Property Tax Exemption

2025-2026 Bill 5016: Property Tax Exemption - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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H. 5016
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Chapman, Neese, Vaughan, Whitmire, Willis, Gibson, T. Moore, Huff, Duncan, Lawson, Ligon, Long, Bowers, Forrest and Gagnon
Companion/Similar bill(s): 4567
Document Path: LC-0501SA26.docx
Introduced in the House on January 27, 2026
Currently residing in the House Committee on
Ways and Means
Summary: Property Tax Exemption
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date

Body

Action Description with journal page number

1/27/2026

House

Introduced and read first time (
House Journal-page 3
)

1/27/2026

House

Referred to Committee on
Ways and Means
(
House Journal-page 3
)

View the latest
legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
01/27/2026

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS
BY AMENDING SECTION
12-37-220
, RELATING TO PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTIONS, SO AS TO
PROVIDE FOR CERTAIN PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS OVER THE AGE OF
SEVENTY.

B
e it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

S
ECTION 1.
S
ection
12-37-220
(B) of the
S.C. Code is amended by adding:

(
54)
(
a) to the extent not
already exempt pursuant to Section
12-37-250
, one hundred percent of the fair
market value of the primary residence of an individual who has reached the age
of eighty-five years on or before December thirty-first, seventy-five percent
of the fair market value of the primary residence of an individual who has
reached the age of eighty years on or before December thirty-first, fifty
percent of the fair market value of the primary residence of an individual who
has reached the age of seventy-five years on or before December thirty-first,
and twenty-five percent of the fair market value of a primary residence of an
individual who has reached the age of seventy years on or before December
thirty-first.

(
b) An individual is eligible for the
exemption provided for in this item if he:

(
i) has paid South Carolina property
taxes on one or more owner-occupied primary residences for a cumulative period
of no less than five years, whether consecutively or nonconsecutively; and

(
ii) has paid South Carolina property
taxes for the required five-year period at the primary residence tax rate
applicable at the time the taxes were assessed, without receiving any age-based
or disability-based property tax exemptions or reductions during that period.

(
c) An individual is not considered to
have satisfied the five-year requirement until five full years of property
taxes have been paid at the primary residence tax rate only for one property
per year. Years in which a reduced, capped, or exempted rate applied do not
count toward satisfaction of the requirement.

(
d) A surviving spouse of an
individual who qualified for the exemption allowed pursuant to this item may
continue to receive the same exemption if the surviving spouse:

(
i) was married to the qualifying
taxpayer at the time of death;

(
ii) occupies the property as his
primary residence; and

(
iii) has not remarried.

(
e) The department shall reimburse each
county treasurer for revenue losses attributable to the exemption provided in this
item in the same manner as provided for in Section
12-37-270
.

(
f) The department may promulgate
regulations and require documentation necessary to verify:

(
i) age eligibility;

(
ii) legal residence qualification;
and

(
iii) cumulative payment of South
Carolina property taxes for the required five-year period.

S
ECTION
2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor and first applies to
property tax years after 2025.

----XX----

This web page was last updated on January 27, 2026 at 10:14 AM