What are South Carolina's 2026 county tiers for the job tax credit, tax-moratorium counties, and reduced-investment fee-in-lieu counties?

Plain-English summary

This Information Letter provides South Carolina's county-based economic-development classifications for 2026. It covers three separate programs: job tax credit tiers, the corporate income or insurance premium tax moratorium, and the reduced minimum investment for fee in lieu of property taxes (FILOT).

For the job tax credit, the Department ranks all 46 counties annually with equal weight given to unemployment rate and per capita income. These 2026 tiers apply to new full-time jobs created in tax years beginning in 2026 when the credit is first earned on or after January 1, 2026, and to increases in new full-time jobs during 2026.

• Tier IV: Abbeville, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Cherokee, Dillon, Lee, Marion, Marlboro, Orangeburg, Union, Williamsburg.
• Tier III: Chester, Chesterfield, Clarendon, Colleton, Darlington, Fairfield, Greenwood, Hampton, Horry, Laurens, McCormick, Sumter.
• Tier II: Aiken, Anderson, Calhoun, Edgefield, Georgetown, Jasper, Lancaster, Newberry, Pickens, Richland, Saluda.
• Tier I: Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Dorchester, Florence, Greenville, Kershaw, Lexington, Oconee, Spartanburg, York.

For the tax moratorium under S.C. Code Ann. § 12-6-3367, Marlboro, Union, and Chesterfield Counties qualify for 2026. The statute can provide a 10-year moratorium, or 15 years in certain cases, on corporate income tax or insurance premium tax for a qualifying taxpayer. The moratorium begins with the first full taxable year after qualification in a designated county.

For FILOT, the usual minimum investment is $2.5 million for the Little Fee and Simplified Fee and $45 million for the Big Fee. A qualifying high-unemployment county can reduce the minimum to $1 million, but no county qualifies for that reduction for 2026.

What this means for you

Employers planning 2026 hiring

The county where qualifying jobs are created determines the applicable job-credit tier. Confirm the correct county and whether the jobs are first earning the credit in a tax year beginning in 2026.

Businesses considering the tax moratorium

Location in Marlboro, Union, or Chesterfield County is only the county-designation component. The taxpayer must still satisfy the program's other qualification requirements.

Companies evaluating a FILOT project

Do not use the special $1 million reduced minimum for a 2026 project based on this letter. No county met the qualifying unemployment test, so the ordinary $2.5 million or $45 million minimum applies depending on the FILOT structure.

Common questions

Q: Which counties qualify for the 2026 tax moratorium?
A: Marlboro, Union, and Chesterfield.

Q: Does any county qualify for the $1 million FILOT minimum in 2026?
A: No.

Q: How are job-credit tiers determined?
A: All 46 counties are ranked annually using equal weight for unemployment rate and per capita income under S.C. Code Ann. § 12-6-3360(B).

Citations and references

• S.C. Code Ann. § 12-6-3360 (job tax credit)
• S.C. Code Ann. § 12-6-3367 (tax moratorium)
• S.C. Code Ann. § 4-12-30(B)(3) (Little Fee)
• S.C. Code Ann. § 12-44-30(14) (Simplified Fee)
• S.C. Code Ann. § 4-29-67 (Big Fee)
• S.C. Code Ann. § 12-4-320 (Department authority)
• SC Revenue Procedure #09-3

Subject

Job Tax Credit - County Rankings for 2026 Fee in Lieu of Property Taxes – Reduced Investment Counties Tax Moratorium – Qualifying Counties

Source

• Landing page: https://dor.sc.gov/advisory-opinion-search
• Original PDF: https://dor.sc.gov/sites/dor/files/policies/IL25-21.pdf

Original ruling text

STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA

DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
300A Outlet Pointe Blvd., Columbia, South Carolina 29210
P.O. Box 125, Columbia, South Carolina 29214-0575

SC INFORMATION LETTER #25-21
SUBJECT:

Job Tax Credit - County Rankings for 2026
Fee in Lieu of Property Taxes – Reduced Investment Counties
Tax Moratorium – Qualifying Counties

DATE:

November 10, 2025

REFERENCE:

S. C. Code Ann. Section 12-6-3360
S. C. Code Ann. Section 12-6-3367
S. C. Code Ann. Section 12-44-30
S. C. Code Ann. Section 4-12-30
S. C. Code Ann. Section 4-29-67

AUTHORITY:

S.C. Code Ann. Section 12-4-320
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.

INTRODUCTION
The job tax credit, the corporate tax moratorium, and the reduction in the minimum required fee
in lieu of property tax investment are dependent, in part, on per capita income and unemployment
rate data received from the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce and the
United States Department of Commerce.
The purpose of this information letter is to provide the county rankings for purposes of the job tax
credit, counties qualifying for the corporate tax moratorium, and counties qualifying for the
reduced fee in lieu of property tax.
JOB TAX CREDIT – County Rankings
South Carolina’s 46 counties are ranked and designated annually for job tax credit purposes with
equal weight given to unemployment rate and per capita income as provided in Section 12-63360(B) of the Code. The final ranking of counties for (1) new full-time jobs created in tax years
that begin in 2026, where the job tax credit was first earned on or after January 1, 2026, and (2)
increases in new full-time jobs in 2026 are listed below. 1
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For further information, see SC Revenue Ruling #19-11, Question 3, and SC Revenue Ruling #25-5, Question 2.

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TIER IV (formerly
“Distressed”)

TIER III (formerly
“Underdeveloped”)

TIER II (formerly
“Moderately
Developed”)

TIER I (formerly
“Developed”)

Abbeville
Allendale
Bamberg
Barnwell
Cherokee
Dillon
Lee
Marion
Marlboro
Orangeburg
Union
Williamsburg

Chester
Chesterfield
Clarendon
Colleton
Darlington
Fairfield
Greenwood
Hampton
Horry
Laurens
McCormick
Sumter

Aiken
Anderson
Calhoun
Edgefield
Georgetown
Jasper
Lancaster
Newberry
Pickens
Richland
Saluda

Beaufort
Berkeley
Charleston
Dorchester
Florence
Greenville
Kershaw
Lexington
Oconee
Spartanburg
York

TAX MORATORIUM – Qualifying Counties
South Carolina Code Section 12-6-3367, in part, grants a 10-year moratorium (15 years in certain
cases) on corporate income taxes or insurance premium taxes for qualifying taxpayers in a county
with an average annual unemployment rate of at least twice the state average during each of the
last two completed calendar years, based on the most recent unemployment rates available, or in a
county with one of the three lowest per capita incomes based on the average of the three most
recent years of available average per capita income data. The moratorium begins the first full
taxable year after the taxpayer qualifies in a county designated as a moratorium county.
For 2026, the following counties have been designated moratorium counties under South Carolina
Code Section 12-6-3367.
Marlboro
Union
Chesterfield
FEE IN LIEU OF PROPERTY TAXES - Reduced Investment Counties
The minimum required investment necessary to qualify for the fee in lieu of property taxes is $2.5
million for the “Little Fee” and “Simplified Fee,” and $45 million for the “Big Fee.” See South
Carolina Code Sections 4-12-30(B)(3), 12-44-30(14), and 4-29-67, respectively. This investment
amount, however, is reduced to $1 million for a company investing in a county with an average
annual unemployment rate of at least twice the state average during each of the last 24 months,
based on data available on November 1.
For 2026, no county qualifies for the $1 million minimum investment under the “Little Fee,”
“Simplified Fee,” and “Big Fee.”

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