SC expands Property Tax exemption for disabled veterans

Tuesday, Jun 4, 2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 6/4/2024

What you need to know:
South Carolina disabled veterans applying for a Property Tax exemption on real estate are now granted the exemption for the full year in which they became disabled, if they owned the property that entire year.
This change is effective immediately and retroactive to 2022.
Surviving spouses of disabled veterans can receive the same exemption, regardless of whether their veteran spouse applied for or claimed the exemption.

Disabled veterans can now obtain a South Carolina Property Tax exemption on real estate from the year in which they became disabled. The exemption was expanded by legislation signed by the governor in March and retroactive to 2022.

Under the new legislation:

A South Carolina military veteran who is totally and permanently disabled may immediately claim a Property Tax exemption on real estate the veteran owns beginning with the year in which the disability occurs.
The exemption is retroactive to 2022 and is based on the date that the veteran acquires the property.
Surviving spouses of disabled veterans can immediately claim the exemption in the same manner as the veteran, regardless of whether the disabled veteran applied for or claimed the exemption.
The change does not apply to Medal of Honor recipients or former prisoners of war.
If a veteran or a surviving spouse owns real estate for less than a year, any other owner not a disabled veteran or otherwise entitled to an exemption is responsible for the Property Tax for the time they owned the property.

The new law also provides for new benefits involving disabled veterans' vehicles:

Surviving spouses who move to South Carolina after the disabled veteran has passed away now qualify for a Property Tax exemption on one vehicle.
Vehicles can qualify if titled to a trustee, but only if the veteran or the surviving spouse is the income beneficiary of the trust, satisfies all other criteria, and uses the vehicle.
Vehicles solely in the spouse's name can qualify if…
The spouse resides with the disabled veteran
The vehicle is registered at the same address
Vehicles will count toward the limit of two vehicles allowed per disabled veteran.

Apply for Property Tax exemptions using MyDORWAY!

The easiest way to apply for Property Tax exemptions is through MyDORWAY, the SCDOR's free online tax portal. If you apply through MyDORWAY, you do not have to fill out or mail in a paper application form. You don't even need to sign up for a MyDORWAY account to complete a Property Tax exemption application! Get started at dor.sc.gov/individuals-property-exemption-application.

If you have a MyDORWAY account, we recommend logging in before applying for your Property Tax exemption. This streamlines the application process and allows you to view and print your approval notice. After logging in, click the More tab, then select Request Property Exemption, located under the Other section.

Before you apply for a Property Tax exemption:

Visit dor.sc.gov/exempt-property for step-by-step application instructions, full details about the Property Tax exemptions that are available and the eligibility information for each.
Make sure you gather the information you need, which could include the tax map number, deed information and address of your property, your Vehicle Identification Number, and supporting documentation.

After you apply for a Property Tax Exemption:

Remember, applications take 4-6 weeks to process.
Visit our Property Exemption Status Check to check the status of your application. You must have either the confirmation code you received from your application and the email address used for the submission or your SSN and legal name.

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