South Carolina Paycheck & Salary Calculator 2026

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How your South Carolina paycheck is calculated

Your employer starts with your gross pay, removes pre-tax benefits, withholds federal and South Carolina income tax, Social Security and Medicare, takes after-tax deductions and pays you the rest.

1. Gross paySalary, or hours × rate, plus overtime, bonuses and tips
2. Pre-tax deductions401(k), health premiums, HSA, FSA, commuter benefits
3. TaxesFederal income tax, South Carolina income tax, Social Security and Medicare
4. After-tax deductionsRoth 401(k), union dues, garnishments
5. Net payThe take-home amount paid to you

What is taken out of a South Carolina paycheck in 2026

South Carolina income tax rates for 2026

Under Act 110, South Carolina tax is figured in one of two ways (H. 4216, South Carolina Department of Revenue):

The same rates apply to every filing status. The $966 subtraction means the two formulas meet at $30,000, so there is no jump in tax at that point. The law allows the 5.21% rate to fall further each year from 2027 if state revenue grows by at least 5%, until it reaches 1.99%.

South Carolina deductions in 2026: the SCIAD

From 2026, South Carolina no longer uses the federal standard deduction or itemized deductions. Instead you subtract a South Carolina Income Adjusted Deduction (SCIAD) from federal adjusted gross income:

Inside the phase-out range the deduction falls by about $27 for every $100 of extra income, so the real tax on each extra dollar there is about 6.6%, not 5.21%. You also still subtract:

• Dependent exemption: $4,930 per dependent for 2025. The calculator uses an estimated $5,060 for 2026, as the Department of Revenue has not yet published the 2026 amount. An extra exemption for children under 6 is claimed on your return.
• Age 65 deduction: up to $15,000 for each taxpayer aged 65 or older.
• Other subtractions: such as contributions to a South Carolina 529 college savings plan.

A single filer earning $60,000 has $50,450 of South Carolina taxable income after a reduced SCIAD of $9,550. The tax is 5.21% of that minus $966, or $1,662, about 2.8% of gross pay. Traditional 401(k) contributions, health premiums, HSA and FSA contributions lower your South Carolina tax too, because they reduce federal AGI.

Tips, overtime and the senior deduction in South Carolina

The federal tax law passed in July 2025 created deductions for tips (up to $25,000), overtime pay (up to $12,500, or $25,000 for joint filers) and seniors ($6,000). South Carolina did not adopt them. In early 2026 the state Senate shelved the bill to conform to these federal changes, and lawmakers chose the Act 110 rewrite instead (Charleston City Paper). Tips and overtime are fully taxed by South Carolina for 2025 and 2026, and the calculator applies the deductions to federal tax only.

Federal taxes on every South Carolina paycheck

Federal income tax depends on your income, filing status and the choices on your W-4. For 2026 the brackets run from 10% to 37%, and the standard deduction is $16,100 for single filers, $32,200 for joint filers and $24,150 for heads of household (IRS).

• Social Security: 6.2% of wages up to $184,500 in 2026, a maximum of $11,439 (SSA).
• Medicare: 1.45% of all wages. Employers also withhold an extra 0.9% on wages above $200,000 in a year.

Take-home pay examples in South Carolina for 2026

These results come from the calculator above for a single filer paid monthly, with no pre-tax deductions:

A married couple filing jointly on $150,000 of combined pay takes home about $116,904 a year (22.1% in total taxes). With two children under 17, a couple earning $100,000 takes home about $86,672. An hourly worker on $25 an hour, 40 hours a week, earns $52,000 and takes home about $42,830 a year, or $3,569 a month. Under the 2025 rules, the single filer on $100,000 paid $4,458 in South Carolina tax; in 2026 it is $4,244.

South Carolina take-home pay compared with nearby states

On a $100,000 salary, a single filer keeps about $74,936 in South Carolina, $75,699 in North Carolina, $74,939 in Georgia and $79,180 in Tennessee, which has no income tax on wages. Because the SCIAD disappears at $95,000, South Carolina is cheaper than its neighbors at lower incomes and similar around $100,000. Compare with our North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee paycheck calculators.

Live in one Carolina and work in the other? The two states have no reciprocity agreement. You pay tax to the state where you work, and your home state gives you a credit for that tax on your resident return. Ask your employer to withhold for the work state.

Paychecks in Charleston, Columbia and Greenville

South Carolina has no city or county income tax, so the calculator gives the same result in Charleston, Columbia, Greenville, Rock Hill, Myrtle Beach and everywhere else in the state. Pay differs between cities only because of wages, not taxes.

How bonuses, overtime and tips are taxed in South Carolina

• Bonuses: Employers usually withhold a flat 22% federal tax on bonuses, plus South Carolina tax, Social Security and Medicare. Your real tax is settled when you file. On a $100,000 salary you keep about $6,514 of a $10,000 bonus. See the bonus tax calculator.
• Overtime: South Carolina has no state overtime law, so the federal rule applies: 1.5 times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. The federal overtime deduction does not lower your South Carolina tax. See the overtime calculator.
• Tips: Employers may pay tipped workers $2.13 an hour if tips bring them to at least $7.25. Tips are deductible from federal tax, but fully taxed by South Carolina. A single worker with $40,000 in wages and $15,000 in tips takes home about $46,841 a year.

How pre-tax deductions lower your South Carolina taxes

Salary or hourly pay in South Carolina

For hourly pay, multiply your rate by your weekly hours and by 52. A full-time year is 2,080 hours. South Carolina has no state minimum wage law, so the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour applies (U.S. Department of Labor). A single full-time worker on $7.25 earns $15,080 and takes home about $13,925 a year; the SCIAD leaves only $80 of that taxable in South Carolina.

When you leave a job, South Carolina employers must pay your final wages within 48 hours or by the next regular payday, which may not be more than 30 days later.

Why your actual paycheck may differ from this estimate

• This calculator estimates your tax under the 2026 law for the full year. As of October 2026 the South Carolina withholding tables still used the old 3% and 6% rates, so most employees are having slightly more withheld than they will owe and should get a refund in 2027. Heavy itemizers may owe instead.
• Employers withhold using the SC W-4 and an allowance of $5,000 per exemption claimed, so each check can be a little higher or lower.
• Credits such as the two-wage earner credit for married couples (up to $350), the earned income credit (capped at $200 from 2026) and the extra exemption for children under 6 are claimed when you file.
• Social Security stops once your wages pass $184,500, so late-year paychecks of high earners are larger.

How to increase your take-home pay in South Carolina

• Check your federal withholding with the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator and update your W-4 and SC W-4 after a raise, a new job or a change in your family.
• Use pre-tax benefits such as a 401(k), HSA, FSA and commuter benefits. Each dollar saves federal tax and up to 5.21% South Carolina tax, or more inside the SCIAD phase-out range.
• Contribute to a South Carolina 529 college savings plan, which is fully deductible from South Carolina income.

How this calculator works

The calculator estimates your full-year tax and divides it by your pay periods. It uses the 2026 federal brackets and standard deduction (Rev. Proc. 2025-32, including the 2025 tax law changes), the 2026 South Carolina rules from Act 110 (federal AGI, SCIAD with its phase-out, 1.99% and 5.21% rates), the 2025 South Carolina rates (0%, 3% and 6%) on federal taxable income without the new federal deductions, dependent exemptions, the age 65 deduction and the 2026 Social Security wage base. For joint filers, enter combined household wages. Results are estimates, not tax advice.

Last reviewed: October 29, 2026.