Updated September 7, 2026. Quick answer: South Carolina’s statute prints a $50,000-per-owner exemption ($100,000 combined for a household with multiple owners, such as a married couple, each capped at their fractional share), but section 15-41-30(B) requires that figure to be adjusted for inflation every even-numbered year. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of South Carolina’s own June 2024 notice sets the figure actually in force, from July 1, 2024, at $76,125 per owner and $152,250 combined, the most recent adjustment independently confirmed by primary source. A surviving spouse can also claim up to the per-owner amount for an interest inherited from a deceased spouse.
The statute’s own printed number is not the current number, and a newer adjustment may already be due. S.C. Code Section 15-41-30(A) still prints $50,000 (individual) / $100,000 (combined household); subsection (B) requires a Southeastern CPI adjustment every even-numbered year starting July 1, 2008. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of South Carolina’s own June 28, 2024 notice sets the figure actually in force from July 1, 2024 at $76,125 (individual) / $152,250 (combined), the most recent figure independently confirmed by primary source. A further adjustment was due July 1, 2026; no official table for that adjustment could be independently verified this session, so this page reports the last confirmed step rather than guess at an unconfirmed later number.
This is protection against an ordinary money judgment creditor under S.C. Code Ann. § 15-41-30(A)(1)(a)-(b), CPI-adjusted under § 15-41-30(B), a different question from a property tax bill or exemption, which this page does not cover.
South Carolina homestead exemption at a glance
| Protected amount | South Carolina’s statute prints a $50,000-per-owner exemption ($100,000 combined for a household with multiple owners, such as a married couple, each capped at their fractional share), but section 15-41-30(B) requires that figure to be adjusted for inflation every even-numbered year. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of South Carolina’s own June 2024 notice sets the figure actually in force, from July 1, 2024, at $76,125 per owner and $152,250 combined, the most recent adjustment independently confirmed by primary source. A surviving spouse can also claim up to the per-owner amount for an interest inherited from a deceased spouse. |
|---|---|
| Filing/declaration | Not required: The statute contains no recording requirement; the exemption is asserted directly on bankruptcy schedules or when responding to an attachment/levy. |
| Married couples / joint owners | For a jointly-owned home (including spouses), each owner’s exemption is capped at their fractional share of the combined household ceiling, effectively doubling the per-owner cap for a two-owner household. A surviving spouse can also claim up to the per-owner amount more for an interest inherited from the deceased spouse. |
How it works in South Carolina
- No filing required. The statute contains no recording requirement; the exemption is asserted directly on bankruptcy schedules or when responding to an attachment/levy.
- Married couples and joint owners: For a jointly-owned home (including spouses), each owner’s exemption is capped at their fractional share of the combined household ceiling, effectively doubling the per-owner cap for a two-owner household. A surviving spouse can also claim up to the per-owner amount more for an interest inherited from the deceased spouse.
Read it yourself
Verbatim from S.C. Code Ann. § 15-41-30(A)(1)(a)-(b), CPI-adjusted under § 15-41-30(B): “The debtor’s aggregate interest, not to exceed fifty thousand dollars in value, in real property or personal property that the debtor or a dependent of the debtor uses as a residence, in a cooperative that owns property that the debtor or a dependent of the debtor uses as a residence, or in a burial plot for the debtor or a dependent of the debtor, except that the aggregate value of multiple homestead exemptions allowable with respect to a single living unit may not exceed one hundred thousand dollars.” Read the full official text before relying on any figure here. A second citation, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of South Carolina’s official CPI-adjustment notice (June 28, 2024), publishing the current escalated homestead figures under Section 15-41-30(B), is available here. Exemption law is fact-specific, and this is a source-backed planning guide, not individualized legal advice.