South Carolina Paycheck Calculator 2026
This South Carolina paycheck calculator shows what actually lands in your bank account each pay period in 2026. Enter your gross salary and the tool applies 2026 federal brackets, Social Security and Medicare, and South Carolina withholding, then splits the result across weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly and monthly pay schedules. South Carolina uses a progressive income tax with 3 brackets running from 0.00% up to 6.20%, applied after a state standard deduction of $16,100.
South Carolina Paycheck Calculator
Your salary before any deductions.
How South Carolina payroll withholding works
Every South Carolina paycheck is reduced in the same order: pre-tax deductions first (401(k), HSA, employer health premiums), then federal income tax on what remains, then FICA on your full gross, then South Carolina state withholding.
FICA is fixed nationwide in 2026: 6.2% Social Security on the first $184,500 of wages and 1.45% Medicare on everything, with an extra 0.9% Medicare surtax above $200,000. Only the state layer changes when you move, which is why two workers earning the same salary in South Carolina and North Carolina see different deposits.
South Carolina has no separate city or county income tax, so the state figure above is the full sub-federal income tax you pay.
Pay frequency in South Carolina
Most automotive employers around Charleston run biweekly payroll (26 checks a year), while public-sector and salaried office roles often use semi-monthly (24 checks). Biweekly means two months each year contain three paychecks — a useful budgeting quirk if your rent is around $1,900.
Switching frequency does not change your annual tax; it only changes how withholding is spread. If your employer withholds per-period using annualized tables, a three-paycheck month can look artificially light on tax.
Budgeting a Charleston paycheck
Cost of living in South Carolina sits 5% below the national average (index 95), median household income is $63,623, and a one-bedroom apartment in Charleston rents for roughly $1,900 a month.
South Carolina has steadily cut its top rate from 7% in 2022 down to 6.2% in 2025 — with a goal of reaching 6% by 2027.
Local and payroll taxes South Carolina adds on top
South Carolina adds no state-mandated employee payroll deduction beyond FICA, so nothing extra is taken from your gross pay at the state level.
South Carolina has no separate city or county income tax, so the state figure above is the full sub-federal income tax you pay.
Payroll systems apply these local layers automatically, so check a real South Carolina pay stub against the estimate above: a missing local tax line is the usual reason a paycheck comes in lower than a state-only calculator suggests.
Working across a state line from South Carolina
South Carolina has no income-tax reciprocity agreements, so if you live here and work across a state line you generally file a nonresident return in the work state and claim a credit at home to avoid double taxation.
Remote and hybrid work complicates this further: most states tax income where the work is physically performed, so a Charleston resident spending part of the year at a client site in North Carolina may owe a nonresident return there. Keep a day-count log if you split time between states.
The rest of your South Carolina tax bill
South Carolina charges a 6% state sales tax, homeowners pay an average effective property tax of 0.57% of market value, and the minimum wage in force during 2026 is $7.25 an hour.
Local option taxes bring most areas to 7%–9%.
Income tax is only one part of a state's take. South Carolina recovers revenue through sales and property tax as well, which is why headline income tax rates alone are a poor guide to how far a salary really goes. South Carolina exempts Social Security and offers a $10,000 retirement deduction plus a $15,000 senior deduction at 65+.
South Carolina vs North Carolina on the same salary
On a $75,000 salary, a single filer keeps about $58,599 a year in South Carolina against roughly $58,791 in North Carolina — a difference of $192, or $16 a month.
Effective combined rates are 21.9% in South Carolina and 21.6% in North Carolina. Set that gap against living costs: index 95 here versus 96 there, with property tax at 0.57% and 0.8% respectively.
South Carolina income tax brackets 2026 (single filer)
| Taxable income | Rate |
|---|---|
| $0 – $3,460 | 0.00% |
| $3,460 – $17,330 | 3.00% |
| $17,330 and up | 6.20% |