4% Tax Assessment Forms

It’s important to note that if you buy a house in South Carolina and that house will become your primary residence (meaning you plan to live there), and you fail to file the 4% tax assessment form with your county, you will be taxed at the 6% rate.

That means you will get a tax bill double or triple what it should be.

If you have a mortgage on your new property and you fail to file the 4% tax assessment form, your escrow account will not have enough money in it to pay the tax bill at the end of the year. Your mortgage company will pay the higher bill for you, but this will result in a higher mortgage payment for you the following year.

Avoid all that mess by downloading one of these forms and walking it in to your county office. These are the forms you need to file to receive the discounted 4% tax rate on your property in Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester County:

Berkeley County 4% Form

Charleston County 4% Form

Dorchester County 4% Form

Please note: These links were accurate as of 10/10/22. You may want to call the county (see links to their sites above) to see if the forms have changed since that date.

If you have any questions about buying real estate in South Carolina, please call me directly at 843-870-0890.