If I own a pickup truck with an empty weight of 8,000 pounds and a gross weight of 9,000 pounds, do I get the 6% personal motor vehicle property tax rate or the 10.5% rate for other personal property?
Plain-English summary
Representative Fawn Pedalino had a constituent whose pickup truck (8,000 lb empty, 9,000 lb gross) was being taxed at South Carolina's 10.5% "all other personal property" rate instead of the 6% "personal motor vehicle" rate that the state constitution sets for cars and pickup trucks. She asked the AG three things: does this truck qualify as a "personal motor vehicle," what is the right assessment rate, and does the federal commercial-driver-license-style "gross vehicle weight rating" (GVWR) defined in § 56-1-2030 matter to the classification?
The AG (through Assistant Attorney General David Leggett, reviewed by Solicitor General Emeritus Robert Cook) walked through the statutory layers and gave clean answers: yes, no confusion needed, and no.
To get the 6% rate, three conditions must be met (S.C. Const. art. X § 1(8)(B)(1) plus § 12-37-2645 plus § 56-3-630):
- The truck is owned and operated by an individual, not a manufacturer, transportation company, or other commercial entity.
- The truck is designed, used, and maintained for the transportation of 10 or fewer people.
- Empty weight at or below 9,000 pounds and gross weight (the truck plus any load) at or below 11,000 pounds.
The 8,000-empty / 9,000-gross constituent truck clears all three. The right assessment rate is 6%.
The GVWR question matters because some auditors apparently look up the manufacturer's GVWR sticker, see something close to or above 11,000 pounds, and use that to push the truck out of the 6% category. The AG said that is wrong. "Gross vehicle weight rating" defined in § 56-1-2030 is a Title 56 Chapter 1 Article 13 term used for commercial driver licensing. It is not used in Article X § 1(8)(B)(1), § 12-37-2645, or § 56-3-630. The relevant gross-weight definition for the property tax classification is in § 56-3-20(19): "the weight of a vehicle without load plus the weight of any load on it." Auditors should use that, not GVWR.
What this means for you
If you own a pickup truck and were charged the 10.5% rate
Look at three numbers. (1) The truck's empty weight (curb weight from the manufacturer's spec). (2) The truck's actual gross weight (empty plus typical load). (3) The truck's GVWR sticker on the door jamb. For property tax purposes, only (1) and (2) matter. If (1) is 9,000 pounds or less and (2) is 11,000 pounds or less, and you are an individual (not a business) using the truck to carry 10 or fewer people, you should be at 6%, not 10.5%.
Practical steps:
- Pull your most recent property tax bill and look at the assessment ratio used.
- If you were assessed at 10.5%, file an appeal with your county auditor or assessor. Cite this AG opinion (Op. S.C. Att'y Gen., October 13, 2025), Article X § 1(8)(B)(1), and §§ 12-37-2645 and 56-3-630.
- Bring documentation: title showing individual ownership, manufacturer specs showing empty weight, registration, and a description of how you use the truck (personal vs. commercial).
The constitutional rate has been 6% since 2007. There is no transitional issue.
If you are a county auditor or assessor
Stop using GVWR for the personal motor vehicle classification. The AG has now publicly said GVWR is irrelevant to the Article X § 1(8)(B)(1) determination. Use the § 56-3-20(19) gross-weight definition instead: empty weight plus any load weight. For most pickup trucks, that translates to a real-world max gross weight on the road, not a manufacturer rating.
If your office has been classifying half-ton, three-quarter-ton, and one-ton pickups based on GVWR alone, expect appeals from owners citing this opinion. The defensive read of the statute is to use the actual empty and load weights.
If you are a county council or treasurer
The 6% versus 10.5% difference is large in dollar terms. A $50,000 pickup at 10.5% has an assessed value of $5,250; at 6% it is $3,000. With local millage rates often in the 200-300 range, that is real money per year. If your county has been over-assessing pickups, expect a wave of refund requests. Consider issuing internal guidance to all county tax offices to align with this opinion.
If you are an attorney representing a tax appellant
This is a clean opinion to attach to your appeal letter. The constitutional and statutory text is self-executing, and the AG's reading is straightforward plain-language interpretation. The opinion also cleans up the GVWR confusion that has been the most common reason for misclassification.
Common questions
Q: What is the difference between empty weight, gross weight, and GVWR?
A: Empty weight (sometimes called curb weight) is the truck without any load. Gross weight is empty weight plus any load currently on the truck (cargo, passengers, gear). GVWR is the maximum gross weight the manufacturer rates the truck for, and it is set on the door jamb sticker. Property tax classification uses empty and gross weight, not GVWR.
Q: Can a heavier-than-9,000-pound truck still get the 6% rate if it is for personal use?
A: No. The empty-weight ceiling is 9,000 pounds and the gross-weight ceiling is 11,000 pounds. A truck above either ceiling falls outside the personal motor vehicle definition for tax purposes, even if it is used personally.
Q: What about a one-ton dually with a GVWR of 14,000 pounds but an empty weight of 8,500 pounds?
A: If the empty weight is 8,500 and the gross weight (when you weigh the truck on a scale with a typical load) is 11,000 pounds or less, it qualifies. The GVWR sticker does not matter.
Q: I use my truck for my landscaping business. Does it still qualify?
A: The opinion focuses on individual ownership and operation. A truck owned by a sole proprietor is generally still individually owned. A truck owned by an LLC or corporation is not. Regardless of ownership form, if the truck is "owned by or leased to companies primarily engaged in transportation for hire," it is governed by Article X § 1(2), not § 1(8). Talk to a tax professional about the line.
Q: I have a passenger van with 12 seats. Does it qualify?
A: § 56-3-630 limits private passenger motor vehicles to those carrying 10 or fewer persons. A 12-passenger van fails this test and would not qualify for the 6% rate.
Q: What about RVs or motorhomes?
A: Different statutes apply. RVs and motorhomes have their own classification and assessment rules under § 12-37-2645 and elsewhere. The pickup truck analysis here does not directly apply.
Q: Where do I appeal an over-assessment?
A: Start with the county auditor or assessor's office. If denied, appeal to the county Board of Assessment Appeals, then the Administrative Law Court. Time limits apply, so move quickly.
Background and statutory framework
South Carolina property taxation works through a layered structure. Article X § 1 of the state constitution sets assessment ratios for different classes of property: 4% for owner-occupied residences, 4% for agricultural land, 6% for personal motor vehicles, 10.5% for "all other personal property," and so on. The assessment ratio is applied to fair market value to get an "assessed value," which is then multiplied by the millage rate set by the county council, school district, or other taxing entity to produce the tax bill.
The 6% personal motor vehicle rate is a 2001 constitutional amendment (Act No. 10, 2001) that phased the rate down from 10.5% in stages, reaching 6% in 2007. It applies only to "personal motor vehicles which must be titled by a state or federal agency, limited to passenger motor vehicles and pickup trucks, as defined by law."
The "as defined by law" hook sends the analyst to § 12-37-2645, which incorporates the § 56-3-630 definition of "private passenger motor vehicle" with one upward adjustment: pickup trucks get a 9,000 pound empty weight and 11,000 pound gross weight ceiling instead of the slightly lower passenger vehicle limits, plus motorcycles count as private passenger motor vehicles for tax purposes. § 56-3-630 itself defines a private passenger motor vehicle as one designed, used, and maintained for 10 or fewer persons, with the weight limits.
The "gross weight" definition that matters for this classification is in § 56-3-20(19): "the weight of a vehicle without load plus the weight of any load on it." This is the actual real-world weight of the truck.
The confusion comes from § 56-1-2030, which defines a different concept, "gross vehicle weight rating" (GVWR), for commercial driver licensing in Title 56 Chapter 1 Article 13. That definition does not cross over to the property tax classification. The opinion explicitly resolves the cross-reference question: § 56-3-630 sits in Title 56 Chapter 3 Article 5, not in Title 56 Chapter 1 Article 13, so § 56-1-2030's GVWR definition is not incorporated.
The opinion also calls out a typographical error in § 12-37-2645: it cites "Section 1(8)(B)(a)" of Article X, but the correct constitutional reference is Article X § 1(8)(B)(1). The AG treats this as a typo with no substantive effect.
Finally, the opinion repeats the standard caveat that the AG cannot make factual determinations about a particular vehicle. The legal analysis sets the framework; the auditor or court applies it to the facts of the specific truck.
Citations and references
Constitutional and statutory authority:
- S.C. Const. art. X, § 1 (Property tax classifications)
- S.C. Code § 12-37-2645 (Personal motor vehicle definition for tax purposes)
- S.C. Code § 56-3-630 (DMV private passenger motor vehicle classification)
- S.C. Code § 56-3-20 (Title 56 Chapter 3 definitions, including § 56-3-20(19) gross weight)
- S.C. Code § 56-1-2030 (CDL article definitions, including GVWR)
Source
- Landing page: https://www.scag.gov/opinions/opinions-archive/opinion-regarding-the-assessment-rate-for-pickup-trucks/
- Original PDF: https://www.scag.gov/media/c3mfd3ad/pedalinof-os-11069-final-opinion-10-13-2025.pdf
Original opinion text
Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain. The linked PDF is authoritative.
ALAN WILSON
ATTORNEY GENERAL
October 13, 2025
The Honorable Fawn M. Pedalino, Member
South Carolina House of Representatives
PO Box 11867
Columbia, SC 29211
Dear Representative Pedalino:
Attorney General Alan Wilson referred your letter to the Opinions section for a response.
You seek an opinion regarding whether a pickup truck with an empty weight of 8,000 pounds and
a gross weight of 9,000 pounds qualifies, for tax assessment purposes, as a personal motor vehicle;
if the subject truck is classified as a personal motor vehicle, what should its assessment rate be;
and what, if any, relevance does a vehicle’s gross vehicle weight rating, as defined in S.C. Code
Ann, § 56-1-2030, have to the vehicle’s classification and assessment rate. You included with your
letter, and in a subsequent email, information relating to the tax bill for a particular pickup truck
owned by one of your constituents.
Law/Analysis
This Office is unable to determine facts in an advisory opinion. As we have stated in prior
opinions, “[b]ecause this Office does not have the authority of a court or other fact-finding body,
we are not able to adjudicate or investigate factual questions.” Op. S.C. Att’y Gen., 2003 WL
21040130 at 1 (Feb. 19, 2003) (quoting Op. S.C. Att’y Gen., Oct. 10, 1985, at 2 and Sept. 3,
1999, at *2). Therefore, this Office cannot make factual determinations regarding the proper tax
assessment rate for the specific pickup truck you reference, but the Office can render an opinion
on general questions of law regarding how to classify a pickup truck owned and operated by an
individual with an empty weight of 8,000 pounds and a gross weight of 9,000 pounds and the
resulting tax assessment.
Article X § 1 of the South Carolina Constitution authorizes the General Assembly to
“provide for the ad valorem taxation by the State or any of its subdivisions of all real and personal
property.” Article X § 1 then lists a variety of classifications for property and proscribes an
assessment rate for each category.! See S.C. Const. art. X § 1. The first seven subsections do not
' Assessment rates form one portion of the formula used to calculate a property owner’s tax
liability. Generally, tax liability is calculated according to the following formula:
MENMBERT C. DENNIS SUILDING © POST OFFICE ROX 11549 6 COLUMBIA, SC 29211-1549 "TELEPHONE 802-734-3670
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The Honorable Fawn M, Pedalino
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October 13, 2025
address the classification or assessment rate for motor vehicles owned and operated by
individuals.” Id. § 1 (1)-(7). Subsection (8)(A) serves a catch-all provision requiring “all other
personal property must be taxed on an assessment equal to ten and one-half percent of the fair
market value of the property;” however, subsection (8)(B)(1) then provides an exception for
personal motor vehicles stating:
Personal motor vehicles which must be titled by a state or federal agency,
limited to passenger motor vehicles and pickup trucks, as defined by law, must
be taxed on an assessment equal to [six percent] of fair market value of the
property.*
Id. § 1(8). Thus, the assessment rate for qualifying personal motor vehicles is 6%, and the
assessment rate for all other motor vehicles owned and operated by individuals is 10.5%.
As you point out in your letter, S.C. Code Ann. § 12-37-2645 lays out criteria to determine
whether a vehicle qualifies as a personal motor vehicle under Article X § 1(8)(B)(1). Section 12-
37-2645 states:
[For defining those motor vehicles subject to the assessment ratios provided in
Section 1(8)(B)(a)* of Article X of the Constitution of this State, the definition
Assessed Value multiplied by the Assessment Rate (determined by the classification of the
property and set by the Constitution) multiplied by the Millage Rate (determined by the entity
levying the tax, e.g., county council, school district, city, etc.) divided by 1,000 equals Tax
Liability.
- Subsections 1 and 2 establish assessment rates for property “owned by or leased to manufacturers,
utilities and mining operations and used by the manufacturer, utility or mining operation, in the
conduct of such business” or “owned by or leased to companies primarily engaged in
transportation for hire of persons or property and used by the company in the conduct of such
business,” respectively. While these classifications could cover motor vehicles, they do not affect
motor vehicles owned and operated by individuals, such as the pickup truck your letter references,
and therefore are not relevant to the remaining analysis of this opinion.
3 Tn 2001, a constitutional amendment was ratified which provided for a gradual lowering of the
assessment rate on personal motor vehicles beginning with a drop from 10.5% to 9.75% in 2002
and decreasing by another 0.75% each year until reaching 6% in 2007. Act No. 10, 2001 S.C. Acts
68. Since 2007, the personal motor vehicle tax rate has remained at 6%. See S.C. Const. art. X
§ 1(8)(B)().
- While § 12-37-2645 refers to “Section 1(8)(B)(a) of Article X,” the correct constitutional
reference is Article X § 1(8)(B)(1). Given both address the lowered assessment rate for personal
motor vehicles, it appears this is simply a typographical error and that § 12-37-2645 is meant to
reference Article X § 1(8)(B)(1). The remainder of this opinion is subject to this assumption.
The Honorable Fawn M. Pedalino
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October 13, 2025
of ‘private passenger motor vehicle’ provided in Section 56-3-630 applies
except that in the case of pickup trucks, the empty weight and gross weight
limits provided in that definition are increased respectively to nine thousand
pounds or less and eleven thousand pounds or less and the definition is deemed
to include motorcycles.
S.C, Code Ann. § 12-37-2645 (2014). As a result, we then turn to S.C. Code Ann. § 56-3-
630 which reads:
The Department of Motor Vehicles shall classify as a private passenger motor
vehicle every motor vehicle which is designed, used, and maintained for the
transportation of ten or fewer persons and trucks having an empty weight of
nine thousand pounds or less and a gross weight of eleven thousand pounds or
less....
§ 56-3-630 (Supp. 2025).
You note in your letter that there is some confusion about whether the definition of “gross
vehicle weight rating” in § 56-1-2030(16) may be relevant to determining if a vehicle qualifies as
a personal motor vehicle under Article X § 1(8)(B)(1). The term “gross vehicle weight rating” is
not used in Article X § 1(8)(B)(1), S.C. Code Ann. § 12-37-2645, or S.C. Code Ann. § 56-3-630.
Thus, it does not have any relevance when determining whether a motor vehicle qualifies for the
6% personal motor vehicle assessment rate.
Moreover, § 56-3-20 defines a variety of words and phrases “for the purposes of this
chapter.” S.C, Code Ann. § 56-3-20 (Supp. 2025). In § 56-3-20, “this chapter” refers to Chapter 3
of Title 56. Chapter 3 includes, inter alia, Article 5: Registration and License Fees, in which § 56-
3-630 is located. In contrast, § 56-1-2030 is located in Article 13 of Chapter 1 of Title 56. Section
56-1-2030 begins “As used in this article.” S.C. Code Ann. § 56-1-2030 (2018). Section 56-3-630
is not in Article 13 of Chapter 1 of Title 56, and we are aware of no provisions incorporating the
definition from § 56-1-2030(19) into Article 3 of Chapter 3 of Title 56. Thus, for the purposes of
§ 56-3-630 the relevant definition of “gross weight” and “gross weight vehicle” is found in § 56-
3-20(19), not § 56-1-2030(16).
“Gross weight” and “gross weight vehicle” are defined, for the purposes of § 56-3-630, as
“the weight of a vehicle without load plus the weight of any load on it.” S.C. Code Ann. § 56-3-
20(19) (Supp. 2025). Therefore, to qualify for the reduced personal motor vehicle assessment rate
of 6% in Article X § 1(8)(B)(1) a pickup truck must be (1) owned and operated by an individual,
(2) “designed, used, and maintained for the transportation of ten or fewer persons” and (3) have
an empty weight of 9,000 pounds or less and a gross weight of 11,000 pounds or less.
Which brings us to your questions. First, does a pickup truck owned and operated by an
individual with an empty weight of 8,000 pounds and a gross weight of 9,000 pounds qualify for
The Honorable Fawn M. Pedalino
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October 13, 2025
tax assessment purposes as a personal motor vehicle. Yes, it does. The vehicle is owned and
operated by an individual, so it is governed by Article X § 1(8), not subsections 1 or 2. The truck’s
empty weight, 8,000 pounds, and gross weight, 9,000 pounds, are below the statutory requirements
of 9,000 pounds and 11,000 pounds, respectively. Assuming that the vehicle is “designed, used,
and maintained for the transportation of ten or fewer persons,” the truck appears to qualify as a
private passenger motor vehicle under § 56-3-630. Pursuant to § 12-37-2645, the truck therefore
qualifies as a personal motor vehicle under Art. X § 1(8)(B)(1).
Second, you ask if a pickup truck qualifies as a personal motor vehicle, what should its
assessment rate be. The assessment rate for a qualifying personal motor vehicle should be 6%.
Article X § 1(8)(B)(1) states, “Personal motor vehicles . . . must be taxed on an assessment equal
to [six percent] of fair market value of the property.” S.C. Const. art. X § 1(8)(B)(1) (emphasis
added). The Constitution plainly states that the assessment rate for qualifying personal motor
vehicles must be 6%.
Finally, you ask what, if any, relevance does a vehicle’s gross vehicle weight rating, as
defined in $.C. Code Ann. § 56-1-2030, have to the vehicle’s classification and assessment rate.
As is discussed above, the definition of “gross vehicle weight rating” in § 56-1-2030(16) has no
bearing on whether a vehicle qualifies as a personal motor vehicle or which assessment rate should
apply to a vehicle.
Conclusion
The Office does not have the authority to make factual determinations regarding a
particular vehicle; however assuming the facts you provided, a pickup truck owned and operated
by an individual with an empty weight of 8,000 pounds and a gross weight of 9,000 pounds should
be classified for tax assessment purposes as a personal motor vehicle; the pickup truck’s
assessment rate should be the six percent rate specified in the South Carolina Constitution for
personal motor vehicles; and the vehicle’s gross vehicle weight rating, as defined in S.C. Code
Ann. § 56-1-2030, is irrelevant to the truck’s classification and assessment rate.
Ww
The Honorable Fawn M. Pedalino
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October 13, 2025
REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY:
Sze
obert D. Cook
Solicitor General Emeritus