Tools for Heirs and Beneficiaries in South Carolina

South Carolina levies no estate or inheritance tax; only the federal estate tax applies above $15,000,000.

6 tools for South Carolina

Who Inherits Without a Will?

Without a will in South Carolina, a surviving spouse takes half of the estate when every child of either spouse is a child of both, and descendants divide what passes to them per capita with representation.

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How Much Are Estate & Inheritance Taxes?

South Carolina levies no estate or inheritance tax; only the federal estate tax applies above $15,000,000.

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What Taxes Apply to My Inheritance?

South Carolina imposes no inheritance or estate tax; probate assets arrive when the estate closes, 6 months to 9 months for a simple estate.

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How Does Step-Up in Basis Work?

Inherited assets in South Carolina take a basis reset to fair market value on the date of death, and the gain on a later sale faces state tax on the 56% of long-term gain left after a 44% exclusion.

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When Do I Have to Withdraw an Inherited IRA?

See which federal withdrawal rules apply to an inherited IRA, Roth IRA, or employer plan, the deadline year, and the missed-withdrawal tax.

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Do I Have to File Tax Returns for Someone Who Died?

South Carolina requires a final state income tax return for the decedent alongside the federal Form 1040; a federal estate tax return (Form 706) is required only for estates above $15,000,000.

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No. South Carolina imposes no state estate tax and no inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax applies, on an estate above $15,000,000, an exemption the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21 §70106) set permanently from 2026 and indexes for inflation.

Not on the inheritance itself: South Carolina taxes neither the estate nor the beneficiary, and the IRS does not treat an inheritance as income. What an heir can owe is income tax on withdrawals from an inherited retirement account, and capital gains on a later sale of inherited property, where the basis is reset to fair market value on the date of death and the gain faces state tax on the 56% of long-term gain left after a 44% exclusion.

No. The IRS does not treat inherited money, real estate or personal items as income, so a beneficiary in South Carolina does not report them on a federal return when received. Two exceptions: an inherited retirement account (a 401(k) or a traditional IRA) is taxed as ordinary income as it is withdrawn, and earnings after the date of death are taxable. Inherited property takes a stepped-up basis, its value on the date of death, for any later capital gain.

When someone dies, the cost basis of the property they leave is reset to its fair market value on the date of death under IRC § 1014. A later sale is taxed on the gain above that stepped-up basis, not above what the original owner paid, so the appreciation of the owner's lifetime is never taxed. The rule is federal and applies in South Carolina as in every state.

South Carolina intestacy law decides. South Carolina follows separate property rules: the surviving spouse's share depends on whether children survive and whose children they are. The estate passes to the closest surviving relatives, in most cases the spouse and children first, then in order: Parents; Issue of your parents; Grandparents and their issue; Great-grandparents and their issue; The State of South Carolina.

Tools for Heirs and Beneficiaries in South Carolina

Estate taxes are paid by the estate before anything is distributed; inheritance taxes are paid by the person who receives the property. In 2026 the federal estate tax reaches only estates above $15 million per person, and there is no federal inheritance tax. 12 states plus the District of Columbia levy their own estate tax at lower thresholds, and 5 states levy an inheritance tax whose rate depends on the beneficiary's relationship to the person who died.

Beneficiaries in South Carolina owe no state tax on what they receive; inherited assets take a basis reset to fair market value on the date of death, and the gain on a later sale faces state tax on the 56% of long-term gain left after a 44% exclusion. Probate assets arrive when the estate closes: a simple estate closes in 6 months to 9 months.

SimplyTrust Editorial·Updated September 15, 2026

Legal Sources

Data sourced from South Carolina statutes and official state code. How we research.