Updated October 5, 2026. Quick answer: No. South Carolina has no estate tax for a person who dies in 2026. The South Carolina Department of Revenue says the state has “no Estate Tax for decedents dying on or after January 1, 2005”. The federal exclusion is $15,000,000 for 2026.
Deeding a home to a family member while you are alive? What South Carolina requires, from its own documents: South Carolina quitclaim deed requirements.
Naming a beneficiary on a brokerage account or a vehicle title is covered here: transfer-on-death registration in South Carolina.
South Carolina estate tax at a glance
| Item | What the documents say |
|---|---|
| State estate tax | None |
| Why | South Carolina’s tax was set at the amount of the federal credit (S.C. Code 12-16-510); the Department says South Carolina has no estate tax for decedents dying on or after January 1, 2005 |
| State inheritance tax | Not addressed in the documents read |
| Federal estate tax basic exclusion amount, 2026 | $15,000,000 |
| Source | South Carolina Department of Revenue; South Carolina Legislature; IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 |
Why South Carolina has no estate tax
Chapter 16 of Title 12 of the South Carolina Code of Laws is the Estate Tax chapter. Section 12-16-510 sets the mechanism: “A tax in the amount of the federal credit is imposed” on the transfer of the taxable estate of every resident. The Department’s Moving to SC guide states the result plainly: “South Carolina does not have an estate tax or a gift tax.”
Does South Carolina have an inheritance tax?
The documents read for this page do not address whether South Carolina levies an inheritance tax, so this page makes no statement about it. CMG’s inheritance tax by state page lists the states that do and links each one.
What applies to a South Carolina estate instead
Federal estate tax is separate. Revenue Procedure 2025-32 says the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, section 70106, increased the “basic exclusion amount to $15,000,000 for calendar year 2026”.
An estate of $3,000,000 in South Carolina owes $0 of state estate tax, and $3,000,000 is below the federal $15,000,000.
Probate: South Carolina probate cost. Retirement accounts: how South Carolina taxes 401(k) and IRA withdrawals.
What the documents do not say
- The statute chapter is still in the Code of Laws. The Department’s pages are the current statement of how the tax applies, and none of them describes a tax in the amount of the federal credit being collected for a death after 2004.
Common mistakes
- Reading the old estate tax chapter in the Code of Laws as a current tax; the Department says there is no estate tax for decedents dying on or after January 1, 2005.
- Assuming the state answer settles the federal one, or the answer for property held in another state.
Related: estate tax by state, inheritance tax by state, and probate cost by state.
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Answer againSources
- Fiduciary (Estate Tax section): https://dor.sc.gov/tax/estate
- South Carolina Code of Laws Title 12 Chapter 16 Estate Tax: https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t12c016.php
- Moving to SC Guide: https://dor.sc.gov/tax-education/guides-flyers/moving-sc-guide
- Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (Internal Revenue Service): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-25-32.pdf
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 5, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and an estate attorney, a tax preparer or the state agency itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.