How to determine if you are a SC resident for tax purposes

Wednesday, Feb 21, 2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 2/21/2024

What you need to know:
You should file as a South Carolina resident if you intend to maintain the state as your permanent home, keep South Carolina as the center of your financial, social and family life, and when you’re away, intend to return back to the state.
You must file as a nonresident if you have a permanent home outside of South Carolina and none of the other resident criteria apply.
Those in the military who entered the service with South Carolina as their home should file a state return as a South Carolina resident, even if absent from the state on military orders.

More than 346,000 taxpayers filed South Carolina Individual Income Tax returns in tax year 2022 as nonresidents. Another 3,220 filed returns from outside the country.

Some of those nonresidents may have just moved to the state. Others work in South Carolina but live in a neighboring state. Some are in the military and are stationed in South Carolina but consider another state home. If you fall into one of those categories and are unsure how to determine if you are a South Carolina resident for tax purposes, the South Carolina Department of Revenue (SCDOR) has some tips to help:

You are considered a South Carolina resident if all three of the following are true:

Your intention is to maintain South Carolina as your permanent home.
South Carolina is the center of your financial, social, and family life.
When you are away, South Carolina is the place to which you intend to return.

You are considered a nonresident of South Carolina if the following is true:

Your permanent home is located outside of South Carolina all year.
None of the requirements listed above are true.

But the SCDOR knows that, for many folks, determining your residency isn't quite that easy. Here are some tips on what to do in certain special circumstances:

Military members who left South Carolina on military orders to be stationed elsewhere– If you enter the military as a South Carolina resident, you do not lose your residency, even if you are absent from the state on military orders. You should file a South Carolina return as a South Carolina resident.
Married couples where one spouse is a resident while the other is not – Couples in this situation should file a South Carolina return with the accompanying Schedule NR. On the Schedule NR, Column A is the income from your federal return, and Column B includes only the income earned while a resident of South Carolina or income earned from South Carolina sources.
SC residents who work in another state – As a resident of South Carolina, you are taxed on all your income regardless of where it is earned. In order to avoid double taxation, South Carolina allows a tax credit for taxes you paid to another state on wages earned in that state.
Those who are part-year residents of SC– These folks should choose the filing method below that is most beneficial:
- You can compute South Carolina tax as a South Carolina resident for the entire year. File an SC return including all federal taxable income and use the SC1040TC to claim a credit for Income Tax paid to another state.
- Or, you can compute South Carolina tax using the Schedule NR. Include in Column B of the Schedule NR only the amounts that are taxable to South Carolina. Amounts taxable to South Carolina include all items of income, gain, loss, or deductions earned from South Carolina sources or while you are a South Carolina resident. File an SC return and attach the completed Schedule NR.

For more Individual Income Tax information, visit the SCDOR's Individual Income Tax FAQ page. For more information on residency and domicile, refer to the SCDOR's Determining a Taxpayer's Domicile for Income Tax Purposes guide.

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