Property tax in McCormick County, South Carolina

By Brent Chudoba, editor Updated September 23, 2026

The median property tax bill in McCormick County, South Carolina is $948 a year, which is about 0.56% of the county's median home value of $168,700. 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.

Estimate the property tax on a home in McCormick County

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at McCormick County's average effective rate of 0.56% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.

Home market value

Estimated property tax: $945 / year

Property tax in McCormick County at a glance

McCormick County, South Carolina property tax (Census ACS, reviewed September 23, 2026)
Measure	Value
Median annual property tax	$948
Median home value	$168,700
Effective tax rate	0.56%
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 McCormick County compare in South Carolina?

Among South Carolina's 46 counties, McCormick County has the 15th highest effective property-tax rate: 14 rank higher and 31 rank lower. That is on the higher side for South Carolina. Nationally, it ranks 2428th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every South Carolina county ranked.

How much do homeowners in McCormick County actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across McCormick County's 3,691 owner-occupied homes, 10.5% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 22.3% pay at least $2,000, and 42.7% pay under $800. Another 8% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Annual property tax paid by McCormick County homeowners (Census ACS 2020-2024)
Annual bill	Homes	Share
Under $800	1,576	42.7%
$800 to $1,499	565	15.3%
$1,500 to $1,999	429	11.6%
$2,000 to $2,999	437	11.8%
$3,000 or more	388	10.5%
No property tax paid	296	8%

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $1,394 and owners without one pay $781. 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 McCormick County property tax bill compare with local incomes?

The median property tax bill of $948 is about 1.5% of the median income of McCormick County homeowner households, $61,804 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 87.9% of McCormick 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 McCormick County?

The survey cannot tell. The median bill was $739 in 2015-2019 and $948 in 2020-2024, but that $209 difference is inside the Census's own margin of error for a county this size, so it could be sampling noise rather than a real change.

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 McCormick County

McCormick County borders 6 counties, 3 of them across the state line.

McCormick County and its neighbors, highest effective rate first (Census ACS 2020-2024)
County	Effective rate	Median bill	Median home value
Lincoln County, GA	0.99%	$1,643	$165,900
Elbert County, GA	0.91%	$1,298	$142,000
Columbia County, GA	0.82%	$2,515	$305,300
McCormick County, SC (this county)	0.56%	$948	$168,700
Greenwood County, SC	0.53%	$964	$180,500
Abbeville County, SC	0.44%	$782	$178,800
Edgefield County, SC	0.43%	$875	$202,700

How is a home assessed in McCormick County?

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

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

When are property taxes due in McCormick County?

One annual payment. Bills go out around September 30 and the practical due date is January 15. Penalties then stack: 3% after January 16, another 7% after February 2, and another 5% after March 17. A county may by ordinance offer a five-payment installment plan, elected between December 1 and January 15, but that is a local option rather than a right.

That is the South Carolina rule. McCormick County issues and collects the bill, so the dates printed on your statement are the ones that bind you.

How to appeal your McCormick County property assessment

You contest the assessed value with the County assessor, then the county Board of Assessment Appeals, then the Administrative Law Court. The filing deadline is typically 90 days after the assessment notice is mailed. That is the South Carolina rule; McCormick County sets the exact dates and forms. The South Carolina appeal process step by step.

South Carolina rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the South Carolina page.

Work out your own numbers

Sources

Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for McCormick 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.