How to get a homestead exemption in Beaufort County, SC

How to get a homestead exemption in Beaufort County, SC

Whether you have just purchased a home in Beaufort County (Hilton Head Island or Bluffton specifically), or whether you are looking at homes/villas/townhomes/condos and trying to do a budget to figure out what the taxes will be, you first need to understand that South Carolina - and Beaufort County in particular - is a little different in their method of tax calculations.

The aspect of homestead exemption is actually called "Special Assessment 4% Legal Residence Application." The form is very clear about the requirements but the gist of it is that no later than JANUARY 15th of the following year in which you purchased your home, IF this will be your permanent residence, you need to file for the 'homestead' status, i.e., Special Assessment 4% Legal Residence Application. 

By that date, in order to prove you qualify for this lower 4% level, you must have changed your driver's license from your previous state, voter registration, SC State Income Tax filing form, and if in the military you must provide a bonfied military I.D. card.

Our property taxes in South Carolina are filed in arrears; that means, the property tax bill for 2017 was sent to you (or the previous owner) in October of 2017 and is due January 1, 2018. 

IF you do not qualify for this assessment, you will be paying at the 6% ratio which is a substantially higher rate. In Beaufort County (as in South Carolina overall), second home owners, non-primary residence owners, pay the school operations budget. The calculation might look as follows:

Property value                                                     $350,000

Second home assessment 6%                          x .06

Assessment                                                           $21,000

Thus, your taxes for a home on Hilton Head Island with a value of $350,000 would be $5131.56. 

IF this is your primary residence and you qualify for the 4% assessment your chart will look like this:

IF you purchase a property that had been a second home/investment property, at the time of closing, the attorney will collect property taxes based on the assessment at that time. The seller will owe the buyer a credit so that when the tax bill comes due, the buyer will have the funds to pay the taxes. If you are financing, the lender will of course require an escrow of taxes so that they may be paid in January of the following year.

Hence, it is imperative that if this will be your primary residence, you file by JANUARY 15 to be sure that the tax rolls will be changed to reflect that 4% ownership.

Hopefully this is more clear than mud......................the link will provide you a way to estimate and illustrate the taxes. There are 7 public service districts within Hilton Head Island but using the "510" as the district will generally give you a good idea. For Bluffton, there are 9, but if you use the district "610" for the Town of Bluffton, it will basically give you a good idea as well.

Want to move here because the taxes are really pretty reasonable for living in pardise............be sure to reach out to me!