South Carolina Business Tax Incentives in 2026

South Carolina's main business incentives are job-creation tax credits (including a version for businesses with 99 or fewer employees), an investment tax credit for manufacturing equipment, a corporate headquarters credit, property tax breaks through a five-year abatement and negotiated fee-in-lieu-of-tax (FILOT) deals, a sales tax exemption for manufacturing machinery, and free workforce training through readySC for qualifying projects. Some are automatic if you meet the rules; others are negotiated with the state or your county.

Last checked: October 25, 2026. This page is general information, not tax, legal, or financial advice.

The main programs at a glance

The South Carolina Department of Commerce lists the full set on its incentives page, and the South Carolina Department of Revenue (SCDOR) lists the credit forms on its tax credits page.

Job Tax Credit

The Job Tax Credit is statutory, so you don't apply to a state board for approval. It's available to manufacturing, processing, warehousing and distribution, research and development, corporate office, tourism, agribusiness, qualifying technology-intensive facilities and some other business types. Most must create a monthly average of at least 10 net new full-time jobs.

The credit amount depends on the county's development tier. SC Code Section 12-6-3360 sets the per-job amounts at $1,500 in Tier I counties, $2,750 in Tier II, $20,250 in Tier III and $25,000 in Tier IV. Jobs in a multi-county industrial park can get an extra $1,000 per job. SCDOR re-ranks counties every year; its 2026 list is in SC Information Letter #25-21.

Limits matter here. The credit runs for five years starting the year after the jobs are created, only while you keep the required jobs. It can't exceed 50% of your South Carolina income tax, bank tax or insurance premium tax liability for the year, and unused credit can carry forward up to 15 years. It's claimed on SCDOR Form TC-4.

Small Business Jobs Tax Credit

Businesses with 99 or fewer full-time employees worldwide can qualify by creating at least two new full-time jobs instead of 10, per SC Commerce. Jobs paying at least 120% of the lower of the county or state per capita income get the full per-job amount; jobs below that get 50%. There's a standard version (Form TC-4SB) and an accelerated version that starts in the year the jobs are created (Form TC-4SA), but you can't claim both for the same jobs. The same 50%-of-liability limit and 15-year carryforward apply.

Job Development Credit

The Job Development Credit is discretionary. A company applies to the South Carolina Coordinating Council for Economic Development and, if approved, signs a Revitalization Agreement. The company then keeps a portion of its new employees' state income tax withholding to reimburse approved project costs, such as training, real property, utilities and infrastructure. Employees still get full credit for their withholding. Companies generally must create at least 10 new full-time jobs, offer a health plan, and pay at least 50% of eligible employees' premiums. SC Commerce says the Council generally caps annual collections at $3,250 per qualifying employee.

Investment Tax Credit for manufacturers

Companies that place qualified manufacturing and productive equipment in service in South Carolina may get a credit based on the equipment's federal recovery period, per SC Commerce and SCDOR:

Unused credit generally carries forward 10 years. It's claimed on Form TC-11.

Corporate Headquarters Tax Credit

A company establishing or expanding a regional, national or global headquarters may get a credit equal to 20% of qualifying headquarters costs, including certain real property, lease and equipment costs, per SC Commerce. Requirements include at least $50,000 in qualifying real property costs and at least 40 new full-time headquarters jobs paying at least twice the state's per capita income with health benefits. A company that operates only in South Carolina doesn't qualify. The credit is nonrefundable, carries forward 10 years, and is claimed on Form TC-8.

Property tax incentives

Five-year abatement. Manufacturers and research and development facilities investing at least $50,000 can get a five-year exemption from county operating property taxes. Distribution and headquarters facilities also need at least 75 new full-time jobs. School operating taxes are not exempt.

FILOT. A fee-in-lieu-of-property-taxes agreement is negotiated with your county. Instead of regular property taxes, you pay a fee that can use a lower assessment ratio, as low as 6% instead of the 10.5% generally applied to manufacturing property, and a fixed or periodically adjusted millage rate. The usual minimum investment is $2.5 million. State law lowers it to $1 million in high-unemployment counties, but SCDOR says no county qualifies for the lower threshold in 2026. Counties decide whether to grant a FILOT.

Super FILOT. Projects investing at least $400 million, or at least $150 million while creating at least 125 new full-time jobs, can negotiate an assessment ratio as low as 4%.

Sales tax exemption for manufacturing machinery

South Carolina exempts qualifying machines used in manufacturing, processing, agricultural packaging, recycling, compounding, mining and quarrying from sales and use tax, along with qualifying parts and attachments. The machine generally has to be integral and necessary to the process. Cars, trucks, and equipment used only for warehousing, distribution or administration don't qualify. You give your vendor Form ST-8; it isn't filed with SCDOR.

Workforce training and other programs

readySC, a division of the South Carolina Technical College System, provides customized recruiting and training for qualifying new and expanding companies, and approved services are free for qualifying projects. Apprenticeship Carolina helps employers build registered apprenticeship programs, and state tax credits may be available.

Two more worth knowing: a corporate income tax moratorium for qualifying companies in designated counties (SCDOR lists Marlboro, Union and Chesterfield for 2026), and the discretionary Closing Fund for high-impact projects.