South Carolina Paycheck Calculator

South Carolina taxes income on a graduated state schedule for 2026, applied after the state deduction for your filing status. This calculator applies that on top of federal withholding and Social Security / Medicare to estimate your South Carolina take-home pay.

South Carolina uses a graduated income tax with 2 brackets for 2026, with marginal rates ranging from 1.99% to a top rate of 5.21% (which applies to single-filer taxable income above $30,000). For 2026, South Carolina's state standard deduction is $15,000 for single filers and $30,000 for married couples filing jointly, shrinking above $40,000 of income for single filers and $80,000 for married couples filing jointly. As a worked example, a single filer earning $60,000 pays about $1,662 in South Carolina income tax (roughly 2.8% of gross) before federal tax and FICA.

What this estimate doesn't include: South Carolina rewrote its income tax for 2026 (H. 4216, Act 110): 1.99% on taxable income below $30,000 and 5.21% above, with the South Carolina Income Adjusted Deduction (SCIAD) replacing the federal standard deduction. The SCIAD starts at $15,000 for single or married filing separately, $22,500 for head of household and $30,000 for married filing jointly, and shrinks as income rises until it reaches zero at $95,000, $142,500 and $190,000 respectively. This calculator now applies that reduction. The statute measures it against your federal adjusted gross income; we use your wages less pre-tax deductions, so if you have income or adjustments outside your paycheck your real deduction may be smaller than shown. South Carolina starts from federal AGI; this estimate approximates taxable income as wages minus the SCIAD and does not model federal-AGI adjustments, the capped state EITC ($200), or other SC credits. South Carolina has no local/city income tax on wages. Under H.4216 the top rate may be reduced further in future years if state revenue triggers are met; figures shown are the enacted 2026 rates. Paycheck withholding is a separate calculation from the yearly tax. The 2026 SC Withholding Tax Formula the SC Department of Revenue currently publishes (form WH-1603F, Rev. 11/4/25) was issued before H. 4216 was signed and still withholds at the older 0%, 3% and 6% rates using a $5,000 personal allowance. Until the SCDOR reissues it, the South Carolina tax withheld on a 2026 paystub may not match the yearly estimate shown here. City, county or school-district income taxes where they apply, court-ordered deductions, union dues, and anything else your specific employer withholds are not in this figure; your pay stub is the authority on those.

South Carolina's graduated single-filer schedule for 2026, applied after the state deduction:

$7.25/hour (≈$15,080/year full-time). South Carolina has NO state minimum wage law; FLSA-covered workers default to the federal $7.25/hr.

No South Carolina city or county levies a local income/payroll tax; only state income tax is withheld.

For tax years 2025 to 2028 there is a federal deduction for qualified overtime premium pay and tips (OBBBA caps & rules). FICA comes out either way.

South Carolina state income tax: South Carolina does not allow the federal tips and overtime deductions on your South Carolina return. For 2025 it follows federal tax law only as it stood at the end of 2024, so you add them back. From 2026, South Carolina starts from your federal adjusted gross income, a figure worked out before these deductions come off, so they never reach the South Carolina return. (source: dor.sc.gov)

• Overtime: 2025 — not deductible on your South Carolina return (still state-taxed); 2026–2028 — not deductible on your South Carolina return (still state-taxed).
• Tips: 2025 — not deductible on your South Carolina return (still state-taxed); 2026–2028 — not deductible on your South Carolina return (still state-taxed).

Related: tips by state · tips calculator · overtime calculator · overtime by state.

• For the 2026 tax year, South Carolina stops using the federal standard or itemized deduction. It starts from federal adjusted gross income and subtracts a new South Carolina Income Adjusted Deduction (SCIAD) instead. The 2026 withholding formula the SC Department of Revenue still publishes uses the older rates, so the state tax taken from a 2026 paycheck may not match the yearly tax.