What is South Carolina's latest statewide per capita income figure used for tax incentives (per SC IL #07-18)?

Plain-English summary

This Information Letter updates South Carolina's statewide per capita income figure to $29,688, the number the Department uses to test eligibility for various tax incentives. Several South Carolina income, sales and use, and property tax incentives tie eligibility, or the size of the benefit, to a state per capita income threshold — for example the job tax credit and the corporate headquarters credit. This October 4, 2007 letter updates the state figure only (not the county figures).

The Department explains that it updates the state per capita income figure about twice a year (usually May and October) and the county figures once a year (usually May), releasing each when it receives them from the South Carolina Board of Economic Advisors.

What this means for you

If you are claiming or evaluating a South Carolina incentive that depends on state per capita income — such as the corporate headquarters credit, which compares new-job compensation to a multiple of state per capita income — use the updated state figure of $29,688 from this edition, and confirm you are using the figure in effect for your incentive period. For incentives that turn on a county figure, use the most recent county table (published separately, usually in May).

Common questions

Q: What is South Carolina's state per capita income in this letter?
A: $29,688, as of the October 4, 2007 update.

Q: Does this letter include county figures?
A: No. It updates the state figure only; the county figures are published separately, usually once a year in May.

Q: What is the figure used for?
A: To test qualification for South Carolina tax incentives that tie eligibility or benefit size to state per capita income, such as the job tax credit and the corporate headquarters credit.

Subject

Per Capita Income Figures for State of South Carolina

Source

• Landing page: https://dor.sc.gov/advisory-opinion-search
• Original PDF: https://dor.sc.gov/sites/dor/files/policies/IL07-18.pdf

Original ruling text

State of South Carolina

Department of Revenue
301 Gervais Street, P. O. Box 12265, Columbia, South Carolina 29211
Website Address: http://www.sctax.org

SC INFORMATION LETTER #07-18

SUBJECT:

Per Capita Income Figures for State of South Carolina

DATE:

October 4, 2007

SUPERSEDES:

All previous documents and any oral directives in conflict herewith.

REFERENCE:

S. C. Code Section 12-6-3360 (2000, Supp. 2006)
S. C. Code Section 12-6-3410 (2000, Supp. 2006)
S. C. Code Chapter 15, Title 12 (Supp. 2006)
S. C. Code Section 12-36-2120(65) (2000, Supp. 2006)
S. C. Code 12-37-930 (2000, Supp. 2006)

AUTHORITY:

S. C. Code Ann. Section 12-4-320 (2000)
S.C. Code Ann. Section 1-23-10(4) (Supp. 2006)
SC Revenue Procedure #05-2

SCOPE:

An Information Letter is a written statement issued to the public to announce
general information useful in complying with the laws administered by the
Department. An Information Letter has no precedential value.

In recent years, a number of income, sales and use, and property tax incentives have been added
that require jobs associated with the incentive to meet certain state or county per capita personal
income (herein referred to as “per capita income”) requirements to determine qualification for, or
the amount of, the particular incentive. In order to aid taxpayers in determining whether the per
capita income requirements of an incentive are met, the Department publishes the county and
state per capita income amounts each year.
Generally, the information concerning state per capita income is updated twice a year, usually in
May and October. The information concerning per capita income for South Carolina’s counties is
updated once a year, usually in May. The Department publishes both the county and state
figures when it receives the figures from the South Carolina Board of Economic Advisors. The
most recently available state per capita income figure is:
State of South Carolina $29,688

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Among the incentives that use state per capita income are the following:
Personal Property Corporate Headquarters Credit in Code Section 12-6-3410 - The
personal property headquarters credit contained in Code Section 12-6-3410 is available
to a taxpayer that: (1) meets all the requirements necessary to claim the real property
headquarters credit; (2) meets other statutory requirements as to the personal property
that is used at the headquarters; (3) creates at least 75 new full-time headquarters or
research and development type jobs at the headquarters and those jobs have an average
cash compensation level of more than one and one-half times the per capita income of
the state; and (4) pays all its employees in the state an average cash compensation level
of more than twice the state per capita income.
“Qualifying Service-Related Facility” Definition in Code Section 12-6-3360 - Code
Section 12-6-3360 allows a job tax credit for taxpayers that create new full-time jobs at
a qualifying new facility or an expansion of an existing qualifying facility. One of the
qualifying facilities is a “qualifying service-related facility.” A “qualifying servicerelated facility” includes a business, other than a business engaged in legal, accounting,
banking or investment services or retail sales, which has a net increase at a single
location of at least:
(1) two hundred fifty jobs;
(2) one hundred twenty-five jobs that have an average cash compensation level of
more than one and one-half times the state per capita income or the per capita
income in the county where the jobs are located, whichever is lower;
(3) seventy-five jobs that have an average cash compensation level of more than
twice the state per capita income or the per capita income in the county where the
jobs are located, whichever is lower; or
(4) thirty jobs that have an average cash compensation level of more than two and
one-half times the state per capita income or the per capita income in the county
where the jobs are located, whichever is lower.
Small Business Job Tax Credit in Code Section 12-6-3360 - Code Section 12-63360(C)(2) provides that small businesses with 99 or fewer employees that increase
employment by two or more new full-time jobs may be eligible for the job tax credit.
The amount of the credit depends in part on whether the gross wages of the new fulltime job amounts to a minimum of 120% of the county’s or state’s average per capita
income, whichever is lower.
Sales and Use Tax Exemption for Computer Equipment for Technology Intensive
Facilities in Code Section 12-36-2120(65) – A sales and use tax exemption is available
for computer equipment used in connection with a technology intensive facility if the
taxpayer meets certain investment requirements and creates at least 100 jobs at the
facility over a five year period and those jobs have an average cash compensation of at
least 150% of the state per capita income.

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Special Benefits for Life Sciences Facilities in Chapter 15, Title 12 and Code Section
12-37-930 – A business may qualify for special incentives if its facility qualifies as a
life sciences facility. A business will qualify as a life sciences facility if it is engaged in
pharmaceutical, medicine, and related laboratory instrument manufacturing, processing,
or research and development and it invests $100 million in a project and creates 200
new jobs at the project with an average cash compensation of at least 150% of the
annual per capita income in the state or county in which the facility is located,
whichever is less.
Each of these incentives has special rules on how to determine whether the per capita income
requirements of each particular incentive have been met. Therefore, the appropriate statutes
should be consulted to determine whether the per capita income requirements of the particular
statute are met as well as to assure that all other requirements of the statute have been met.

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