South Carolina Sales Tax Calculator

Free South Carolina sales tax calculator 2026. 6% state + 1.44% local = 7.44% combined. Reverse calc & exemptions. No sign-up.

How Sales Tax Works in South Carolina

Ring up $1,000 of goods in South Carolina and the register adds roughly $74.40 — a 7.44% combined rate that puts South Carolina at #18 among the 50 states. The building blocks are a 6% statewide rate plus an average of 1.44% in county and city taxes. Grocery budgets catch a break, though: like the rest of the South's big grocery-relief states, South Carolina doesn't tax food.

What you wear gets taxed in South Carolina; what you eat doesn't. Groceries and prescription drugs are exempt, but clothing sells at the full 7.44% combined rate — worth remembering during back-to-school season, when the cart of binders and jeans is taxed while the cart of lunch groceries isn't.

Where does that put South Carolina nationally? Its 7.44% average combined rate ranks 18th of the 50 states — above the 50-state average of 6.59% by 0.85 points. For context, the two states whose combined rates sit closest to South Carolina's are Georgia (7.40%) and Minnesota (7.49%).

South Carolina lets counties and cities add their own layer, but the average add-on is only 1.44%. That keeps the combined rate near 7.44% statewide, with minor variation from one jurisdiction to the next rather than the wild swings seen in high-local states.

Working backwards from a tax-inclusive total is its own trick, and bookkeepers use it constantly. Divide the receipt total by 1.0744 to recover the pre-tax price: a $1,074.40 bill under South Carolina's 7.44% average rate divides by 1.0744 back to $1,000.00 even. That's the reverse mode built into the calculator above — useful for expense reports and receipts that only show the grand total.

Key Numbers: South Carolina Sales Tax (2026)

South Carolina State Rate

South Carolina Avg Local Rate

1.44%

South Carolina Combined Rate

7.44%

Tax on $1,000

$74.40

US Rank (Combined)

#18 of 50

SC Clothing

Taxed

Common Questions About Sales Tax in South Carolina

What is the sales tax rate in South Carolina?

The state rate in South Carolina is 6%; average local taxes add 1.44%, bringing the combined rate to about 7.44%. South Carolina ranks 18th of the 50 states by combined rate.

Are groceries taxed in South Carolina?

South Carolina does not tax groceries or prescription drugs. Clothing is the everyday category that doesn't escape — it rings up at the full 7.44% combined rate, along with everything else that isn't food or medicine.

How do I calculate sales tax in South Carolina?

Price times rate, that's the whole formula. At South Carolina's 7.44% average combined rate, a $500 purchase adds $37.20 in tax and $537.20 at checkout. The calculator above runs the math forward and backward for any amount.

Do city and county rates differ within South Carolina?

They do, but modestly. Local jurisdictions in South Carolina add an average of 1.44% on top of the 6% state rate, and the spread between jurisdictions is small — most of the state clusters near the 7.44% combined figure.

Is South Carolina's sales tax higher or lower than average?

Higher — 7.44% combined versus the 6.59% national average, a 0.85-point gap. South Carolina ranks 18th of 50 states.

Which states have sales tax rates closest to South Carolina's?

Georgia (7.40%) and Minnesota (7.49%) sit nearest to South Carolina's 7.44% combined rate. Cross-border shoppers will barely notice a difference at the register in those states.

Nearby State Sales Tax Calculators

All 50 States North Carolina (6.98%)Georgia (7.40%)

Rachel MitchellCPA

Lead Tax Analyst & Editorial Director, TheTaxCalc

Rachel Mitchell is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licensed in Illinois with over 12 years of experience in individual and small-business taxation. She specializes in federal and state income tax compliance, FICA optimization, payroll tax strategy, and multi-state tax planning. Rachel holds an MS in Taxation from Golden Gate University and a BS in Accounting from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She is an active member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Illinois CPA Society. Before joining TheTaxCalc, Rachel spent 8 years at a Big Four accounting firm advising high-net-worth clients on tax-efficient wealth strategies.

Reviewed: January 2026Tax data verified against IRS Publication 15-T & state revenue departments