Property
Business Personal Property
Business Personal Property is the furniture, fixtures, and equipment used to operate your business.
There are two types of Business Personal Property Returns:
I. County Filer: Form requires Business Personal Property Return.
Business Personal Property Return: You file this return through The Richland County Auditor’s Office. This form pertains to businesses tied to professional or service type businesses. The taxpayer must file a return on or before April 30th of each year you own the business. Contact number (803) 576-2620 or 576-2621.
Penalties-When a business fails to file a return by the due date it can result in late fees and penalties.
Appealing Period- Claims for credits or refunds must be filed within three years from the time the return was filed or two years from when the tax was due, whichever is later.
To determine what category you must file under, check the list below:
County-Business Personal Property Return:
Banking Institutions
Credit Agencies other than Banks
Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges, and Services
Insurance Agents, Brokers, and Service
Real Estate Companies/Agents
Combination of Real Estate, Insurance, Loans, Law Offices
Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps, and other Lodging Places
Health Services
Legal Services
Educational Services
Social Services
Museums, Art Galleries, Botanical, and Zoological Gardens
Membership Organizations
Private Households
Miscellaneous Services
II. State Filer (DOR) form require PT-100
PT-100: You file this form through the Department Of Revenue. This form pertains to businesses collecting sales tax or miscellaneous retail. Please note for this type of return, any business which opens after the end of the accounting period must file an initial return as of December 31st with the return being due the last day of April. After the initial return, businesses are required to file on or before the last day of the fourth month after the close of the accounting period regularly employed by the taxpayer, for income tax purposes. Contact number (803) 898-5222.
To determine what category you must file under, check the list below:
PT-100 File with DOR (State)
Wholesale Trade Companies (Division F)
Durable Goods
Non Durable Goods
Retail Trades (Division G)
Hardware/Garden Supply Stores
Mobile Homes Dealers
Food Stores
Auto Dealers and Gas Stations
Apparel and Accessory Stores
Furniture/Home Furnishing Stores
Eating and Drinking Establishments
Miscellaneous Retail
VEHICLES
Taxes on all motor vehicles are paid one year in advance. Taxes are calculated based on multiplying the assessed value time the millage rate. On personal vehicles, the assessment is based on 6% of the retail value that we receive from the South Carolina Department of Revenue; on vehicles that are used in a business the assessment is based on 10.5% of the retail value that we received from the South Carolina Department of Revenue.
Trucks with an empty weight of 9000 pounds or a gross weight that is 11000 pounds would be assessed at 10.5%. For more information please call the Auditor’s Office.
On a truck with a gross weight of over 26,000 pounds contact the Motor Carrier Division at the South Carolina Department of Revenue (SCDOR). The Auditor’s Office will bill you for the road fees only.
If you are registering your vehicle for the first time in South Carolina, if you are moving here from out of state or if you purchased a vehicle you have 45 days to register your vehicle. To have a bill created you must provide the Auditor’s Office with a title or a Bill of Sale. You can fax it, scan it to mailto:rcauditor@richlandcountysc.gov or take it to the Auditor’s Office. If you purchased your vehicle from a South Carolina dealer, the dealer will register the vehicle for you and the Auditor’s Office will send you a bill in the mail. You will then have 120 days to pay your tax bill.
If you moved to Richland County from another county in South Carolina you must change your address at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). If you have changed your address at DMV within 90 days of your tag's expiration date you need to send the Richland County Auditor's Office a copy of your registration with the correct address by mail, fax, e-mail, or in person so that a tax notice can be created for your tag renewal.
If you sold your vehicle, moved out of state or if your insurance was canceled you are required to turn your tag in immediately to the Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) or you will be charged a fee per day by DMV.
I. Appeal Procedures For Vehicle Renewals Only:
Appeals must be submitted prior to the due date on your vehicle tax notice.
If your vehicle has high mileage or significant damage which makes it less valuable than average vehicles of the same make and year, you may appeal the assessed valuation.
One of following must be submitted for an appeal:
- To appeal for high mileage, you must provide documentation indicating the vehicle's mileage such as a service/repair receipt (oil change, tire rotation, etc).
- Consideration will be given to an appeal if you provide a current appraisal (retail value) by a dealer of the same make vehicle.
Appeals must be submitted annually:
- Mail appeal(s) to: Richland County Auditor P.O.B 192 Columbia, SC 29202
- Fax appeals(s) to: 803.576.2605 (information call: 803.576.2600)
- Email appeal(s) to: rcauditor@richlandcountysc.gov
If you do not agree with the revised appraisal you must submit an appeal within 30 days to the Administrative Law Court. SC Code of Law 12-60-2920.
Appeal Denial Form
II. Refund
If you sold your vehicle or moved out of state before your tag expires, you may qualify for a refund. To qualify for the refund the following documents are required:
Copy of Out Of State registration card and the 5051 paper receipt from the SC Department of Motor Vehicle verifying the vehicle license plate had been turned into the SC Department of Motor Vehicle.
Copy of the Bill of Sale or the front and back of the title and the 5051 paper receipt from the SC Department of Motor Vehicle verifying the vehicle license plate has been turned into the SC Department of Motor Vehicle. If the license plate had been transferred, no refund applies.
For more information please call (803) 576-2600.
Additional Resources
Application for (Vehicle) Exemption
Application for High Mileage
High Mileage Chart
Personal Vehicle Tax Estimator
Application for Vehicle Tax Notice
Bill of Sale
Title Application
Vehicle Change of Address
Notice of Vehicle Sold Form
Report an Out of State Tag
Boats and Motors (Watercraft), Motor Homes, and Campers
Property tax on boats and motors are paid one year in advance. Taxes are calculated based on 10.5% of the retail value multiplying by the millage rate of your tax district. If you are registering your boat or motor for the first time in South Carolina you will need to provide the Auditor’s Office a copy of the title or a bill of sale. If you purchased the boat or motor from a South Carolina dealer you will receive a tax notice from the Auditor’s Office giving you 120 days to pay these taxes from the date of purchase. If you are moving into South Carolina from another state then you must go to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources to register the boat or motor. For more information call (803) 576-2615.
Primary or Secondary Residence?
- “A motor home, a watercraft, or trailer used for camping and recreational travel that is pulled by a motor vehicle on which the interest portion of indebtedness is deductible pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code as an interest expense on a qualified primary or second residence also is a primary or second residence for purpose of ad valorem property taxation in this State. The fair market value of a motor home, boat or watercraft, or trailer used for camping and recreational travel that is pulled by a motor vehicle classified for property tax purposes as a primary or second residence pursuant to this section must be determined in the manner that motor vehicles are valued for property tax purposes.”
- This law permits owners who claim these personal properties for their secondary residence to pay taxes at the 6% ratio. You must complete an application for secondary residence on personal property at the Auditor’s Office. For more information contact number (803) 576-2600.
Applications for Primary or Secondary Residence
Application for Boat
Application for Camper
Airplanes
All airplanes are registered through The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA sends a list of all registered owners to the Department of Revenue (DOR), and DOR sends a list to the Auditor’s Office annually. A form is mailed out to registered owners to verify the information that is sent to The Auditor’s Office from DOR. This form has to be completed on or before June 30 of the taxable year.
For more information contact number (803) 576-2615.
Application for Personal Property Proration
Personal Property Proration Form
Homestead Exemption
The Homestead Exemption is a program designed to help the elderly, blind, and disabled. This program exempts the first $50,000 value of your primary home.
Qualifications include:
AGE- 65 on or before December 31, preceding year of application. If you own real estate jointly with a spouse only one is required to be 65 years of age.
- If the property is jointly owned please bring or mail the spouse’s date of birth.
- To apply you will need proof of date of birth (driver’s license or birth certificate).
DISABILITY- You must be totally and permanently disabled: To apply you will need to present documentation from the state or federal agency certifying the disability.
BLINDNESS-Certified by a licensed ophthalmologist, or a letter from the Commission for the Blind.
Either of the aforementioned qualification(s) - age, disability, or blindness - makes one eligible for the exemption.
Questions regarding eligibility status and application procedures should be directed to: (803) 576-2610 or (803) 576-2611.
Homestead Exemption Application
Re-Submit Documents for Homestead Exemption
Exemption for real and personal property
Exemption Application
Disabled Veterans
(100% permanently and totally disabled service-connected)
A disabled Veteran is entitled to exemption on his or her legal residence and up to one acre of land and exemption from taxes on no more than two vehicles owned or leased by the disabled veteran.
To qualify for the vehicle exemption, the South Carolina Department of Revenue requires that the vehicle be registered solely in the name of the disabled veteran or jointly owned in the name of the disabled veteran and his or her spouse to qualify for the exemption. To apply you will need your qualification letter from the Department of Veteran Affairs and complete form PT-401-I at the SCDOR.
A surviving spouse may continue to use the “V” tag after the death of the disabled veteran so long as the surviving spouse does not remarry; however, the surviving spouse will not be entitled to the exemption.
The surviving spouse will be entitled to reapply for the exemption on the residence unless remarried.
Prisoner Of War (POW)
Any member or former member of the armed forces who was a prisoner of war in World War I, World War II, the Korean Conflict, or the Vietnam War and who is a legal resident of this State. This exemption also extends to the surviving spouse of a qualified former POW for the lifetime or until the remarriage of the surviving spouse.
The Disabled Veteran or Prisoner of War (POW)
must apply with the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA). Once the VA approves the application; the disabled veteran will receive a letter stating that the veteran is 100% permanently disabled. The disabled veteran will then take the letter and fill out a form PT-401-I at the SCDOR, located at 301 Gervais Street, Columbia, South Carolina, and the disabled veteran will be granted their exemption. The disabled veteran will provide proof of exemption from SCDOR to the Auditor’s Office to receive a zero tax bill.
Wheelchairs
An individual who requires the use of a wheelchair is tax-exempt on two personal motor vehicles (owned or leased). The application must be made with the Department of Revenue. Information requested by SCDOR will be a doctor’s statement and completed form PT-401-I at the SCDOR.
Antique Motor Vehicles
Antique motor vehicles are exempt from property tax; “a motor vehicle licensed and registered as an antique motor vehicle pursuant to Article 23, Chapter 3 of Title 56.” These vehicles must be used in the exhibition only and at car shows…cannot be driven on the street. This became effective as of June 2006 and this also is not retroactive.
Military
Motor vehicles of nonresident service persons located in South Carolina are not subject to taxation when the vehicles are licensed and registered in South Carolina with the exception of personal property used in trade or business. As of November 2009, the Soldiers & Sailors Relief Act also relieves the spouse from paying personal property tax. A leave and earnings statement must be filed at the Auditor’s Office each year and if the spouse is also on the registration a copy of their dependent military ID must be provided as well. Other dependents that may be included in the registration are not relieved from paying personal property taxes.
Nonprofit Organizations
Contact South Carolina Department of Revenue at (803) 898-4995 for more information concerning exemption qualifications.