The Break On Your Tax Bill
S.C. Code 12-37-250 — the first fifty thousand dollars of the home's value, at sixty-five, totally disabled or legally blind
The first $50,000 of value. The first $50,000 of the fair market value of a person's dwelling place is exempt from county, municipal, school and special assessment real estate taxes, where the person holds complete fee simple title or a life estate in it.
- A resident of the state for at least one year who reached sixty-five years of age on or before December thirty-first of the year before.
- A person classified as totally and permanently disabled by a state or federal agency, or evaluated as such by Vocational Rehabilitation.
- A person who is legally blind.
Those are the people who qualify. A home owned jointly by a married couple qualifies when either one does. The dwelling place is the applicant's permanent home and legal residence, and a mobile home the person owns on rented land can qualify too.
Before July sixteenth. The exemption is granted for a tax year only on a written application made before July sixteenth of that year, to the county auditor and the municipality, in person, by mail with documentation, or online where the auditor can check the records. A late application counts toward the next year, though one made before the first penalty date still reduces that year's taxes. Not applying waives the exemption for the year.
Once granted, the exemption continues, and the auditor is told of changes that affect eligibility. A particular home is a question for the county auditor.
Sources for this section (2)
- S.C. Code 12-37-250 — Homestead exemption for taxpayers sixty-five and over, disabled or legally blind
- S.C. Code 12-37-245 — Homestead exemption allowance increased
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed South Carolina attorney.