Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: South Carolina’s corporate License Fee, at least $25 a year and rising with capital stock, applies to an S-corp because it is legally a corporation. A plain LLC not taxed as a corporation is explicitly exempt from it.
Does this state require its own election
No separate South Carolina filing exists to obtain S-corp status; the federal election controls. South Carolina automatically follows the federal S election; a termination of the federal election automatically terminates South Carolina S status too.
“All elections made for federal income tax purposes in connection with Internal Revenue Code sections adopted by the State automatically apply for South Carolina income tax purposes unless otherwise provided … a termination or revocation of an ‘S’ election for federal purposes automatically terminates or revokes the election for South Carolina income tax purposes.”
South Carolina Department of Revenue, Revenue Ruling 09-4
What it costs at the entity level
South Carolina imposes an annual corporate License Fee on S-corps because they are legally corporations; an LLC not taxed as a corporation is explicitly named as exempt from the fee.
| What South Carolina charges | Figure |
|---|---|
| Rate | 0.1% of capital stock and paid-in surplus, plus $15 |
| Minimum | $25 minimum annual License Fee, plus a one-time $25 initial fee |
“The License Fee rate is 0.1% of the corporation’s capital stock and paid-in surplus plus $15. The minimum License Fee is $25 … A Limited Liability Company (LLC) not taxed as a corporation [is exempt from the annual report/license fee requirement].”
South Carolina Department of Revenue, Corporate License Fee
The comparison against a plain LLC
Income still passes through to shareholders either way, but the License Fee, at least $25 and scaling with capital, is owed purely because of corporate form, and an LLC is named exempt from it by South Carolina’s own rule.
What this does not model
No federal tax modelling is repeated here; see the federal S-corp election calculator for the payroll-tax and QBI mechanics this page assumes but does not recompute. No personal South Carolina income tax on the pass-through income itself is modelled either.
Sources
Every figure on this page is read from the text quoted above, fetched directly from the state’s own site or code, as read on September 4, 2026.
| What it establishes | Source |
|---|---|
| Whether South Carolina requires its own S-corp election | South Carolina Department of Revenue, Revenue Ruling 09-4 |
| What South Carolina charges an S-corp at the entity level | South Carolina Department of Revenue, Corporate License Fee |
General consumer information, not financial, tax or legal advice. State rules are as published by the cited source on September 4, 2026 and change; your own facts govern, and an S-corporation election is a decision to take with a tax professional who has seen your books.