SOUTH CAROLINA PAYCHECK CALCULATOR
Quick answer: on a $70,000 salary in South Carolina, filing Single, you take home roughly $55,750 a year, which works out to about $2,144 every two weeks on a biweekly schedule.
South Carolina overhauled its entire income tax system for 2026. Scroll down to plug in your own numbers, or read on for what actually changed.
South Carolina’s income tax looked very different just a few months ago. Under House Bill 4216, signed March 30, 2026, the state collapsed what had been a three-bracket system, 0%, 3%, and a top rate that had been trending down toward 6.2%, into just two brackets: 1.99% on the first $30,000 of taxable income, and 5.21% above that. The same law made a second, less obvious but arguably bigger change: South Carolina decoupled from the federal standard deduction entirely and replaced it with a new state-specific deduction called the South Carolina Income Adjusted Deduction, or SCIAD. The law also sets up a framework for further rate reductions in future years tied to state revenue growth, though nothing beyond 2026 is locked in yet. Independent analysis of the bill notes it delivers its largest dollar benefit to the highest earners in the state, while capping South Carolina’s Earned Income Tax Credit at $200 per filer, down from a previously uncapped credit equal to 125% of the federal EITC.
What lands on a South Carolina paystub reflects this new structure. Federal income tax, Social Security, and Medicare come out first, the same as anywhere else. South Carolina state tax follows, using the new two-bracket system on taxable income after the SCIAD, which starts at $15,000 for a single filer but shrinks as income rises, phasing out completely by $95,000. There is no local city or county income tax anywhere in South Carolina, and no state disability insurance or paid family leave deduction either. If you are comparing South Carolina against a neighbor, see the Georgia paycheck calculator for a similarly-sized flat-leaning state, keeping in mind that North Carolina, just across the border, runs a flat 4.5% rate with a very different deduction structure.
South Carolina Paycheck Calculator
How the Federal Number Was Worked Out
Take the default example above, a single filer earning $70,000 a year with no other adjustments. Here is exactly how the federal piece gets built, step by step, using the 2026 IRS brackets and the $16,100 single standard deduction. Note that South Carolina no longer uses this federal deduction on its own return, a direct result of the 2026 reform.
Step 1. $70,000 gross minus the $16,100 standard deduction leaves $53,900 in federal taxable income.
Step 2. The first $12,400 is taxed at 10%, which comes to $1,240.
Step 3. The next chunk, from $12,400 to $50,400, is taxed at 12%. That is $38,000 taxed at 12%, or $4,560.
Step 4. The remaining $3,500, from $50,400 up to the $53,900 taxable income figure, is taxed at 22%, adding $770.
Step 5. Add it up: $1,240 + $4,560 + $770 = $6,570 in federal income tax, an effective federal rate of about 9.4% on the full $70,000.
South Carolina’s own calculation starts fresh from the $70,000 figure, not the federal taxable income number, since the state now uses its own SCIAD deduction instead.
South Carolina vs Nearby States at $70,000 (Single Filer)
These numbers assume a single filer using each state’s own deduction system, with no local or city-level tax added.
| State | State Income Tax | Effective State Rate | Est. Net Pay* |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Carolina | $2,326 | 3.32% | $55,749 |
| Georgia | $2,745 | 3.92% | $55,330 |
*Net pay estimate includes federal tax and FICA at $70,000 gross, single filer, before any local or city-level tax. North Carolina is left out of this table since its exact 2026 comparison requires accounting for South Carolina’s newly restructured SCIAD deduction, which does not translate directly to a simple side-by-side; North Carolina runs a flat 4.5% rate with its own standard deduction, worth checking directly for a precise comparison.
South Carolina’s new structure actually edges out Georgia’s flat 4.99% rate at this income level, a meaningful shift from where South Carolina stood before the 2026 reform under its old graduated brackets. The SCIAD’s phase-out means this comparison changes shape at different income levels, though: a South Carolina filer earning well above $95,000 gets no SCIAD benefit at all and faces the full 5.21% rate on most of their income, while a lower earner still within the phase-out range benefits from a partial deduction on top of the lower 1.99% bracket.
Where Your Paycheck Money Actually Goes
Picture that same $70,000 salary landing as a biweekly paycheck of $2,692.31 before anything is taken out. Here is the order things get pulled, and what is left standing at the end.
Federal income tax comes off first, working out to roughly $252.69 per biweekly check based on the annual $6,570 figure above.
Social Security takes 6.2% of every check up until your year-to-date wages hit the 2026 wage base of $184,500. On $2,692.31, that is $166.92 gone.
Medicare takes 1.45% with no cap at all, which is $39.04 on this check. The extra 0.9% Medicare surtax only kicks in once your total wages for the year pass $200,000 for a single filer, so it does not apply here.
South Carolina state tax, based on the roughly $2,326 annual figure, works out to about $89.46 per biweekly check.
There is no state disability, paid family leave, or local city tax on a standard South Carolina paystub. Add those four deductions together and about $548.11 disappears from the $2,692.31 gross, leaving a net paycheck of roughly $2,144.20 every two weeks, or $55,749.20 across the full year.
What Changed Under House Bill 4216
The table below compares South Carolina’s old system, in place through tax year 2025, against the new structure that applies starting with tax year 2026.
| Feature | 2025 and Earlier | 2026 Onward (H.4216) |
|---|---|---|
| Brackets | Three brackets: 0%, 3%, and a top rate trending toward 6.2% | Two brackets: 1.99% up to $30,000, 5.21% above |
| Deduction | Conformed to the federal standard deduction | New South Carolina Income Adjusted Deduction (SCIAD), state-specific |
| Earned Income Tax Credit | 125% of the federal EITC, uncapped | Capped at $200 per filer |
| Future rate path | N/A | Framework for further cuts if state revenue conditions are met |
The SCIAD phases out as income rises. For a single filer, the deduction starts at $15,000 and shrinks proportionally once federal adjusted gross income passes $40,000, disappearing entirely at $95,000. For married couples filing jointly, the deduction starts at $30,000 and phases out between $80,000 and $190,000. Head of household filers start at $22,500, phasing out between $60,000 and $142,500. Because South Carolina previously used federal taxable income, which already had the federal standard deduction baked in, as its starting point, the new law requires taxpayers to add that federal deduction back before applying the SCIAD instead, a technical wrinkle that mostly matters for how the state’s own tax forms are structured rather than changing the final bottom-line math described here.
How South Carolina’s Tax Burden Stacks Up
| Tax Type | South Carolina | National Picture |
|---|---|---|
| Income tax | Two brackets, 1.99% and 5.21%, with a state-specific deduction that phases out | Nine states charge no income tax at all; several charge over 9% |
| Property tax | Roughly 0.57% effective rate, below the national average | National average sits close to 0.9% to 1.1% |
| Estate tax | No state estate or inheritance tax | Most states have no estate tax either |
South Carolina’s property tax has long been one of the lower rates in the Southeast, and that did not change with the 2026 income tax reform. What changed is how much of a resident’s tax bill runs through the income tax versus everything else, with the new lower brackets and phasing-out SCIAD shifting real dollars back toward lower and middle earners in the near term, even as independent analysis of the bill projects the largest long-term benefit flowing to the state’s highest earners as the structure matures toward its eventual flat-rate goal.
Retirees in South Carolina
South Carolina remains a genuinely competitive state for retirees even after the 2026 overhaul, and some of its most retiree-friendly features predate the reform entirely and were left untouched. Social Security benefits are fully exempt from South Carolina income tax, no phase-outs or income limits involved. Military retirement pay qualifies for a substantial deduction, and South Carolina’s long-standing 44% exclusion on net long-term capital gains remains one of the more generous capital gains breaks offered by any state with an income tax, a real advantage for retirees drawing down investment portfolios. Combined with the state’s below-average property tax rate, South Carolina continues to draw retirees from higher-tax states in the Northeast and Midwest, and the 2026 reform’s lower bracket rates only add to that appeal for retirees whose income still falls within the SCIAD’s phase-out range.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is South Carolina’s state income tax rate for 2026?
South Carolina now uses two brackets for 2026: 1.99% on the first $30,000 of taxable income, and 5.21% above that. This replaced the state’s older three-bracket system, which had topped out at 6.2%, under House Bill 4216 (Act 110), signed by Governor McMaster on March 30, 2026.
What is the South Carolina Income Adjusted Deduction (SCIAD)?
The SCIAD is a new state-specific deduction that replaced South Carolina’s previous reliance on the federal standard deduction. It starts at $15,000 for single filers, $22,500 for head of household, and $30,000 for married filing jointly, but phases out as income rises, reaching $0 for single filers once federal adjusted gross income hits $95,000.
Why do other South Carolina tax calculators show different numbers than this one?
South Carolina’s tax structure changed significantly with House Bill 4216, signed March 30, 2026. Many online calculators and guides had not yet been updated to reflect the new two-bracket system and the SCIAD deduction at the time of this page’s research, and may still show the older three-bracket system topping out at 6.2% with a standard deduction matching the federal amount.
Does South Carolina have a local city income tax?
No. South Carolina has no city or county income tax anywhere in the state. The only income tax on a South Carolina paycheck is the state’s own two-bracket system, on top of federal tax and FICA.
Will South Carolina’s tax rate keep dropping after 2026?
The law sets standards for additional rate reductions in future years, with some analyses suggesting an eventual path toward a flat rate closer to 1.99% or 2.49% if the state’s revenue conditions are met. Whether and how quickly further cuts happen depends on future state income growth and subsequent legislative action, not an automatic yearly schedule.
Does South Carolina tax Social Security and retirement income?
South Carolina does not tax Social Security benefits at all. Military retirement pay qualifies for a substantial deduction, and the state also offers a 44% exclusion on net long-term capital gains, a long-standing feature that predates the 2026 reform and remains in place.
South Carolina’s tax code just changed more in one bill than most states change in a decade, and the paycheck math reflects that directly. The two-bracket system is simpler on its face than what it replaced, but the SCIAD’s phase-out adds a layer of complexity that the old federal-conformity approach never had, especially for anyone earning between roughly $40,000 and $95,000, right where the deduction shrinks fastest. Anyone budgeting off an older South Carolina tax estimate from earlier in 2026 should treat that number as outdated and rerun it against the current law.