South Carolina Estate & Inheritance Tax

At a glance

Estate tax

South Carolina does not levy its own estate tax. An estate here is subject only to the federal estate tax, which most estates never owe — the federal exclusion is measured in the millions. See the federal lifetime exemption for how that works.

Inheritance tax

South Carolina has no inheritance tax — beneficiaries are not taxed on what they receive by the state. South Carolina imposes no inheritance tax; heirs owe no state-level death tax.

Probate basics

Estates at or below the $45,000 personal-property threshold may be collected by small-estate affidavit under § 62-3-1201; the affidavit must be approved and countersigned by the probate judge (it is not self-executing). The $25,000 ceiling was raised to $45,000 in 2025.

South Carolina is a common-law (separate-property) state for ownership between spouses. A transfer-on-death deed for real estate is Not available S.C. — no real-property TOD deed (§ 62-6-401 covers titled personal property only) · not enacted as of 2026 — see the full South Carolina transfer-on-death deed guide for the requirements, revocation, and alternatives. The probate deadlines for this state — filing the will, the creditor-claim window, the inventory — are cited in the Executor & Heir’s Guide.

State-specific quirks

Where to read next

• the federal lifetime exemption — how the far larger federal exclusion works — and why a state tax can still apply below it
• funding a revocable trust — the most common way to keep property out of probate entirely
• the ILIT cluster — keeping a life-insurance death benefit out of a taxable estate
• the Executor & Heir's Guide — the probate deadlines for this state, cited to the statute
• South Carolina small-estate procedure — the state’s simplified transfer or administration route, eligibility rules, and claimant responsibilities.
• ← Back to the 51-jurisdiction comparison

Sources & methodology