South Carolina Code 12-37-250. Homestead exemption for taxpayers sixty-five and over or those totally and permanently disabled or legally blind
(i) has been a resident of this State for at least one year and has reached the age of sixty-five years on or before December thirty-first;
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 12-37-250
- Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
- Fee simple: Absolute title to property with no limitations or restrictions regarding the person who may inherit it.
- Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
- Life estate: A property interest limited in duration to the life of the individual holding the interest (life tenant).
- person: includes any individual, trust, estate, partnership, receiver, association, company, limited liability company, corporation, or other entity or group; and
(2) "individual" means a human being. See South Carolina Code 12-2-20 - Personal property: All property that is not real property.
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
- Real property: shall mean not only land, city, town and village lots but also all structures and other things therein contained or annexed or attached thereto which pass to the vendee by the conveyance of the land or lot;
(2) "Personal property" shall mean all things, other than real estate, which have any pecuniary value, and moneys, credits, investments in bonds, stocks, joint-stock companies or otherwise;
(3) "Moneys" or "money" shall mean gold, silver and other coin, bank bills and other bills or notes authorized to be circulated as money, whether in possession or on deposit subject to the draft of the depositor or person having the beneficial interest therein on demand;
(4) "Credits" shall mean the remainder due, or to become due, to a person, after deducting from the amount of all legal debts, claims and demands in his favor the amount of all legal debts and demands against him, whether such demands be payable in money, labor or other valuable things, but, in ascertaining such remainder, no deduction shall be made for any (a) obligation to any mutual insurance company given for insurance, (b) subscription to the capital stock of any joint-stock company, (c) taxes assessed against the person, (d) subscription to any religious, scientific, literary or charitable purpose, (e) acknowledgment of a liability not founded on a legal and valuable consideration, (f) more of any joint liability with others than the person honestly believes he will be compelled to pay, (g) contingent liability or (h) acknowledgment of a debt or liability made for the purpose of diminishing the amount of credit to be returned for taxation. See South Carolina Code 12-37-10
(ii) has been classified as totally and permanently disabled by a state or federal agency having the function of classifying persons; or
(iii) is legally blind as defined in § 43-25-20, preceding the tax year in which the exemption is claimed and holds complete fee simple title or a life estate to the dwelling place. A person claiming to be totally and permanently disabled, but who has not been classified by one of the agencies, may apply to the state agency of Vocational Rehabilitation. The agency shall make an evaluation of the person using its own standards.
(2) The exemption includes the dwelling place when jointly owned in complete fee simple or life estate by husband and wife, and either has reached sixty-five years of age, or is totally and permanently disabled, or legally blind pursuant to this section, before January first of the tax year in which the exemption is claimed, and either has been a resident of the State for one year.
(3) The exemption must not be granted for the tax year in which it is claimed unless the person or his agent makes written application for the exemption before July sixteenth of that tax year. If the person or his agent makes written application for the exemption after July fifteenth, the exemption must not be granted except for the succeeding tax year for a person qualifying pursuant to this section when the application is made. However, if application is made after July fifteenth of that tax year but before the first penalty date on property taxes for that tax year by a person qualifying pursuant to this section when the application is made, the taxes due for that tax year must be reduced to reflect the exemption provided in this section.
(4)(a) The application for the exemption must be made to the auditor of the county and to the governing body of the municipality in which the dwelling place is located upon forms provided by the county and municipality and approved by the department. A failure to apply constitutes a waiver of the exemption for that year. The auditor, as directed by the department, shall notify the municipality of all applications for a homestead exemption within the municipality and the information necessary to calculate the amount of the exemption.
(b) The application required may be:
(i) made in person at the auditor’s office;
(ii) by mail, when accompanied by a copy of documentation of age, or disability, or legal blindness; or
(iii) by internet in those instances where the auditor has access to official records documenting the appropriate eligibility standard.
The department shall assist auditors with compliance with the provisions of this subitem and by means of the approval required pursuant to subitem (a) of this item ensure uniform application procedures.
(5) "Dwelling place" means the permanent home and legal residence of the applicant.
(B) If a person would be entitled to a homestead tax exemption pursuant to this section except that he does not own the real property on which his dwelling place is located and his dwelling place is a mobile home owned by him but located on property leased from another, the mobile home is exempt from personal property taxes to the same extent and obtained in accordance with the same procedures as is provided for in this section for an exemption from real property taxes; provided, however, that a person may not receive the exemption from both real and personal property taxes in the same year.
(C) If a dwelling house and legal residence is located on leased or rented property and the dwelling house is owned and occupied by the owner even though at the end of the lease period the lessor becomes owner of the residence, the owner lessee qualifies for and is entitled to a homestead exemption in the same manner as though he owned a fee simple or life estate interest in the leased property on which his dwelling house is located.
(D) When a person who was entitled to a homestead tax exemption pursuant to this section dies or any person who was not sixty-five years of age or older, blind, or disabled on or before December thirty-first preceding the application period, but was at least sixty-five years of age, blind, or disabled at the time of his death and was otherwise entitled dies and the surviving spouse acquires complete fee simple title or a life estate to the dwelling place within nine months after the death of the spouse, the dwelling place is exempt from real property taxes to the same extent and obtained in accordance with the same procedures as are provided for in this section for an exemption from real property taxes, so long as the spouse remains unmarried and the dwelling place is utilized as the permanent home and legal residence of the spouse. A surviving spouse who disposes of the dwelling place and acquires another residence in this State for use as a dwelling place may apply for and receive the exemption on the newly acquired dwelling place. The spouse shall inform the county auditor of the change in address of the dwelling place.
(E) The term "permanently and totally disabled" as used in this section means the inability to perform substantial gainful employment by reason of a medically determinable impairment, either physical or mental, that has lasted or is expected to last for a continuous period of twelve months or more or result in death.
(F) The department shall reimburse from funds appropriated for homestead reimbursement the state agency of Vocational Rehabilitation for the actual expenses incurred in making decisions relative to disability.
(G) The department shall develop advisory opinions as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.
(H) Nothing in this section intends to cause the reassessment of a person’s property.
(I) The provisions of this section apply to life estates created by will and also to life estates otherwise created.
(J) The homestead tax exemption must be granted in the amount in this paragraph to a person who owns a dwelling in part in fee or in part for life when the person satisfies the other conditions of the exemption. The amount of the exemption must be determined by multiplying the percentage of the fee or life estate owned by the person by the full exemption. For purposes of the calculation required by this paragraph, a percentage of ownership less than five percent is considered to be five percent. The exemption may not exceed the value of the interest owned by the person.