Property tax in Colleton County, South Carolina
In Colleton County, the property tax bill comes from the Colleton County Treasurer. The 2026 bill is due January 15, 2027. You can look up and pay the bill on the county's own payment page. Taken from Colleton County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Colleton County, South Carolina is $900 a year, which is about 0.55% of the county's median home value of $162,500. That effective rate is higher than the typical South Carolina county (0.51%) and lower than the national median (0.81%). These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024); your own bill depends on your home's assessed value and any exemptions.
Who sends the property tax bill in Colleton County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the Colleton County Treasurer. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Colleton County Assessor, which is who to ask if the value looks wrong. For how to look up and pay the bill, go to the county's own payment information.
Three county offices share the work: the Assessor values real estate and grants the 4% owner-occupied (legal residence) rate, the Auditor calculates the bills and handles the homestead exemption, and the Treasurer collects. File the legal residence application before January 15 for it to count for that tax year. Colleton County also has a one percent capital project sales tax, which pays for construction projects rather than reducing property tax bills.
When are property taxes due in Colleton County?
For the 2026 bill, Colleton County has one due date: January 15, 2027. The county's Assessor pages name January 15 as the first penalty date, when taxes are due, and state law makes property taxes payable between September 30 and January 15. January 15, 2027 is a Friday. Taxes not paid by January 15 pick up penalties in three steps set by state law: 3% on January 16, another 7% on February 2 and another 5% on March 17. The county's delinquent tax page calls March 15 the final day to pay before taxes become delinquent (the next business day if March 15 falls on a weekend or holiday); pay by then to be safe, although state law adds the last 5% only to taxes still unpaid after March 16. Delinquent taxes then go to the Delinquent Tax Office, and property that stays unpaid can be sold at the county's tax sale; the most recent one was held February 20, 2026.
From Colleton County's published schedule, checked September 23, 2026. If a date falls on a weekend or holiday, the county's own rules on the next business day apply.
Estimate the property tax on a home in Colleton County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Colleton County's average effective rate of 0.55% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $894 / year
Property tax in Colleton County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $900 |
| Median home value | $162,500 |
| Effective tax rate | 0.55% |
| Typical South Carolina county rate | 0.51% |
| National median county rate | 0.81% |
Effective rate = median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.
How does Colleton County compare in South Carolina?
Among South Carolina's 46 counties, Colleton County has the 17th highest effective property-tax rate: 16 rank higher and 29 rank lower. That is on the higher side for South Carolina. Nationally, it ranks 2466th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every South Carolina county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Colleton County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Colleton County's 12,026 owner-occupied homes, 7.7% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 15.4% pay at least $2,000, and 42.3% pay under $800. Another 4.5% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 5,085 | 42.3% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 3,240 | 26.9% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 1,303 | 10.8% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 922 | 7.7% |
| $3,000 or more | 929 | 7.7% |
| No property tax paid | 547 | 4.5% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $1,233 and owners without one pay $671. Owners who have paid off a home have usually held it longer, and in states that cap how fast an existing owner's assessment can rise, long-held homes carry lower assessed values. Census table B25103.
How does the Colleton County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $900 is about 1.5% of the median income of Colleton County homeowner households, $58,941 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 73.3% of Colleton County's occupied homes are lived in by their owners; renters pay property tax too, just folded into rent.
Have property taxes gone up in Colleton County?
Yes. The median bill went from $577 in 2015-2019 to $900 in 2020-2024, a 56% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 79.8%, from $90,400 to $162,500. Bills rose more slowly than values, which is what assessment caps and falling millage rates do: the county is taxing a smaller share of each home's worth.
Two Census ACS 5-year periods with no survey years in common, in each period's own dollars. A change counts only if it exceeds the combined 90% margin of error.
Property tax in counties next to Colleton County
Colleton County borders 7 counties.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allendale County, SC | 0.88% | $669 | $76,200 |
| Bamberg County, SC | 0.83% | $811 | $97,800 |
| Hampton County, SC | 0.8% | $897 | $112,000 |
| Orangeburg County, SC | 0.65% | $749 | $115,800 |
| Dorchester County, SC | 0.56% | $1,851 | $329,300 |
| Colleton County, SC (this county) | 0.55% | $900 | $162,500 |
| Beaufort County, SC | 0.48% | $2,174 | $455,600 |
| Charleston County, SC | 0.39% | $1,901 | $489,100 |
How is a home assessed in Colleton County?
South Carolina assesses homes at 4% of market value in every county, Colleton County included. How South Carolina assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Colleton County?
Not as a dollar amount. South Carolina owner-occupants get a 4% assessment ratio instead of 6% plus an exemption from school operating millage; apply for the 4% ratio with the county assessor. That is the South Carolina rule, and it applies in Colleton County. South Carolina's exemptions and relief programs in full.
On top of the South Carolina programs, Colleton County runs its own:
- Local Option Sales Tax property tax credit: Colleton County's one percent local option sales tax pays for a credit that is subtracted automatically from property tax in proportion to the property's appraised value; the county's tax estimator applies a county credit to every property and a separate city credit to property inside a town that shares in it. There is no application.
How to appeal your Colleton County property assessment
In Colleton County you appeal to the Colleton County Assessor (written appeal), then the Colleton County Board of Assessment Appeals. The deadline: In a year you receive an assessment notice, object to the Assessor in writing within 90 days after the notice is mailed. In a year with no notice, you may appeal in writing at any time; an appeal filed before the January 15 penalty date counts for that tax year, and a later one counts for the next year. If the Assessor's review does not settle it, state law gives you 30 days after the conference to protest in writing, then 30 days after the Assessor's written response to appeal to the county board of assessment appeals, and 30 days after the board's decision to ask for a hearing before the South Carolina Administrative Law Court. The county's pages do not restate these windows; they are set by state law. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against state law, because Colleton County does not restate them on its own pages.
How South Carolina's appeal process works, including the next level if the first one turns you down.
South Carolina rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the South Carolina page.
Work out your own numbers
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How much house can I afford?
Your income, debts and down payment against the 28/36 rule lenders actually use, with Colleton County's tax rate to hand.
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Mortgage calculator
Monthly payment with principal, interest, tax and insurance, plus what an extra payment saves you.
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South Carolina income tax
Brackets, standard deduction and what South Carolina actually taxes.
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Sales tax in Colleton County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Colleton County, South Carolina: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020-2024), tables B25103, B25077, B25102, B25119 and B25003; the five-year comparison uses the 2015-2019 estimates. Neighboring counties: Census county adjacency file.