Property tax in Florence County, South Carolina

Who sends the property tax bill in Florence County, and how do you pay it?

The bill comes from the Florence County Treasurer. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Florence County Tax 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 Tax Assessor values real estate and grants the 4% owner-occupied (legal residence) rate, the Auditor calculates the bills, applies late penalties and handles the homestead exemption, and the Treasurer collects. The Treasurer collects for the county, four school districts, fire districts, Florence-Darlington Technical College and every town that levies a tax, so city taxes are on the same bill. Real property bills can also carry a solid waste fee and a responders fee. Apply for the 4% legal residence rate before the January 16 penalty date for it to count for that tax year. Online payments go through a card processor, Paystar, which adds a convenience fee; card payments in person cost 1.7% plus $1.

When are property taxes due in Florence County?

For the 2026 bill, Florence County has one due date: January 15, 2027. State law makes property taxes payable between September 30 and January 15; the county's own pages do not restate the date. The Treasurer honors postmarks when applying penalties and cannot accept partial payments. An outage of online payment services does not delay the deadline or the penalties. 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. Taxes still unpaid after March 16 go to the Delinquent Tax Office, which adds collection costs on set dates and can sell the property at the October tax sale.

From Florence County's published schedule, checked September 23, 2026. The county had not posted a calendar labeled for this cycle when we checked, so these dates come from state law and the county's standing schedule; the date on your bill is the one that binds you.

Estimate the property tax on a home in Florence County

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Florence County's average effective rate of 0.42% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.

Property tax in Florence County at a glance

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 Florence County compare in South Carolina?

Among South Carolina's 46 counties, Florence County has the 37th highest effective property-tax rate: 36 rank higher and 9 rank lower. That is on the lower side for South Carolina. Nationally, it ranks 2882nd of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every South Carolina county ranked.

How much do homeowners in Florence County actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across Florence County's 34,092 owner-occupied homes, 4.3% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 9.3% pay at least $2,000, and 49.9% pay under $800. Another 5.7% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $932 and owners without one pay $554. 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 Florence County property tax bill compare with local incomes?

The median property tax bill of $756 is about 1% of the median income of Florence County homeowner households, $73,673 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 64.5% of Florence 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 Florence County?

Yes. The median bill went from $569 in 2015-2019 to $756 in 2020-2024, a 32.9% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 34.9%, from $131,900 to $177,900.

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 Florence County

Florence County borders 8 counties.

How is a home assessed in Florence County?

South Carolina assesses homes at 4% of market value in every county, Florence County included. How South Carolina assesses and reappraises homes.

Is there a homestead exemption in Florence 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 Florence County. South Carolina's exemptions and relief programs in full.

On top of the South Carolina programs, Florence County runs its own:

• Local Option Sales Tax property tax credit: Florence County's one percent local option sales tax pays for a credit, shown on the tax bill as the County Prop. Tax Credit, that is subtracted automatically from the county tax on every taxable property in proportion to its market value; homes inside a town that levies a tax can also get a separate City Prop. Tax Credit on the same bill. There is no application.

How to appeal your Florence County property assessment

In Florence County you appeal to the Florence County Tax Assessor (written appeal), then the county board of assessment appeals. The deadline: In a year you receive an assessment notice, appeal to the Assessor in writing within 90 days after the notice is mailed; the county's form points to the date printed on the notice. In a year with no notice, the county's appeal form says appeals received or postmarked by January 15, 2027 are reviewed for the 2026 tax year, and later ones for 2027. 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. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against the official appeal rules.

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

• How much house can I afford?

  Your income, debts and down payment against the 28/36 rule lenders actually use, with Florence County's tax rate to hand.

• Mortgage calculator

  Monthly payment with principal, interest, tax and insurance, plus what an extra payment saves you.

• South Carolina income tax

  Brackets, standard deduction and what South Carolina actually taxes.

• Sales tax in Florence County

  The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.