New Jersey to South Carolina Retirement Taxes (2026): Every Tax That Changes

Updated July 25, 2026. Quick answer (2026): Moving from New Jersey to South Carolina in retirement, the top rate on withdrawals falls from 10.75% to 5.21%, and you leave a New Jersey death tax behind. Four separate taxes change when you move — state income tax on withdrawals, state estate tax, state inheritance tax, and what probate costs your heirs. Most comparisons only price the first one.

New Jersey vs South Carolina: every tax that changes

Every cell is quoted from our statute-cited 51-jurisdiction dataset. Download the full dataset as CSV.

1. What changes on your annual tax bill

Both states tax retirement withdrawals, so this is a rate change rather than an exemption. New Jersey runs graduated, 1.4% to 10.75% top rate against South Carolina at restructured for TY2026 by H.4216 (signed March 30, 2026): 1.99% on income under $30,000; — a top-rate difference of roughly 5.54 percentage points. On $100,000 of withdrawals that is on the order of $5,540 a year at the top of the schedule, before any exclusion either state allows.

New Jersey: Taxable, but age 62+ (or disabled) pension/retirement income exclusion: full exclusion up to $100,000 MFJ / $75,000 single / $50,000 MFS when total NJ income is $100,000 or less; South Carolina: Retirement income deduction (S.C.

2. What changes at death: state estate tax

Neither state levies an estate tax. New Jersey: none – NJ Division of Taxation: ‘New Jersey Estate Tax is no longer imposed for individuals who died on or after January 1, 2018’ South Carolina: none Only the federal estate tax applies.

3. What changes at death: state inheritance tax

An inheritance tax is charged to the person who receives the money, by relationship — not to the estate. New Jersey: yes – Class A (spouse/civil union/domestic partner, parents, grandparents, children/grandchildren, stepchildren, mutually acknowledged children): exempt; Class C (siblings, spouse/surviving spouse or civil union partner of a child): first $25,000 exempt, then 11% up to $1.1M, 13% next $300K, 14% next $300K, 16% over $1.7M; Class D (everyone else): 15% on first $700,000, 16% above; Class E (charities, religious/educational/medical institutions, NJ government): exempt; transfers under $500 exempt South Carolina levies none. Nieces, nephews, siblings and unmarried partners are the heirs most affected.

4. The one nobody prices: what probate costs your heirs

New Jersey uses a hybrid fee model (Executor/administrator corpus commissions are statutory (N.J.S.A. 3B:18-14): 5% of first $200,000 of corpus; 3.5% on excess over $200,000 up to $1,000,000; 2% over $1,000,000; plus 6% income commission (N.J.S.A. 3B:18-13). Attorney fees are not on a percentage schedule (reasonable, court-reviewable).); South Carolina uses a hybrid model (Personal representative commission is statutory (S.C. Code §62-3-719): not to exceed 5% of appraised personal property plus sale proceeds of real property sold by will/court order; minimum $50; plus up to 5% of estate income. Attorney fees are reasonable. Verified via statute mirrors.). Filing fees — New Jersey: Surrogate’s Court fees are modest: probate of a will approximately $100 for the first two pages plus $5 per additional page, short certificates ~$5 each (N.J.S.A. 22A:2-30); typical all-in $100-$200. Figure from knowledge of fee statute, not re-verified — medium confidence on the fee only. South Carolina: Statutory sliding scale on gross probate estate (S.C. Code §8-21-770(B)): $25 (<$5k); $45 ($5k-$20k); $67.50 ($20k-$60k); $95 ($60k-$100k); $95 + 0.15% of excess over $100k ($100k-$600k); $845 + 0.25% of excess over $600k ($600k+). Verified.

Full detail: probate cost by state and small-estate limits by state.

Does this actually apply to you?

Below $1,000,000 no US state estate tax applies anywhere — Oregon has the lowest threshold in the country and that is where it starts. So for most estates the whole “escape the death tax” framing is irrelevant, and the only thing that changes when you move is your annual income tax. Here is exactly where the line falls for this pair: New Jersey also levies an inheritance tax, charged to the heir by relationship regardless of estate size.

Thresholds are the 2026 figures in our verified dataset and apply to the taxable estate. Federal estate tax is separate and far higher. Test your own number with the comparison tool.

Probate cost in each state, specifically

New Jersey uses a hybrid standard — a statutory bound with reasonableness inside it, and its statute does not say whether that route reaches real property. South Carolina uses a hybrid standard — a statutory bound with reasonableness inside it, and its small-estate route does not clear a solely owned house. The two states differ on that question, which is exactly the kind of thing a move changes. Full figures with the governing statute, the court filing fee and the small-estate threshold: New Jersey probate cost and South Carolina probate cost.

Four taxes, two states, one order of operations

Everything above changes together: what New Jersey stops taking on withdrawals, what South Carolina does not take at death, and what probate costs in each. The order you do things in — when you establish domicile, when you convert, when you retitle property — changes the total, and some of it cannot be undone afterwards. If a move is genuinely on the table, here is what to look for in an advisor who knows both New Jersey and South Carolina. If you would rather price it yourself first, the two-state comparison tool is free and asks for no email.

Will New Jersey still tax me after I move to South Carolina?

Not on your retirement withdrawals, once you genuinely change domicile — but that is a harder test than a change of address, and what you leave behind stays in reach.

• Domicile is a test, not a mailing address. A departing state can and does audit residency. Days present, voter registration, driver’s licence, where your doctors and advisers are, and where you keep what you value all count.
• Real property left behind stays taxable. Keeping a home in New Jersey can keep part of the estate within reach of New Jersey rules even after you become a South Carolina resident.
• A Roth conversion is taxed where you live in the year you convert. Sequencing a conversion after establishing the new domicile is often worth more than the annual saving — see how all 51 jurisdictions tax Roth conversions.

If you keep a home in New Jersey, what happens at death?

Changing domicile moves you. It does not move the house. New Jersey levies an inheritance tax, and it reaches a nonresident decedent’s real property situated there — so a home kept behind after the move stays within New Jersey’s reach even once South Carolina is your legal home for every other purpose. Nonresidents are taxed on real property and tangible personal property located in New Jersey. Intangible personal property of a nonresident is not taxable wherever located.

Class A beneficiaries – spouse, civil union or domestic partner, parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren – are fully exempt. A nonresident return is required where the decedent died owning an interest in New Jersey real estate, though property held as tenants by the entirety passing to a surviving spouse or partner requires no tax and no filing. The practical consequence is the part most summaries skip: who inherits decides it: direct-line heirs are exempt, but siblings, nieces, nephews and friends are not. Authority: N.J. Division of Taxation, Form IT-NR.

This is the exposure that survives a move, and it is the one worth pricing before the move rather than after. The house also stays within that state’s probate jurisdiction, so the estate faces a separate ancillary proceeding there on top of the probate where you live — the ancillary probate calculator prices that second proceeding. Confirm the current figures with the state revenue department or a licensed professional before acting — thresholds move, and the arithmetic depends on the whole estate, not just the house.

Full state detail

Every figure above is summarized. The complete statute-cited breakdown for each state: New Jersey retirement taxes and South Carolina retirement taxes. To compare any other pair, start at the retirement tax relocation hub.

Widen the comparison

This page prices one corridor. To see every destination New Jersey retirees consider and every origin state moving to South Carolina, start there instead. For any pair not covered, the retirement tax comparison tool runs all 51 jurisdictions, and the probate cost calculator works out what settling the estate costs in each.

Talking this through

Relocation timing, Roth conversion sequencing and estate exposure interact, and the order you do them in changes the total. If you want a second opinion, understand what it should cost first — see our advisor cost guide.

Disclosure: the button above routes to an advertising partner and Clear Money Guide may earn a referral fee. See our Affiliate Disclosure.

Primary sources

• N.J.S.A. 54A:6-2 (Social Security)
• N.J.S.A. 54A:6-10 and 54A:6-15 (pension/other retirement income exclusions)
• N.J.S.A. 54A:6-26 (military pensions)
• NJ Division of Taxation GIT-1&2 / njit7
• N.J.S.A. 54:34-1
• N.J.S.A. 54:34-2
• SCDOR: Information about H. 4216
• S.C. Code § 12-6-1170 (retirement deduction)
• S.C. Code § 12-6-1171 (military retirement)
• N.J.S.A. 3B:18-14
• N.J.S.A. 3B:18-13
• N.J.S.A. 3B:10-3
• N.J.S.A. 3B:10-4
• N.J.S.A. 22A:2-30
• S.C. Code §62-3-719
• S.C. Code §62-3-1201
• S.C. Code §8-21-770

Methodology: every figure is quoted from Clear Money Guide’s statute-cited 51-jurisdiction datasets, compiled from state statutes, session laws and revenue-department publications and adversarially verified in July 2026. Nothing here is personalized tax or legal advice. Confirm your own facts with a qualified adviser before you move.