South Carolina: estate, probate and Medicaid rules in one place

Quick answers

State estate tax

Estate-tax dataset 2026.v2

State estate tax

NoNo dataset row

The pinned estate-tax dataset (2026.v2) has no row for South Carolina, so it cites no state statute; the state page records no state estate or inheritance tax.

· Checked July 20, 2026

Full detail: South Carolina estate and inheritance tax page

Inheritance tax

Estate-tax dataset 2026.v2

Inheritance tax

NoNo dataset row

The pinned estate-tax dataset (2026.v2) has no row for South Carolina, so it cites no state statute; the state page records no state estate or inheritance tax.

· Checked July 20, 2026

Full detail: South Carolina estate and inheritance tax page

Transfer-on-death deed

Transfer-on-death deed for real estate

None — not available for real propertyNot primary-verified

No real-property TOD deed — 2025–26 bill (S 49) pending in committee; verify with the county register of deeds / an attorney

· Checked July 26, 2026

Controlling statute

Not primary-verified

No real-property TOD deed — 2025–26 bill (S 49) pending in committee; verify with the county register of deeds / an attorney

· Checked July 26, 2026

Full detail: South Carolina transfer-on-death deed page

Small-estate procedure

Current rule

$45,000 personal property; 30-day wait; probate-judge approval and countersignatureVerified

Source: S.C. Code Ann. § 62-3-1201 (Act No. 26, 2025) · Effective: eff. May 8, 2025 · Checked August 23, 2026

Full detail: South Carolina small-estate procedure page

Medicaid long-term-care eligibility

Medicaid dataset 2026.v16

Institutional and waiver income limit

$2,982 per monthVerified

• Applies to: individual applicant.

Source: South Carolina Medicaid program eligibility and income limits · Effective: 2026 figures effective January 1, 2026 · Checked November 14, 2026

Adult institutional resource limit

$2,000Verified

• Applies to: individual applicant.

Source: SCDHHS Medicaid Eligibility Programs chart, Coverage for Long-term Care, MAO-Institutional · Effective: Effective March 1, 2026 · Checked November 14, 2026

Community-spouse resource allowance

$32,532 minimum to $162,660 maximumVerified

• Applies to: institutionalized applicant with a community spouse.

Source: CMS 2026 SSI and January spousal-impoverishment standards · Also: South Carolina MCC waiver amendment, spousal-impoverishment protections · Effective: SSI, spousal-impoverishment maximum, and home-equity standards effective January 1, 2026 · Checked November 14, 2026

Minimum monthly maintenance-needs allowance

$2,705 per monthVerified

• Applies to: institutionalized applicant with a community spouse.

Source: CMS 2026 minimum maintenance-needs standards · Also: South Carolina MCC waiver amendment, spousal-impoverishment protections · Effective: Minimum maintenance-needs amount effective July 1, 2026 · Checked November 14, 2026

Maximum spousal allocation

$4,066.50 per monthVerified

• Applies to: institutionalized applicant with a community spouse; this is a maximum, not every spouse's allowance.

Source: South Carolina Medicaid program eligibility and income limits · Effective: 2026 figures effective January 1, 2026 · Checked November 14, 2026

Home-equity limit

Not yet verified

• Applies to: applicant subject to South Carolina's home-equity rule.

The reviewed primary material did not provide a current, effective-dated value or rule for this cell.

· Checked November 14, 2026 · Ask the state agency

Full detail: South Carolina Medicaid eligibility page

Medicaid look-back

Medicaid dataset 2026.v16

Look-back period

Not yet verified

The reviewed primary material did not provide a current, effective-dated value or rule for this cell.

· Checked September 5, 2026 · Ask the state agency

Transfer-penalty divisor

Not yet verified

The reviewed primary material did not provide a current, effective-dated value or rule for this cell.

· Checked September 5, 2026 · Ask the state agency

How the state administers the penalty

Not yet verified

The reviewed primary material did not provide a current, effective-dated value or rule for this cell.

· Checked September 5, 2026 · Ask the state agency

Full detail: South Carolina Medicaid look-back page

Medicaid estate recovery

Medicaid dataset 2026.v16

Recovery scope

Probate-estate recovery covers real and personal property and other assets included in the decedent's probate estate for the services and age groups stated in section 43-7-460.Verified

Source: South Carolina Code section 43-7-460 · Effective: Last amendment effective June 7, 2011 · Checked September 5, 2026

Controlling authority

South Carolina Code section 43-7-460Verified

Source: South Carolina Code section 43-7-460 · Effective: Last amendment effective June 7, 2011 · Checked September 5, 2026

Exemptions and deferrals

Recovery occurs only after a surviving spouse's death and when there is no surviving child under 21 or blind or permanently and totally disabled child.Verified

Source: South Carolina Code section 43-7-460 · Effective: Last amendment effective June 7, 2011 · Checked September 5, 2026

Hardship waiver

The agency must waive recovery upon proof of undue hardship under the state-plan criteria effective for requests on or after August 1, 2025.Verified

Source: South Carolina Medicaid estate-recovery hardship requirements · Effective: Effective for requests on or after August 1, 2025 · Checked September 5, 2026

Lien practice

South Carolina files a claim in the probate estate after higher-priority claims; the agency states that estate recovery does not itself take title to the property.Verified

Source: South Carolina Medicaid estate-recovery program · Effective: Program and covered-services marker July 1, 1994 · Checked September 5, 2026

Full detail: South Carolina Medicaid estate-recovery page

State income tax on retirement income

Retirement-income tax dataset 2026.v4

Social Security benefits

ExemptVerified

• South Carolina subtracts Social Security benefits included in federal taxable income.
• The subtraction equals the federally taxed Social Security amount reported on the South Carolina return.

Source: 2025 South Carolina Individual Income Tax Packet and SC1040 Instructions · Effective: tax year 2025 · Checked January 5, 2026

Public pensions

Exempt when conditions are metVerified

• South Carolina allows an age-based deduction for qualifying public pension income: up to $3,000 before age 65 and up to $10,000 at age 65 or older.
• Before age 65, the maximum qualifying retirement-income deduction is $3,000.
• Maximum qualifying retirement-income deduction before age 65.
• At age 65 or older, the maximum qualifying retirement-income deduction is $10,000.
• Maximum qualifying retirement-income deduction at age 65 or older.
• The payment must be otherwise-taxable retirement income and cannot be a premature distribution subject to a penalty.
• A surviving spouse receiving a decedent's qualifying retirement income may claim a separate deduction based on the age the decedent would have reached.
• At age 65 or older, the separate $15,000 general age deduction is reduced by the taxpayer's own retirement and military deductions; a surviving-spouse deduction does not reduce it.
• The payment must be otherwise-taxable retirement income from a federal, state, or local public employee retirement plan.

Source: 2025 South Carolina Individual Income Tax Packet and SC1040 Instructions · Effective: tax year 2025 · Checked January 5, 2026

Private pensions

Exempt when conditions are metVerified

• South Carolina allows the same age-based deduction for qualifying private pension and annuity income: up to $3,000 before age 65 and up to $10,000 at age 65 or older.
• Before age 65, the maximum qualifying retirement-income deduction is $3,000.
• Maximum qualifying retirement-income deduction before age 65.
• At age 65 or older, the maximum qualifying retirement-income deduction is $10,000.
• Maximum qualifying retirement-income deduction at age 65 or older.
• The payment must be otherwise-taxable retirement income and cannot be a premature distribution subject to a penalty.
• A surviving spouse receiving a decedent's qualifying retirement income may claim a separate deduction based on the age the decedent would have reached.
• At age 65 or older, the separate $15,000 general age deduction is reduced by the taxpayer's own retirement and military deductions; a surviving-spouse deduction does not reduce it.
• The payment must be otherwise-taxable income from a qualifying private retirement plan.

Source: 2025 South Carolina Individual Income Tax Packet and SC1040 Instructions · Effective: tax year 2025 · Checked January 5, 2026

IRA and 401(k) distributions

Exempt when conditions are metVerified

• Qualifying IRA, 401(k), 403, 408, and 457 distributions may receive South Carolina's age-based retirement deduction.
• Before age 65, the maximum qualifying retirement-income deduction is $3,000.
• Maximum qualifying retirement-income deduction before age 65.
• At age 65 or older, the maximum qualifying retirement-income deduction is $10,000.
• Maximum qualifying retirement-income deduction at age 65 or older.
• The payment must be otherwise-taxable retirement income and cannot be a premature distribution subject to a penalty.
• A surviving spouse receiving a decedent's qualifying retirement income may claim a separate deduction based on the age the decedent would have reached.
• At age 65 or older, the separate $15,000 general age deduction is reduced by the taxpayer's own retirement and military deductions; a surviving-spouse deduction does not reduce it.
• The distribution must come from a qualifying IRC section 401, 403, 408, or 457 plan.

Source: 2025 South Carolina Individual Income Tax Packet and SC1040 Instructions · Effective: tax year 2025 · Checked January 5, 2026

Military retirement pay

ExemptVerified

• South Carolina deducts all qualifying military retirement income included in South Carolina taxable income, regardless of age.
• The payment must come from a qualifying military retirement plan.
• Only income included in South Carolina taxable income is deducted; already excluded National Guard or reserve amounts are not deducted again.
• A surviving spouse may deduct qualifying retirement-benefit income and dependency and indemnity compensation attributable to the deceased spouse.
• The military deduction can reduce the retiree's general retirement or age-65 deduction, but the full qualifying military amount remains deductible.

Source: 2025 South Carolina Individual Income Tax Packet and SC1040 Instructions · Effective: tax year 2025 · Checked January 5, 2026

Full detail: Retirement-income tax dataset, all states (JSON)

About this page

This page assembles entries from datasets the site already publishes; it adds no figure of its own. Entries marked “Not yet verified” or “Pending” have no primary-source value in the underlying dataset yet. Rules change, so confirm anything you plan to act on with the source, the state agency, or a licensed attorney.

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