South Carolina quitclaim deed costs include county, state, and federal expenses for grantors (the individuals giving property). These costs come in the form of county filing fees and state and federal taxes.
Filing Fees
- Filing fees: Filing fees are separate from a statewide deed recording fee and vary from county to county. Check with your local register of deeds (or clerk of courts, in the absence of a register of deeds) to learn about the applicable filing fees in your county at any given time.
Taxes
1. Documentary Transfer Tax (DTT)
Per SC Code § 12-24-10, there is a state transfer tax, referred to as a deed recording fee. The recording fee is $1.85 for any property valued between $100 and $500. There’s an additional $1.85 for each $500 increment after the first $500 (SC Code § 12-24-90).
A portion of the fee ($1.30) goes to the state, and the other ($0.55) goes to the county. The fee is paid electronically or with the paper form L-2125.
Who Pays the Transfer Tax?
The grantor typically pays the deed recording fee to transfer the property from their name to the grantee’s name. The fee is payable to the clerk of courts in the county where the deed is recorded.
Exemptions to Transfer Tax
SC Code § 12-24-40 details exemptions from paying the deed recording fee. Some of the exemptions include the following:
- The property value is one hundred dollars or less.
- The grantee is a government entity.
- The grantor transfers the property in a business merger or consolidation.
- The grantor only uses a quitclaim deed to correct a title defect and confirm current ownership.
- The grantor transfers the title to an electric utility company.
2. US Gift Tax (Form 709)
There is no gift tax in South Carolina, but a federal gift tax applies for gifts greater than a certain amount in any given year. For example, the tax applies to gifts of more than $18,000 in 2024 and $17,000 in 2023. Fill out IRS Form 709 to determine the amount of gift tax you may owe.
3. Capital Gains Tax
The state taxes capital gains as regular income, so the rate can range from 0 to 6.4% for the 2023 tax year. The US also has federal capital gains taxes, as discussed in IRS Topic No. 409 and IRS Publication 551.
