Charleston property tax reminder
Property tax bills throughout the Charleston area have just been sent out and while many of you don't pay your property tax bill directly because your mortgage company is paying it from your escrow account, you should check to make sure you aren't paying too much tax.
While South Carolina residents are fortunate to not pay high property taxes like residents of many other states (clients from New Jersey have told me that their property taxes are over $1000 per month, yes, per month, not year), the most important thing is to make sure you are being taxed at the correct ratio.
If your home in South Carolina is your primary residence, your property tax should be assessed at the 4% ratio rather than the 6% ratio. Additionally, if you are over 65 years of age, you also qualify for a homestead exemption on the first $50,000 of assessed value. And the best news for Charleston homeowners paying at the 4% ratio is that your property taxes are generally less than 1% of the value of your home.
The difference between paying at the 4% ratio and paying at the 6% ratio is a 50 percent reduction in the amount of tax that you would pay. So do yourself a favor and look at the ratio box to make sure that it says 4% if your home is your primary residence.
And it's not too late to get it corrected. Just go down to the courthouse in either Charleston, Berkeley or Dorchester County and fill out the appropriate paperwork.