What’s included, and what isn’t
The calculator counts what usually comes out of a seller’s side of the settlement statement: loan payoffs, the commission you agree to, credits to the buyer, the attorney’s fee, the deed recording fee, your share of this year’s property taxes, HOA items, repairs and anything else you add.
It doesn’t include income tax on any gain from the sale, nonresident withholding, a final water or utility bill, or liens and judgments a title search might turn up. If you have any of those, add them under Other.
What’s different about selling in South Carolina?
An attorney runs the closing
In South Carolina a licensed attorney handles the closing. The attorney prepares the deed, pays off your loans, collects the recording fee and sends you your money. Ask for the seller-side fee up front so there are no surprises.
The deed recording fee
South Carolina doesn’t call it a transfer tax, but that’s what it works like. The fee is $1.85 for every $500 of the price, or any part of $500. Of that, $1.30 goes to the state and $0.55 to the county. State law makes it the seller’s responsibility (the grantor’s), though the contract can say otherwise. Any part of $500 counts as a whole unit: a price of $600,001 is 1,201 units of $500, not 1,200. The rate is the same in Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties because it’s set by state law.
Property taxes are paid in arrears
Your tax bill covers the year that just ended. Charleston County mails bills in early October, and they’re due by January 15. So when you sell in, say, June, this year’s bill hasn’t been sent yet. The buyer will pay all of it. At closing you credit the buyer for your share: January 1 through closing day. The calculator does that math with your last annual bill as the estimate. Whether closing day itself counts as yours depends on the contract. It’s one day’s worth of taxes either way.
4% vs. 6%, and why the buyer’s bill may change
A home you own and live in as your legal residence can be taxed at a 4% assessment ratio, but only if you applied for it. Second homes and rentals are taxed at 6%. When a home sells, the county can reassess it at the new market value, and the 4% ratio doesn’t pass to the buyer: they have to apply for their own. So the buyer’s bill next year may be quite different from yours. That doesn’t change what you owe at closing. Your proration is based on your own bill.
Selling from out of state: nonresident withholding
If you’re not a South Carolina resident, state law (S.C. Code §12-8-580) requires the buyer to withhold state income tax from the sale. The closing attorney handles it. For individuals the rate is South Carolina’s top individual income tax rate for the year of the sale. It used to be a flat 7%, but a 2024 change tied it to the top rate. For corporations it’s 5%. Without an affidavit, it’s figured on the whole amount you realize. With a seller’s affidavit stating your gain, it’s figured on the gain instead. Gain you can exclude on a principal residence under the federal home-sale exclusion isn’t subject to it, and some sellers who file in South Carolina can be treated as residents by affidavit. The amount withheld is credited against your South Carolina income tax return. Tell your closing attorney early, and talk to your tax advisor. The federal FIRPTA rules for foreign sellers are separate; if you’re not a U.S. person, raise that with the attorney too.
Common questions
What is the deed recording fee when you sell a house in South Carolina?
It is $1.85 for each $500 of the sale price, or any part of $500: $1.30 goes to the state and $0.55 to the county. On a $600,000 sale that is $2,220. State law makes it the seller’s (grantor’s) responsibility, though the contract can shift it.
How much is the real estate commission when you sell in Charleston?
There is no set rate. Commissions are negotiable and set by agreement between you and your listing brokerage. Whether you offer anything toward the buyer’s agent is a separate decision you make, and it is also negotiable. That’s why the calculator leaves the field blank for you to fill in.
Why do I owe property taxes at closing if I already paid my tax bill?
South Carolina property taxes are billed in arrears. The bill you paid by January 15 covered last year. This year’s bill won’t arrive until fall, after you’ve sold, and the buyer will pay it. So you credit the buyer for the days you owned the home this year.
Will the buyer’s property taxes be the same as mine?
Often not. A sale lets the county reassess the home at its new market value, and the 4% legal residence ratio belongs to the owner who applied for it, not the house. None of that changes what you owe at closing: your proration is based on your own tax bill.
I live out of state. Will money be withheld from my proceeds?
It can be. South Carolina requires the buyer (in practice, the closing attorney) to withhold income tax when the seller is a nonresident, unless an exception or seller affidavit applies. Tell your closing attorney early so the right affidavit is ready, and talk to your tax advisor.
Is this calculator my final number?
No. It is an estimate to help you plan. Your real number is on the settlement statement the closing attorney prepares before closing, and that statement governs.
Sources
Fee rates and rules checked October 21, 2026.
- S.C. Code Title 12, Chapter 24: §12-24-10 (fee of $1.85 per $500 or fractional part), §12-24-20 (grantor liable), §12-24-90 ($1.30 state, $0.55 county)
- SC Department of Revenue: Deed Recording Fee
- Charleston County Register of Deeds: recording fee list (deed: $1.30 state and $0.55 county per $500 of consideration)
- S.C. Code Title 12, Chapter 8: §12-8-580 (nonresident seller withholding)
- SCDOR Form I-290, Nonresident Real Estate Withholding
- Charleston County: Tax Exemptions (4% legal residence, ATI exemption)
- Charleston County Assessor’s Office (tax bills mailed in early October; 4% is by application)
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