Property tax in Lancaster County, South Carolina
In Lancaster County, the property tax bill comes from the Lancaster County Treasurer's Office. 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 Lancaster County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Lancaster County, South Carolina is $1,657 a year, which is about 0.5% of the county's median home value of $329,900. That effective rate is lower 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 Lancaster County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the Lancaster County Treasurer's Office. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Lancaster County Assessor's Office, 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 job: the Assessor values the property, the Auditor prepares the tax notice, and the Treasurer collects it. The county last reassessed all property in 2025, so most owners get no new assessment notice in 2026. Homes inside the City of Lancaster or the Town of Kershaw also owe municipal tax at the city or town's own rate, less the city or town's own sales tax credit; the county's 2026 estimate counts City of Lancaster tax in the same amount due as county tax, and the city sends residents to the county's online tax payment site. Online payments run through an outside processor, and card payments carry a 2.35% convenience fee. Payments can also be made by phone at 803-797-2853, by mail to P.O. Box 729, Lancaster, SC 29721, or in person at 101 N. Main Street, Lancaster.
When are property taxes due in Lancaster County?
For the 2026 bill, Lancaster County has one due date: January 15, 2027. Bills must be mailed at least 30 days before the due date. When January 15 falls on a weekend or holiday, the county accepts payment without penalty until 5 pm the next business day; January 15, 2027 is a Friday. A mailed payment counts by its U.S. postmark. A 3% penalty is added to taxes unpaid after January 15, a further 7% (10% in all) after February 1, and a further 5% (15% in all) after March 16. After March 16 unpaid taxes are turned over to the county's Delinquent Tax Collector, and collection costs are added.
From Lancaster 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 Lancaster County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Lancaster County's average effective rate of 0.5% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $1,650 / year
Property tax in Lancaster County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $1,657 |
| Median home value | $329,900 |
| Effective tax rate | 0.5% |
| 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 Lancaster County compare in South Carolina?
Among South Carolina's 46 counties, Lancaster County has the 25th highest effective property-tax rate: 24 rank higher and 21 rank lower. That is near the middle for South Carolina. Nationally, it ranks 2640th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every South Carolina county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Lancaster County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Lancaster County's 33,409 owner-occupied homes, 21% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 39% pay at least $2,000, and 23.2% pay under $800. Another 4.6% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 7,760 | 23.2% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 6,846 | 20.5% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 4,237 | 12.7% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 6,019 | 18% |
| $3,000 or more | 7,008 | 21% |
| No property tax paid | 1,539 | 4.6% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $1,898 and owners without one pay $1,131. 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 Lancaster County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $1,657 is about 1.8% of the median income of Lancaster County homeowner households, $91,771 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 83.3% of Lancaster 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 Lancaster County?
Yes. The median bill went from $1,120 in 2015-2019 to $1,657 in 2020-2024, a 47.9% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 65.1%, from $199,800 to $329,900. 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 Lancaster County
Lancaster County borders 7 counties, 2 of them across the state line.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mecklenburg County, NC | 0.71% | $2,890 | $406,800 |
| Union County, NC | 0.57% | $2,396 | $417,300 |
| Chester County, SC | 0.56% | $890 | $158,300 |
| Fairfield County, SC | 0.51% | $776 | $151,200 |
| Lancaster County, SC (this county) | 0.5% | $1,657 | $329,900 |
| York County, SC | 0.48% | $1,740 | $361,300 |
| Kershaw County, SC | 0.47% | $1,013 | $217,100 |
| Chesterfield County, SC | 0.42% | $487 | $116,200 |
How is a home assessed in Lancaster County?
South Carolina assesses homes at 4% of market value in every county, Lancaster County included. How South Carolina assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Lancaster 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 Lancaster County. South Carolina's exemptions and relief programs in full.
On top of the South Carolina programs, Lancaster County runs its own:
- Local option sales tax credit: Lancaster County uses its local option sales tax to credit every property tax bill, subtracted automatically with no application. For 2026 the county credit is 0.000601 times the property's market value, about $60 for each $100,000 of value.
How to appeal your Lancaster County property assessment
In Lancaster County you appeal to the Lancaster County Assessor's Office (written objection), then the Lancaster County Board of Assessment Appeals. The deadline: Within 90 days after the assessor mails the assessment notice. If you still disagree after the assessor's written review finding, you have 30 days to appeal to the Lancaster County Board of Assessment Appeals. In a year with no notice, you may appeal in writing at any time; an appeal filed before the first penalty date counts for that tax year, and one filed later counts for the next year. 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 Lancaster 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 Lancaster County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Lancaster 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.