Updated August 18, 2026. Quick answer (2026): Moving from the District of Columbia to South Carolina in retirement changes four separate taxes, not one. The District taxes retirement withdrawals on a seven-bracket schedule topping out at 10.75% and levies an estate tax; South Carolina taxes them too, at 1.99% on the first $30,000 and 5.21% above it under a law that took effect for 2026, with deductions capped at $15,000 a person from age 65, and levies no tax at death. Most comparisons price the income tax and stop there, which is the smaller half of the answer for anyone with an estate near the District’s threshold.
The District of Columbia vs South Carolina: every tax that changes
| What changes | the District of Columbia (leaving) | South Carolina (arriving) |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax | graduated, 7 brackets from 4% to 10.75%; the top rate bites above $1,000,000 of taxable income (D.C. Code §47-1806.03(a)(11)) | restructured for tax years beginning after 2025 by H.4216 (Ratification 117, Act 110 of 2026, signed 30 March 2026, amending S.C. Code §12-6-510(C)): 1.99% on the first $30,000 of South Carolina taxable income, and above $30,000 5.21% of the amount minus $966. The Act also replaces the federal standard deduction with a South Carolina Income Adjusted Deduction — $15,000 single, $22,500 head of household, $30,000 married filing jointly — phased down above $40,000, $60,000 and $80,000 of federal AGI |
| Social Security | not taxed — Social Security and tier 1 railroad retirement are excluded from District gross income (D.C. Code §47-1803.02(a)(2)(L)) | not taxed — South Carolina gross income is computed without Internal Revenue Code §86 (S.C. Code §12-6-1120(4)) |
| Pension / 401(k) / IRA | fully taxable, no retirement-income exclusion. The old $3,000 exclusion for District and federal pensions at 62+ applies only to tax years beginning before 1 January 2015 (D.C. Code §47-1803.02(a)(2)(N)(i)) | retirement income deduction of $3,000 a year under 65, rising to $10,000 at 65+; and from the year a resident turns 65 a separate deduction of up to $15,000 against any income. The two do not stack: the $15,000 is reduced by whatever is claimed under the retirement deduction, so $15,000 a person is the ceiling — $30,000 on a joint return when both spouses are 65 (S.C. Code §12-6-1170(A), (B)) |
| Estate tax | yes. The 2026 zero-bracket amount is $4,988,400 (Office of Tax and Revenue, Notice of 1 October 2025 tax changes). The statutory ladder tops out at 16%, and because the 2026 zero bracket sits just under $5 million the first taxed dollar lands in the 11.2% band (D.C. Code §47-3702(a-1)) | none for deaths on or after 1 January 2005 (South Carolina Department of Revenue) |
| Inheritance tax | none — an inheritance-tax return is required only for deaths before 1 April 1987 (Office of Tax and Revenue) | none. The Department of Revenue publishes no inheritance tax; what we verified at source is its statement that there is no estate tax for deaths on or after 1 January 2005. (stated as an absence, and the absence of a published tax is what we could confirm.) |
| Probate fee model | a personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation for services, with no percentage schedule (D.C. Code §20-751) | the personal representative’s commission is statutory and capped: not more than 5% of the appraised personal property plus the proceeds of real property sold under the will or a court order, a $50 minimum, plus up to 5% of estate income (S.C. Code §62-3-719). Attorney fees are reasonable |
| Probate filing fee | not published here. The District has a single Superior Court probate division rather than county courts, so the “varies by county” answer that fits 50 states does not apply. (we could not read a current District filing-fee schedule at source this session.) | a statutory sliding scale on the gross probate estate (S.C. Code §8-21-770(B)): $25 below $5,000; $45 to $20,000; $67.50 to $60,000; $95 to $100,000; $95 plus 0.15% of the excess to $600,000; then that amount plus one-quarter of one percent of everything above $600,000 |
| Small-estate limit | $80,000 — small-estate administration, D.C. Code §20-351, as amended by D.C. Law 25-302 effective 21 March 2025 (previously $40,000) | $45,000 — collection of personal property by affidavit, S.C. Code §62-3-1201: the entire probate estate wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, a 30-day wait, and the affidavit must be approved and countersigned by the probate judge of the county of domicile |
1. What changes on your annual tax bill
The District taxes retirement withdrawals as ordinary income: graduated, 7 brackets from 4% to 10.75%; the top rate bites above $1,000,000 of taxable income (D.C. Code §47-1806.03(a)(11)). South Carolina restructured its whole schedule for tax years beginning after 2025, so the comparison is against a two-rate law that is new this year rather than the one most summaries still describe.
fully taxable, no retirement-income exclusion. The old $3,000 exclusion for District and federal pensions at 62+ applies only to tax years beginning before 1 January 2015 (D.C. Code §47-1803.02(a)(2)(N)(i)) In South Carolina, by contrast: retirement income deduction of $3,000 a year under 65, rising to $10,000 at 65+; and from the year a resident turns 65 a separate deduction of up to $15,000 against any income. The two do not stack: the $15,000 is reduced by whatever is claimed under the retirement deduction, so $15,000 a person is the ceiling — $30,000 on a joint return when both spouses are 65 (S.C. Code §12-6-1170(A), (B)).
2. What changes at death: state estate tax
This is usually the larger number. The District levies an estate tax — yes. The 2026 zero-bracket amount is $4,988,400 (Office of Tax and Revenue, Notice of 1 October 2025 tax changes). The statutory ladder tops out at 16%, and because the 2026 zero bracket sits just under $5 million the first taxed dollar lands in the 11.2% band (D.C. Code §47-3702(a-1)) — and South Carolina levies none for deaths on or after 1 January 2005 (South Carolina Department of Revenue). Establishing domicile in South Carolina removes that exposure for everything except assets that remain District property, which is the subject of the last section on this page.
3. What changes at death: state inheritance tax
Neither jurisdiction levies an inheritance tax, so this line does not move. The District: none — an inheritance-tax return is required only for deaths before 1 April 1987 (Office of Tax and Revenue). South Carolina: none. The Department of Revenue publishes no inheritance tax; what we verified at source is its statement that there is no estate tax for deaths on or after 1 January 2005. (stated as an absence, and the absence of a published tax is what we could confirm.).
Price the move against the rest of your money
A state-to-state comparison shows you which taxes change, not what to do about the accounts, the house and the timing sitting behind them, and an adviser can look at those together before a move is set in motion.
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4. The one nobody prices: what probate costs your heirs
The District: a personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation for services, with no percentage schedule (D.C. Code §20-751). South Carolina: the personal representative’s commission is statutory and capped: not more than 5% of the appraised personal property plus the proceeds of real property sold under the will or a court order, a $50 minimum, plus up to 5% of estate income (S.C. Code §62-3-719). Attorney fees are reasonable. On filing fees, the District is not published here. The District has a single Superior Court probate division rather than county courts, so the “varies by county” answer that fits 50 states does not apply. (we could not read a current District filing-fee schedule at source this session.); South Carolina charges a statutory sliding scale on the gross probate estate (S.C. Code §8-21-770(B)): $25 below $5,000; $45 to $20,000; $67.50 to $60,000; $95 to $100,000; $95 plus 0.15% of the excess to $600,000; then that amount plus one-quarter of one percent of everything above $600,000.
The small-estate route matters more than the fee schedule for most families, because clearing it avoids the proceeding altogether. The District: $80,000 — small-estate administration, D.C. Code §20-351, as amended by D.C. Law 25-302 effective 21 March 2025 (previously $40,000). South Carolina: $45,000 — collection of personal property by affidavit, S.C. Code §62-3-1201: the entire probate estate wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, a 30-day wait, and the affidavit must be approved and countersigned by the probate judge of the county of domicile.
Full detail: probate cost by state and small-estate limits by state.
How many people actually make this move
The Census Bureau’s 2024 one-year table does not publish a District-to-South Carolina figure at all — the flow falls below the threshold at which the survey will report an estimate, which is a statement about sample size and not about the move being rare. The IRS, which counts tax returns rather than survey responses, records 248 returns carrying $31,133 thousand of adjusted gross income moving from the District to South Carolina across filing years 2022 and 2023 — the 18th-largest destination on that measure.
Both counts are all ages. No official source publishes state-to-state migration crossed by age, so nothing here is a retiree count and we will not present it as one. Sources: US Census Bureau, ACS 1-year state-to-state migration flows, 2024; IRS Statistics of Income state-to-state outflow file, filing years 2022–2023.
Will the District 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 jurisdiction can and does examine 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 the District can keep part of the estate within reach of District rules even after South Carolina becomes your legal home.
- A Roth conversion is taxed where you live in the year you convert. Sequencing a conversion after the new domicile is established is often worth more than the annual saving — see how all 51 jurisdictions tax Roth conversions.
If you keep a home in the District, what happens at death?
Changing domicile moves you. It does not move the house. a tax is imposed on the transfer of every nonresident’s taxable estate having its taxable situs in the District, computed by multiplying the resident tax by the District-situs fraction of the gross estate (D.C. Code §47-3703(a), (b-1)) The practical consequence is the part most summaries skip: the District applies a straight situs fraction rather than taxing the whole estate, and the house also stays within the District’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.
Full state detail
Every figure above is summarised. The complete statute-cited breakdown for each: District of Columbia retirement taxes and South Carolina retirement taxes. The other District corridors, and what each is worth: leaving the District of Columbia in retirement. To compare any other pair, start at the retirement tax relocation hub.
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, or what to look for in an advisor who knows both jurisdictions.
Cite or share this comparison
Suggested citation: Clear Money Guide, “District of Columbia to South Carolina Retirement Taxes (2026),” statute-cited; clearmoneyguide.com/district-of-columbia-to-south-carolina-retirement-taxes/. Free to cite with attribution. Download the full dataset as CSV.
Primary sources read for this page
- D.C. Code §47-1806.03(a)(11) (seven-bracket rate schedule)
- D.C. Code §47-1803.02(a)(2)(L), (N) (Social Security exclusion; the repealed pension exclusion)
- D.C. Code §47-3702(a-1) and §47-3703 (estate tax; nonresident situs)
- District of Columbia Office of Tax and Revenue, Notice of 1 October 2025 tax changes (2026 zero-bracket amount)
- D.C. Code §20-351 and §20-751 (small estate; personal-representative compensation)
- South Carolina H.4216, Ratification 117, Act 110 of 2026, amending S.C. Code §12-6-510(C) and adding the South Carolina Income Adjusted Deduction at §12-6-1140(15)
- S.C. Code §12-6-1170(A), (B) (retirement income deduction; the age-65 deduction) and §12-6-1120(4) (Social Security)
- S.C. Code §62-3-719, §62-3-1201 and §8-21-770(B) (commission cap; small-estate affidavit; probate fee schedule)
- South Carolina Department of Revenue, Estate Tax page
Methodology: every figure on this page is quoted from the statute, session law or revenue-department publication named beside it, each of which was fetched and read on August 18, 2026. Where we could not read a current figure at source, the cell says so rather than estimating. Nothing here is personalised tax or legal advice. Confirm your own facts with a qualified adviser before you move.