South Carolina car sales tax and DMV fees

A 5% fee that stops at $500

South Carolina does not apply its sales tax to cars. Instead, section 56-3-627 of the Code charges an infrastructure maintenance fee of 5% of the price when a car is first titled or registered in the state, capped at $500. The trade-in comes off before the 5% is computed, so it only changes the bill on cars under $10,000 net. A private sale is charged on the fair market value with the same cap: an older $6,000 car bought from a neighbor costs $355 to title and register. A newcomer whose car was already registered in another state pays a flat $250, and members of the military on active duty pay nothing.

Plates for two years, and a fee for electric drive

Registration runs for two years: $40 for most owners, $38 at age 64 and $36 at 65 or older. Electric cars pay a $120 road use fee with each biennial registration and hybrids or plug-in hybrids pay $60, because they buy less fuel and so pay less gas tax. The title, or its transfer, costs $15. South Carolina has no safety or emissions inspection for private cars.

The yearly county tax

The largest recurring cost is local. The county auditor values the car, applies the millage of the county, school district and city, and mails a bill before each registration year; paying it is a condition of the renewal under the property tax provisions of the Code. Rates differ widely between counties, so ask your county treasurer. To compare a state that has no yearly tax on the car, see Georgia, or estimate your own bill with the DMV fees calculator.

What sets South Carolina apart

• South Carolina does not charge sales tax on a car: it collects an infrastructure maintenance fee of 5% of the price, capped at $500, when the car is first titled or registered in the state (S.C. Code § 56-3-627).
• The $500 cap is reached at a $10,000 price, so every car above that pays the same fee (S.C. Code § 56-3-627).
• A newcomer who already registered the car in another state pays a flat $250 infrastructure maintenance fee, and active-duty military are exempt (S.C. Code § 56-3-627).
• The value allowed for a trade-in is left out of the gross proceeds on which the 5% is computed (S.C. Code § 12-36-90).
• Registration is biennial: $40 every two years for a private passenger car, $38 at age 64 and $36 at 65 or older (S.C. Code § 56-3-620).
• An all-electric car pays a biennial road use fee of $120 and a hybrid or plug-in hybrid $60, collected when the car is titled or registered (S.C. Code § 56-3-645).
• A certificate of title, or its transfer, costs $15 (S.C. Code § 56-19-420).
• SCDMV cannot issue a registration until the county property tax on the car for that year is paid (S.C. Code §§ 12-37-2610 and 12-37-2640).
• A dealer closing fee of $225 or less is deemed approved by the Department of Consumer Affairs, and the fee must be displayed in the dealership and shown in advertisements (S.C. Code § 37-2-307).

What the South Carolina calculation cannot know

• Every county taxes cars as personal property each year (county, school and city millage on an assessed value set by the county auditor), and the tax must be paid before the registration is issued or renewed; there is no statewide table, so the line has no amount.
• On a private sale the infrastructure maintenance fee is 5% of the fair market value, which may be the price paid or a value from a national used-car guide adopted by SCDMV; the engine uses the price you type.
• Whether a dealer closing fee is part of the gross proceeds that bear the 5% fee was not confirmed in the sections read; the engine leaves it out (it only matters when the fee is below the $500 cap).
• The figures come from the South Carolina Code of Laws; the SCDMV website refused connections during this check.