What are South Carolina's latest per capita income figures used to qualify for tax incentives (per SC IL #12-18)?

Plain-English summary

This Information Letter publishes South Carolina's state and county per capita personal income figures — the numbers several South Carolina tax incentives use to decide whether a business qualifies (and for how much). A number of income, sales and use, and property tax incentives require the jobs tied to the incentive to meet a state or county per capita income requirement, so the Department publishes these figures to help taxpayers test eligibility.

The most recently available figures reported in this letter are:

• State of South Carolina per capita income: $33,388.
• A chart of per capita income for every South Carolina county (Abbeville through York), for county-level thresholds.

The Department publishes the state figure twice a year and the county figures once a year, releasing each when it receives the figures from the South Carolina Board of Economic Advisors.

What this means for you

If you are claiming a South Carolina tax incentive

Incentives such as the job tax credit and related programs can turn on whether county or state per capita income is above or below a threshold. Use the figures in this letter — the $33,388 state figure and the applicable county figure — that correspond to your incentive period.

If you advise on economic-development credits

These figures feed eligibility and tier determinations across income, sales/use, and property tax incentives. Because they change on the Board of Economic Advisors' schedule, confirm you are using the figure in effect for the relevant year.

Common questions

Q: What is the South Carolina state per capita income figure in this letter?
A: $33,388 — the most recently available state figure as of the December 2012 letter.

Q: Why does per capita income matter for taxes?
A: Several South Carolina income, sales and use, and property tax incentives condition eligibility or amount on whether the associated jobs meet a state or county per capita income requirement.

Q: When are the figures updated?
A: The state figure is published twice a year and the county figures once a year, each released when the Board of Economic Advisors provides it.

Source

• Landing page: https://dor.sc.gov/advisory-opinion-search
• Original PDF: https://dor.sc.gov/sites/dor/files/policies/IL12-18.pdf

Original ruling text

State of South Carolina

Department of Revenue
300A Outlet Pointe Blvd, P. O. Box 12265, Columbia, South Carolina 29211
Website Address: http://www.sctax.org

SC INFORMATION LETTER #12-18

SUBJECT:

Per Capita Income Figures for State of South Carolina and South Carolina
Counties

DATE:

December 17, 2012

SUPERSEDES: All previous documents and any oral directives in conflict herewith.
REFERENCE:

S. C. Code Ann. Section 12-6-3360 (2000, Supp. 2011)
S. C. Code Ann. Section 12-6-3410 (2000, Supp. 2011)
S. C. Code Ann. Chapter 15, Title 12 (Supp. 2011)
S. C. Code Ann. Section 12-36-2120(65) (2000, Supp. 2011)
S. C. Code Ann. Section 12-37-930 (2000, Supp. 2011)
S. C. Code Section 12-6-2320 (2000, Supp. 2011)
S. C. Code Section 12-10-80 (2000, Supp. 2011)
Act No. 187, Sec. 7 (2011-2012 Session)

AUTHORITY:

S. C. Code Ann. Section 12-4-320 (2000)
S.C. Code Ann. Section 1-23-10(4) (Supp. 2011)
SC Revenue Procedure #09-3

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 have
been met, the Department publishes the county and state per capita income amounts each
year.
Previously, the information concerning state per capita income was updated twice a year,
usually in April and October while the information concerning per capita income for South
Carolina’s counties was updated once a year, usually in May. However, the county per
capita income figures are now being published 11 months after the end of the calendar year
resulting in the county figures now being published in November instead of May. The state
figures will be published in March and September for the 2013 year. The Department

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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 $33,388
The following chart contains the most recently available per capita income figures for all
South Carolina counties.
County

Per Capita Income
$27,169
$35,141
$26,164
$31,059
$25,818
$26,064
$41,662
$33,184
$34,431
$41,656
$26,856
$28,237
$24,554
$24,431
$29,311
$29,355
$23,616
$33,468
$33,615
$27,062
$34,450
$38,403
$37,689
$30,398
$27,235
$29,148
$26,896
$33,331
$26,302
$29,609
$26,379
$35,211
$27,509
$26,397
$24,156

Abbeville
Aiken
Allendale
Anderson
Bamberg
Barnwell
Beaufort
Berkeley
Calhoun
Charleston
Cherokee
Chester
Chesterfield
Clarendon
Colleton
Darlington
Dillon
Dorchester
Edgefield
Fairfield
Florence
Georgetown
Greenville
Greenwood
Hampton
Horry
Jasper
Kershaw
Lancaster
Laurens
Lee
Lexington
McCormick
Marion
Marlboro

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Newberry
Oconee
Orangeburg
Pickens
Richland
Saluda
Spartanburg
Sumter
Union
Williamsburg
York

$29,697
$31,964
$28,965
$27,833
$36,347
$34,544
$31,670
$29,915
$26,859
$27,263
$34,053

Among the incentives that use 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; and (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 twice the per capita income of the state based on
the most recent per capita income data available as of the end of the taxpayer’s taxable
year in which the jobs are filled.
“Qualifying Service-Related Facility” Definition in Code Section 12-6-3360 - Code
Section 12-6-3360 allows a jobs 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, with a net increase at a single location of
at least:
(1) one hundred and seventy five jobs; or
(2) one hundred 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; or
(3) fifty 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) twenty-five 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; or

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(5) one hundred and fifty jobs at a single location comprised of a building or
portion of a building that has been vacant for at least twelve consecutive months
prior to the taxpayer’s investment in the facility.
A taxpayer must use the most recent per capita income data available as of the end of
the taxable year in which the jobs are filled.
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 per capita income of the state according to the most recently
published data available at the time the facility’s construction starts.
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 full-time new jobs at the project with an average annual cash compensation
of at least 150% of the annual per capita income of the state or the county in which the
facility is located, whichever is lower. Per capita income must be determined using the
most recent per capita income data available as of the end of the taxable year in which
the jobs are filled.
Small Business Jobs 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 jobs tax credit.
The amount of the credit depends in part on whether the gross wages of the new fulltime jobs amount to a minimum of 120% of the county’s or state’s average per capita
income, whichever is lower.
Job Development Credit Qualifying Expenditures under Code Section 12-10-80 Employee relocation expenses for employees with gross wages equal to twice the per
capita income of the state or county in which the project is located, whichever is lower,
can qualify as eligible expenditures for reimbursement from job development credits.
Special Allocation and Apportionment Incentives under Code Section 12-6-2320 –
Several of the special allocation an apportionment provisions contained in Code Section
12-6-2320(B) (which allows a taxpayer meeting certain requirements to use a special
method of allocating and apportioning its income) require that certain per capita income
requirements be met.

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New Sales and Use Tax Exemption for Datacenters – A sales and use tax exemption is
available for computers, computer equipment, computer software and some of the
electricity used by a qualifying datacenter. To qualify, a taxpayer must invest a
minimum of $50 million (or one or more taxpayers must invest a minimum of $75
million) in real or personal property, or both within a five year period; create and
maintain at least twenty-five jobs at the datacenter and those jobs must have an average
cash compensation of at least 150% of the per capita income of the state or county
where the datacenter is located, whichever is lower (per capita income to be determined
at the time the datacenter is certified by the Department of Commerce); and the
taxpayer must maintain the 25 jobs for three consecutive years after certification.
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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