Who has to calculate the interest on a South Carolina property tax refund after a successful appeal, the assessor or the auditor?

Plain-English summary

Beaufort County's auditor asked the South Carolina Attorney General who is legally responsible for calculating the interest owed to a taxpayer who is refunded an overpayment of property tax after winning a protest or appeal, the assessor's office (which handles real property) or the auditor's office (which handles personal property).

The AG's office reviewed the two governing statutes, Section 12-60-2550(C) for real property and Section 12-60-2930(B) for personal property, and the interest-calculation statute, Section 12-54-25, and found that none of them identify a specific office or person responsible for doing the calculation. The Department of Revenue, which can issue rules on tax protest and refund procedures, has not filled that gap either. Because the answer isn't found anywhere in the law, the AG treated the question as one of policy, not law, and declined to pick a side. On a separate but related question, the opinion did answer clearly: county council cannot force the elected county auditor to take on the real-property interest calculation just because a past auditor happened to do it, since county councils cannot expand an elected official's statutory duties without specific legislative authorization.

What this means for you

County auditors and assessors sorting out refund-interest responsibilities

The opinion holds that Sections 12-60-2550(C) and 12-60-2930(B) do not assign the interest-calculation task to either office specifically, so whichever office ends up doing it is a matter the county has to work out for itself, not something Attorney General guidance will settle. The Department of Revenue has resources available if either office needs help with the calculation itself.

County councils and administrators

The opinion holds that a county council may not assign an elected auditor an additional statutory-type duty, like calculating refund interest for real property, based simply on the fact that a previous auditor happened to perform that task; doing so requires specific legislative authorization, consistent with a long line of prior AG opinions protecting elected officials' statutory duties from being expanded or diminished by county council.

Taxpayers awaiting a refund with interest after a successful tax appeal

The opinion confirms that once a protest or appeal is finally resolved in the taxpayer's favor, the overpayment must be refunded together with interest calculated under Section 12-54-25, even though the law does not specify which county office actually runs that calculation.

Common questions

Q: Does South Carolina law say whether the assessor or the auditor calculates interest on a property tax refund?
A: No. The opinion concludes neither Section 12-60-2550(C) (real property) nor Section 12-60-2930(B) (personal property) assigns that task to a specific office, and the Department of Revenue has not issued rules resolving the gap either.

Q: Can a county council require the auditor to calculate interest on real property refunds because a prior auditor did it that way?
A: No. The opinion holds county council may not assign an elected auditor additional duties unless a statute specifically authorizes it, regardless of past practice by a predecessor.

Q: Is this a question the Attorney General's office can resolve?
A: No, according to the opinion, since the choice of which office should handle the calculation is a policy question rather than a question of law, and the AG's office only answers questions of law.

Q: Who ultimately makes sure the interest calculation gets done?
A: The opinion states the responsibility for ensuring the calculation is made rests with the county as a whole, even though the task cannot be assigned by county council or the administrator to a specific elected auditor or treasurer without legislative authority.

Background and statutory framework

South Carolina's Revenue Procedures Act, in Chapter 60 of Title 12, provides the procedure for property tax protests, appeals, and refunds. For real property, Section 12-60-2550 allows a reduced tax assessment while a protest or appeal is pending, with a corrected assessment and any refund with interest following final review. For personal property, Section 12-60-2930 does not provide for a reduced assessment during the appeal, but likewise requires a corrected assessment and interest-bearing refund after final review. Neither statute, nor the general interest-calculation statute in Section 12-54-25, names the office responsible for the calculation itself.

Separately, South Carolina's home rule framework limits how much control a county governing body can exercise over other elected county officials. Courts and prior AG opinions have consistently held that county councils cannot alter, expand, or diminish the statutory duties of an elected auditor or treasurer without specific legislative authorization, reflecting a deliberate balance between the county's interest in smooth operations and the electorate's interest in having its votes for those offices given effect.

Citations and references

Statutes:
- S.C. Code Ann. § 12-60-2550(C), real property tax refund with interest after final review
- S.C. Code Ann. § 12-60-2930(B), personal property tax refund with interest after final review
- S.C. Code Ann. § 12-54-25, calculation of interest on tax refunds
- S.C. Code Ann. § 12-60-1720, Department of Revenue's authority to prescribe protest and refund procedures

Cases:
- Eargle v. Horry Cnty., 335 S.C. 425, 517 S.E.2d 3 (Ct. App. 1999), aff'd, 344 S.C. 449, 545 S.E.2d 276 (2001), balance between county governing body control and elected officials' independent authority

Source

• Landing page: https://www.scag.gov/opinions/opinions-archive/opinion-regarding-who-is-required-to-calculate-interest-due-to-a-taxpayer-when-the-taxpayer-is-owed-a-refund-of-overpayment-of-property-taxes-following-final-review-of-a-tax-protest-or-appeal/
• Original PDF: https://www.scag.gov/media/4zzjxmdx/cadd-6-22.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain, the linked PDF is authoritative.

ALAN WILSON
ATTORNEY GENERAL

June 22, 2026

The Honorable David Cadd
Beaufort County Auditor
100 Ribaut Rd. Rm 165
Beaufort, SC 29902

Dear Auditor Cadd:

Attorney General Alan Wilson referred your letter to the Opinions section for a response.
You seek our opinion on who has the duty and authority to calculate interest given with a refund
of overpayments of taxes on real and personal property. Specifically, you ask the following
questions regarding South Carolina Code Sections 12-60-2550(C) and 12-60-2930(B):

1. With the laws referenced above that are in the assessors' and auditors' Protest, Appeal,
   and Refund procedures, is it a reasonable assumption that each office is required to
   calculate its own interest payments with each of its overpayment refunds?

2. Under any circumstances, does the law stipulate that one of the two offices, assessors
   or auditors, shall calculate interest of the other office?

3. Can the county council add an additional task for the auditor to calculate interest on
   overpayment refunds for real property, for the assessor's office, based on the prior
   auditor's having done this task?

Law/Analysis

We begin with a response to your second question. The South Carolina Revenue
Procedures Act, codified in Chapter 60 of Title 12 is designed to provide South Carolinians "a
straightforward procedure" to settle disputes concerning property taxes as well as disputes with
the Department of Revenue. S.C. Code Ann. § 12-60-20 (2014). Article 9 of Chapter 60 governs
property tax protests, appeals, and refunds. §§ 12-60-1710 through 12-60-2940 (2014 & Supp.
2025). The statutes at issue are contained within Subarticles 9 and 13 of Article 9 and address the
procedures applicable for real and personal property valued by county officials. S.C. Code Ann.
§§ 12-60-2510 through 12-60-2560 (2014) (Subarticle 9, real property valued by county assessor);
12-60-2910 through 12-60-2940 (2014) (Subarticle 13, personal property valued by county
auditor). This opinion only addresses property taxes levied at the county level.

For real property, if a protest or appeal is reasonably expected to remain unresolved at the
end of the tax year, the county assessor will notify the auditor to adjust the tax assessment to eighty
percent of the protested assessment. § 12-60-2550(A). Although the tax bill is adjusted, it must
be paid on time. Id. Once the protest or appeal is finalized, the tax assessment will be corrected
and the taxpayer may owe additional taxes or be owed a refund, depending on whether the
corrected assessment is more or less than the adjusted assessment. § 12-60-2550(B) and (C). The
statute offers the following instruction in the event the taxpayer has overpaid:

After final review of the protest or appeal, if the property tax assessment is less
than the adjusted property tax assessment, a corrected property tax assessment must
be made and entered. The overpayment of tax must be refunded together with
interest determined in accordance with Section 12-54-25.

12-60-2550(C).

For personal property, the statute does not provide for a reduced tax assessment while the
protest or appeal is pending. S.C. Code Ann. § 12-60-2930 (2014). Although Section 12-60-2930 does not direct that the property tax assessment be adjusted during
the pendency of a protest, it does reference "the adjusted property tax assessment." Despite the
use of the term, there is no indication a taxpayer challenging a personal property tax assessment
made by the county assessor is entitled to pay a reduced bill during the pendency of the appeal or
protest. However, after final review of the protest or appeal, a corrected tax assessment must
be made and entered into the county tax records. Id. If the taxpayer overpaid, the refund must be
accompanied with interest calculated pursuant to Section 12-54-25. Id.

Neither Section 12-60-2550 nor Section 12-60-2930 identify the person or specific office
responsible for calculating the interest to a taxpayer with the refund of any overpayment. Section
12-54-25, the statute that provides direction on the calculation of interest, also provides no
guidance on this issue. S.C. Code Ann. § 12-54-25 (2014). The Department of Revenue is
statutorily authorized to prescribe rules, procedures, and instructions for property tax protests,
appeals, and refunds. S.C. Code Ann. § 12-60-1720. Additionally, all assessors, auditors and
taxpayers are required to abide by any rules, regulations, or procedures the Department of Revenue
prescribes. Id. It is our understanding that the Department of Revenue has not issued any rules,
regulations, or procedures that specify who is responsible for calculating the interest that must be
paid to a taxpayer owed a refund under Section 12-60-2550 or 12-60-2930. However, it is also
our understanding that the Department of Revenue has resources available to county officials
needing help calculating interest.

We have studied the Subarticles containing these statutes as well as the overarching Article
concerning procedures for all property tax protests, appeals, and refunds. We have also reviewed
Revenue Procedures Act and the Chapters of Title 12 that address the roles of the county auditor
and county assessor. Our review of these statutes has not provided any clarity on the question of
who the General Assembly intended to be responsible for calculating interest to be paid to a
taxpayer with a refund of overpayment of property taxes to a county.

Having concluded Sections 12-60-2550 and 12-60-2930 do not specify who is responsible
for calculating the interest to be paid a taxpayer with a refund, we turn back to your initial question.
You ask whether it is reasonable to assume the assessor, who values real property, must calculate
the interest due to the taxpayer under Section 12-60-2550(C) and the auditor, who values personal
property, must calculate the interest due to a taxpayer under Section 12-60-2930(B). Who should
be responsible for calculating the interest is certainly debatable and your assumption is a fair one.
Given the lack of legislative direction, however, this is a question of policy rather than a question
of law and therefore not a proper subject of an opinion of this office. Ops. S.C. Att'y Gen., 1989
WL 508567 at *5 (July 17, 1989) (noting this office answers questions of law, not questions of
policy), 1974 WL 27585 (January 8, 1974) (declining to answer question that is a matter of policy
rather than a question of law).

Finally, you ask whether county council may require the auditor to calculate the interest
due to a real property taxpayer under Section 12-60-2550(C) based on the history of the prior
auditor having performed that task. Beaufort County operates under the council-administrator
form of government with both the treasurer and the auditor holding elected positions. It is our
opinion that county council may not assign an elected county auditor additional duties unless
specifically authorized to do so by statute.

Both our courts and this office have addressed disputes between county council and other
county elected officials. In an opinion issued to your predecessor, for example, this office advised
that the auditor is the only person responsible for duties assigned to him by statute and prescribed
by the Department of Revenue and no person may interfere with the auditor's statutory authority.
Op. S.C. Att'y Gen., 2017 WL 6548005 at *2, 3 (December 5, 2017). In a decision arising from
a county auditor's declaratory judgment action challenging the county administrator's authority to
suspend three of the auditor's employees, the South Carolina Court of Appeals observed:

As long as there are county-wide elective offices, there will be some tension
between the elected officials and the county governing body. Certainly, a county
governing body needs an appropriate level of control over county employees to
ensure the smooth operation of county offices. However, to give the county
governing body too much control over an elected official and his or her employees
could force the elected official to place the interests and concerns of the governing
body over those of the electorate. Moreover, a county governing body unhappy with
the results of an election could use its power to render the duly-elected official
largely ineffective. The various provisions of the Home Rule Act, particularly
sections 4-9-30(7) and 4-9-650, reflect the General Assembly's striking of a
careful balance between the county governing body's interest in the smooth
operation of county offices and the electorate's interest in having its votes given
effect.

Eargle v. Horry Cnty., 335 S.C. 425, 431, 517 S.E.2d 3, 6 (Ct. App. 1999), aff'd, 344 S.C. 449,
545 S.E.2d 276 (2001).

Since the adoption of "home rule" legislation, this office has consistently held the opinion
that despite the broad authority granted to counties, neither county councils nor any person
appointed by them are entitled to alter, expand, or diminish the authority and responsibility the
General Assembly has given to other elected officials absent specific legislative authority to do so.
Ops. Att'y Gen., 2012 WL 1774920 at 3 (May 7, 2012) (county council may not compel elected
treasurer to assign staff to a satellite county office and county administrator may not accomplish
the same goal through enforcement of county personnel policies against treasurer's staff); 2004
WL 736933 at 2 (March 10, 2004) ("County Council would improperly diminish the statutory
duties of the County Treasurer if it were to create and maintain separate accounts for county funds
or disburse funds without the knowledge or consent of the County Treasurer" and absent specific
authority permitting such actions, doing so would violate state law); 1984 WL 159823 at *1
(February 10, 1984) ("It has been the long standing opinion of this office that a county governing
body cannot alter the duties of the County Treasurer."); 1978 WL 34835 (April 5, 1978) (neither
county council nor any person appointed by county council can alter, expand, or diminish the
duties of the elected county treasurer absent specific legislation authorizing same); 1976 WL
23048 (August 26, 1976) (concluding neither home rule legislation nor prior legislation
empowered Beaufort County Council to expand the duties of the county treasurer).

On at least one occasion, we suggested that county council could provide additional
funding to an elected treasurer so that the treasurer could staff a satellite office county council
could not otherwise require the treasurer to do. Op. S.C. Att'y Gen., 2012 WL 1774920 at *9
(May 7, 2012). We reasoned that the treasurer could elect to use that funding as council intended,
but if the treasurer chose not to staff the satellite office, they could not use the additional funds for
any other purpose. Id. Although we do not believe county council can compel an elected county
auditor to calculate the interest on a refund of overpaid real property taxes, perhaps all involved
can work together toward a workable solution. As we stated in an opinion to another elected
official in your county:

The Attorney General's Office does not want to get involved in a dispute between
elected officials, especially at the local government level. We encourage
cooperation among elected officials and believe a court would do so too.... This
Office is only issuing a legal opinion based on the current law at this time and the
information as provided to us.

Op. S.C. Att'y Gen., 2016 WL 5820154 (September 23, 2016).

Conclusion

Sections 12-60-2550 and 12-60-2930 provide that following final review of a property tax
appeal or protest and tax overpayment must be refunded together with interest, but do not assign
the responsibility of calculating interest to one particular individual or office. While the question
of who should calculate the interest is debatable, ultimately the responsibility of ensuring the
calculation is made rests with the county. Absent legislative or judicial direction, this task cannot
be assigned by county council or the county administrator to an elected auditor or treasurer.

Sincerely,

Sabrina C. Todd
Assistant Attorney General

REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY:

Robert D. Cook
Solicitor General Emeritus