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South Carolina sales tax, explained.

Thresholds, rates, taxability, filing schedules, and the SCDOR — everything a remote seller needs to know about South Carolina, on one page.

Economic nexus threshold
$100,000
Statewide base rate
6%
Transaction threshold
None
ColumbiaCharlestonNorth CharlestonGreenvilleMyrtle Beach
South Carolina · major filing jurisdictions
Nexus · South Carolina

When you owe sales tax in South Carolina.

Either kind of nexus creates the obligation to register, collect, and remit. South Carolina uses a sales-only test — there is no transaction-count threshold.

Economic nexus
Threshold
$100,000 in gross revenue from sales delivered into South Carolina
Measurement type
Gross revenue — includes taxable, exempt, wholesale, and marketplace sales
Measurement period
Previous or current calendar year
Included
All gross revenue from tangible personal property, products transferred electronically, and services delivered into the state — including exempt and wholesale sales; marketplace sales count toward the threshold even when the facilitator collects the tax
Marketplaces
Marketplace sales count toward your threshold. South Carolina has no exclusion for sales facilitated through a marketplace — every dollar of gross revenue into the state is included in the test, regardless of who remits the tax
Physical nexus
Office or business locationEmployees / remote staffWarehouse or inventory storageThird-party fulfillment (3PL)Agents or sales representatives

Any physical presence in South Carolina creates nexus immediately with no sales-volume requirement. Third-party fulfillment warehouses and remote employees are among the most common unnoticed triggers for out-of-state sellers.

Rates · South Carolina

What you'll collect, city by city.

South Carolina's statewide base is 6%. Counties and special districts layer additional taxes on top — the combined rate depends on the delivery address. SaaS is taxable at the full combined rate in every jurisdiction.

JurisdictionCombined rateTangible propertyDigital goodsSaaSServices
South CarolinaStatewide base rate6%6%0%6%0%
Columbia8%8%0%8%0%
Charleston9%9%0%9%0%
North Charleston9%9%0%9%0%
Greenville6%6%0%6%0%
Myrtle Beach9%9%0%9%0%

Digital goods and most services are exempt in South Carolina. SaaS and cloud software are taxable at the full combined rate — the same rate as tangible personal property delivered to that address. Rates verified as of June 11, 2026.

Need the exact rate for one address or invoice? Our calculator returns the combined state, county, and local rate for any South Carolina address.

Open the sales tax calculator
Taxability · South Carolina

Is your product taxable here?

South Carolina taxes tangible goods and — unlike most states — SaaS and cloud software. If you sell software-as-a-service into the state, you are collecting tax.

Product categoryStatusWhat to know
Tangible personal propertyTaxablePhysical goods delivered into South Carolina are taxable at the combined rate of the delivery address.
SaaS & cloud softwareTaxableSouth Carolina taxes remotely-accessed software for both B2B and B2C customers. The full combined rate at the customer's address applies — there is no distinction based on download versus access.
Digital goodsNot taxableStandalone digital products such as e-books, music downloads, and digital images are exempt from South Carolina sales tax.
Professional servicesNot taxableConsulting, legal, accounting, and similar professional services are generally exempt — unless they are part of producing a taxable product.
Bundled software + servicesPartialWhen taxable SaaS is bundled with exempt services on a single invoice, itemizing the charges separately determines which portion is taxed.
Filings · South Carolina

Filing schedules and due dates.

The SCDOR assigns your filing frequency at registration based on your expected tax liability and reviews the assignment periodically. Returns are filed through MyDORWAY.

FrequencyReturnDue dateWho it applies to
MonthlyMost commonST-3, Sales and Use Tax Return (filed via MyDORWAY)20th of the month following the filing periodSellers with higher sales volume or tax liability
QuarterlyST-3, Sales and Use Tax Return (filed via MyDORWAY)20th of the month following the end of the quarter — Apr 20, Jul 20, Oct 20, Jan 20Mid-volume sellers as assigned by the SCDOR
AnnualST-3, Sales and Use Tax Return (filed via MyDORWAY)January 20 for the prior calendar yearSmall sellers with low annual tax liability

Crossed the threshold, or about to?

A Commenda expert will review your South Carolina exposure, register you with the SCDOR via MyDORWAY, and take over the filing calendar — usually within a week.

The state authority

SCDOR — South Carolina's tax office.

The South Carolina Department of Revenue administers sales and use tax through MyDORWAY, its online self-service portal. Registration, return filing, payments, and account management all happen in a single portal login.

dor.sc.gov

To register you need a portal username and password for MyDORWAY; your state tax account ID (assigned after registration) and business entity details.

What you can do there
  • Register for a retail license

    South Carolina requires a retail license before collecting sales tax. Registration is completed through MyDORWAY with your business details.

  • File returns and pay

    All ST-3 returns, payments, and amendments are submitted through your MyDORWAY account — ACH or card accepted.

  • Look up the rate for any address

    The SCDOR provides a sales tax rate lookup tool on dor.sc.gov to find the combined rate at any South Carolina delivery address.

  • Verify a resale certificate

    Confirm that a buyer's retail license or exemption certificate is valid before exempting any sale from tax.

Exposure & exemptions · South Carolina

If you're behind, or your buyers are exempt.

Back-period exposure & voluntary disclosure

South Carolina offers a voluntary disclosure program for out-of-state sellers who come forward before the SCDOR identifies them. Coming forward first limits your exposure significantly.

Lookback period
Generally 3 years under a VDA — versus the full uncapped period if the state discovers the liability first
Penalties
Waived under a voluntary disclosure agreement
Interest
Still owed on unpaid tax — interest relief is not part of the standard VDA
Unfiled returns
The statute of limitations does not begin to run until a return is filed

Exemption certificates accepted

Obtain a valid certificate at the time of sale and retain it in your records — the seller bears the burden of proof if the exemption is challenged.

Resale
ST-8 Certificate of Exemption (resale) or a valid South Carolina retail license number
Multi-state
MTC Uniform Sales & Use Tax Exemption Certificate accepted; South Carolina is not an SST member state
Manufacturing & industrial
ST-8 exemption for machinery and equipment used directly in manufacturing
Nonprofit / government
Qualifying nonprofits and government entities may hold an exemption certificate issued by the SCDOR

FAQ · South Carolina

South Carolina questions, answered.

The questions remote sellers ask us most about South Carolina.
Read our FAQ library

Yes. South Carolina taxes remotely-accessed software — SaaS — for both business (B2B) and consumer (B2C) customers. The full combined rate at the customer's South Carolina delivery address applies. This makes South Carolina one of the notable states where software companies have a sales-tax obligation even without shipping any physical goods.

South Carolina measures gross revenue — a broader base than many states. Taxable sales, exempt sales, wholesale sales, and sales made through a marketplace facilitator all count. If your gross deliveries into South Carolina top $100,000 in the current or prior calendar year, you have economic nexus.

Yes. South Carolina does not exclude marketplace-facilitated sales from the economic nexus calculation. Every dollar of gross revenue delivered into the state counts, regardless of whether Amazon, Shopify, or another marketplace collected and remitted the tax on your behalf.

Generally no. Standalone digital products such as e-books, music downloads, and digital images are exempt. However, SaaS and cloud software are taxable, so the distinction between a "digital product" and "cloud software" matters — if your product involves ongoing access to software functionality, it is likely taxable.

South Carolina's statewide base is 6%. Charleston and other coastal jurisdictions impose additional local option taxes, pushing the combined rate to 9%. Greenville, by contrast, sits at the statewide base of 6%. Always apply the rate of the delivery address, not your business location.

Under South Carolina rules, registration is required from the first day of the second calendar month after you establish economic nexus. For example, if you cross the threshold in March, you must be registered and collecting by May 1.

Yes. Commenda monitors your South Carolina exposure, registers you with the SCDOR through MyDORWAY, calculates the correct combined rate on every transaction, and files each ST-3 return on your assigned schedule. Book a call to see it working on your own data.

United States

Sales tax, state by state.

* No state-level sales tax. Alaska's local jurisdictions still enforce economic nexus through the ARSSTC.