Every South Carolina income tax bracket for 2026, exactly as published — with the standard deduction, the exemption credit, and a tool that finds your bracket and shows the tax slice by slice.
| Rate | Taxable income over | Up to | Cumulative tax at top of band |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.99% | $0 | $30,000 | $597 |
| 5.21% | $30,000 | and above | — |
Brackets apply to taxable income — gross income minus the standard deduction. Both tables are printed in full on this page; the tabs only choose which you look at first.
Enter your South Carolina taxable income (after the standard deduction). Your bracket lights up in the table above, and your tax is broken into its slices.
Figure A The bracket staircase
The staircase: each step is one bracket. The tax climbs only inside the step you are standing on — moving into a higher bracket never taxes your earlier income at the higher rate.
| Taxable income (single) | South Carolina tax | Effective rate | Top (marginal) rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $1,639 | 3.3% | 5.21% |
| $75,000 | $2,942 | 3.9% | 5.21% |
| $100,000 | $4,244 | 4.2% | 5.21% |
| $150,000 | $6,849 | 4.6% | 5.21% |
MAJOR 2026 REFORM VERIFIED FROM AN OFFICIAL SOURCE: H.4216 (Act 110), signed in 2026, replaces South Carolina's three-bracket system beginning in tax year 2026 with two rates — 1.99% on taxable income up to $30,000 and 5.21% above it, down from the 6.0% top rate. It also sets up further automatic top-rate reductions from 2027 if revenue grows at least 5%. Source: Office of the Governor of South Carolina, ceremonial signing of H.4216, 15 April 2026. This supersedes the Tax Foundation 2026 schedule (0% / 3% / 6.0%), which was published before the reform; the tables and calculator on this page use the enacted H.4216 schedule. Before H.4216, the 6.0% top rate itself rested on a temporary reduction from 6.2% running 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026, with a scheduled reversion to 6.2% afterwards per SCDOR withholding guidance — a question the 2026 reform overtook. H.4216 also replaces the old federal-conformity standard deduction with the South Carolina Income Adjusted Deduction (SCIAD): $15,000 single, $22,500 head of household, $30,000 married filing jointly, phasing out as income rises (single: full to $40,000 of AGI, gone at $95,000). Source: SCDOR, Information Letter #26-20.
The state-specific rules behind the numbers above — the things a generic calculator gets wrong about South Carolina.
From tax year 2026, South Carolina taxes taxable income at just two rates — 1.99% up to $30,000 and 5.21% above it — under H.4216 (Act 110), the same schedule for every filing status. It replaced the old three-bracket schedule (0% / 3% / 6.00%) that Tax Foundation's 2026 table had printed before the reform was signed.
Source: Tax Foundation, State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets 2026
Act 110 decoupled South Carolina from the federal standard deduction and created the SCIAD in its place: $15,000 single, $22,500 head of household, $30,000 married filing jointly — but it phases out with AGI (single filers lose it between $40,000 and $95,000; joint filers between $80,000 and $190,000), so higher earners shelter less. This calculator models the phase-out.
Source: Tax Foundation, State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets 2026 (conformity footnote)
South Carolina does not tax Social Security benefits or railroad retirement at all. Other retirement income gets a deduction of up to $3,000 before age 65 and up to $10,000 from age 65, and from 65 a separate deduction shelters up to $15,000 of income from any source, reduced by any retirement deduction already claimed. Military retirement pay is fully exempt at any age, with no cap.
Source: South Carolina Department of Revenue; S.C. Code § 12-6-1170; SC Department of Veterans' Affairs
South Carolina taxes only 56% of net long-term capital gains: a 44% deduction applies before the rates are applied, a long-standing preference few states match in this form.
Source: South Carolina Department of Revenue / AARP South Carolina state tax guide
No. Social Security benefits (and railroad retirement) are fully exempt from South Carolina income tax at every income level.
On $75,000 of wages as a single filer, the South Carolina state tax estimate on the pre-reform schedule is $2,657, leaving take-home pay of $58,935 after federal tax of $7,670, FICA of $5,738 and total tax of $16,065. South Carolina's 2026 reform (H.4216) changes the rate schedule, so check the changes note on this page.
Yes — completely. Since tax years after 2021, 100% of military retirement pay is exempt from South Carolina income tax, with no age requirement and no earned-income cap, and a surviving spouse receiving that pay can claim it too.
Two stacked pieces: you can deduct up to $3,000 of qualifying retirement income before 65 (up to $10,000 from age 65), and from 65 you can deduct up to $15,000 of income from any source — but that $15,000 is reduced by any retirement-income deduction already claimed, so the combined ceiling is $15,000 per person.
From tax year 2026 there is no federal-conformity standard deduction: H.4216 (Act 110) created the South Carolina Income Adjusted Deduction (SCIAD) — $15,000 for single filers, $30,000 married filing jointly, $22,500 head of household — which phases out as AGI rises (for single filers, full to $40,000 and gone at $95,000). This calculator applies the SCIAD with its phase-out. Source: SCDOR, Information Letter #26-20.
Yes, a distinctive one: South Carolina allows a deduction for 44% of net long-term capital gains, so less than three-fifths of a long-term gain is exposed to state tax.
South Carolina income tax brackets for 2026 in full: every rate and threshold for single and joint filers, the $15,000 standard deduction, worked examples and a find-your-bracket tool.
100% free · No sign-up · No daily limits · No watermarks · Processed in your browser — files never leave your device
Every South Carolina income tax bracket for 2026, printed in full exactly as published: single and married-filing-jointly tables, the standard deduction, worked examples on taxable income, and a find-your-bracket tool that lights up your band and builds your tax slice by slice. Rates checked 31 October 2026; all figures are for the 2026 tax year.
On $100,000 of taxable income in South Carolina (single filer, 2026), the slice-by-slice tax is $4,244.00 — the top slice is taxed at 5.21%, but the effective rate on the whole $100,000 is far lower because the early slices are taxed at the bottom rates. A $100,000 salary is not $100,000 of taxable income: the $15,000 standard deduction comes off first, which is what the companion income calculator works through.
South Carolina taxes income in 2 bands from 1.99% to 5.21%. The standard deduction is $15,000.00 for a single filer. The tables are the state’s official 2026 schedules (sources printed on the page); cumulative tax at the top of each band is computed slice by slice from those rates. The federal comparison figures use IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32.
No. Social Security benefits (and railroad retirement) are fully exempt from South Carolina income tax at every income level.
On $75,000 of wages as a single filer, the South Carolina state tax estimate on the pre-reform schedule is $2,657, leaving take-home pay of $58,935 after federal tax of $7,670, FICA of $5,738 and total tax of $16,065. South Carolina's 2026 reform (H.4216) changes the rate schedule, so check the changes note on this page.
Yes — completely. Since tax years after 2021, 100% of military retirement pay is exempt from South Carolina income tax, with no age requirement and no earned-income cap, and a surviving spouse receiving that pay can claim it too.
Two stacked pieces: you can deduct up to $3,000 of qualifying retirement income before 65 (up to $10,000 from age 65), and from 65 you can deduct up to $15,000 of income from any source — but that $15,000 is reduced by any retirement-income deduction already claimed, so the combined ceiling is $15,000 per person.
From tax year 2026 there is no federal-conformity standard deduction: H.4216 (Act 110) created the South Carolina Income Adjusted Deduction (SCIAD) — $15,000 for single filers, $30,000 married filing jointly, $22,500 head of household — which phases out as AGI rises (for single filers, full to $40,000 and gone at $95,000). This calculator applies the SCIAD with its phase-out. Source: SCDOR, Information Letter #26-20.
Yes, a distinctive one: South Carolina allows a deduction for 44% of net long-term capital gains, so less than three-fifths of a long-term gain is exposed to state tax.
What is missing, broken, or could be better on this tool? Tell us — we read every suggestion.
✅ Thanks — your suggestion has been received. Suggestions like yours shape what we build next.