bath and bed linens are exempt, and the exemption excludes jewelry, cosmetics, eyewear, wallets and watches, furniture, layaway sales, clothing rental and items bought for a trade or business. Before July 10 each year SCDOR must publish the list of qualifying items. The statute text we read speaks of the sales tax generally; confirm with SCDOR how local taxes are handled that weekend.

For sellers: SCDOR says anyone making retail sales (including online sales) must hold a retail license, and sales and use taxpayers whose South Carolina tax liability is $15,000 or more per filing period must file and pay electronically. Quarterly or annual filing requires SCDOR approval; the monthly and other due dates are on SCDOR's sales tax page.

Vehicles are handled differently: see our guide to the South Carolina vehicle infrastructure maintenance fee. The Code's maximum sales tax on certain items, raised from $300 to $500, applies only to items not subject to that fee.

Official Sources

• SCDOR: Sales & Use Tax Index, Sales Tax, Use Tax, Accommodations
• South Carolina Code of Laws: Title 12, Chapter 36 (South Carolina Sales and Use Tax Act)