Property tax in Sumter County, South Carolina
In Sumter County, the property tax bill comes from the Sumter 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 Sumter County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Sumter County, South Carolina is $881 a year, which is about 0.53% of the county's median home value of $165,300. 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 Sumter County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the Sumter County Treasurer. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Sumter 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 split the work: the Assessor values the property and takes the application for the 4% legal residence rate, the Auditor calculates the bill and takes homestead exemption applications, and the Treasurer collects the payment. South Carolina bills after the year the tax covers, so the 2026 bill arrives in October 2026 and is due January 15, 2027. City of Sumter property taxes are also collected by the County Treasurer, and the city sends residents to the county to pay them. An appeal still pending on December 31 is billed on at least 80% of the assessed value, and the tax must still be paid by January 15; the difference is settled with interest once the appeal is decided. Online payments go through the county's qPayBill payment site, and phone payments are taken at 864-253-8701.
When are property taxes due in Sumter County?
For the 2026 bill, Sumter County has one due date: January 15, 2027. Tax notices for 2026 are issued in October 2026 and can be paid with no penalty through January 15, 2027, a Friday. A mailed payment counts by its U.S. Postal Service postmark date. Penalties are added to the base tax: 3% after January 15, 10% in total after February 1, and 15% in total after March 16. State law starts the first penalty on January 16 or 30 days after the notices were mailed, whichever is later. Taxes still unpaid after March 16 are turned over for collection with added costs, and property that stays unpaid can be sold at the county's delinquent tax sale; the most recent one was held on March 9, 2026.
From Sumter 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 Sumter County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Sumter County's average effective rate of 0.53% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $876 / year
Property tax in Sumter County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $881 |
| Median home value | $165,300 |
| Effective tax rate | 0.53% |
| 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 Sumter County compare in South Carolina?
Among South Carolina's 46 counties, Sumter County has the 21st highest effective property-tax rate: 20 rank higher and 25 rank lower. That is near the middle for South Carolina. Nationally, it ranks 2541st of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every South Carolina county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Sumter County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Sumter County's 27,990 owner-occupied homes, 5.1% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 10.8% pay at least $2,000, and 41.7% pay under $800. Another 9.8% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 11,658 | 41.7% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 7,979 | 28.5% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 2,617 | 9.3% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 1,583 | 5.7% |
| $3,000 or more | 1,423 | 5.1% |
| No property tax paid | 2,730 | 9.8% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $1,146 and owners without one pay $575. 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 Sumter County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $881 is about 1.4% of the median income of Sumter County homeowner households, $65,110 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 68.1% of Sumter 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 Sumter County?
Yes. The median bill went from $718 in 2015-2019 to $881 in 2020-2024, a 22.7% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 42.9%, from $115,700 to $165,300. 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 Sumter County
Sumter County borders 6 counties.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richland County, SC | 0.67% | $1,637 | $242,800 |
| Lee County, SC | 0.57% | $599 | $104,600 |
| Clarendon County, SC | 0.56% | $883 | $158,000 |
| Sumter County, SC (this county) | 0.53% | $881 | $165,300 |
| Kershaw County, SC | 0.47% | $1,013 | $217,100 |
| Florence County, SC | 0.42% | $756 | $177,900 |
| Calhoun County, SC | 0.41% | $704 | $172,100 |
How is a home assessed in Sumter County?
South Carolina assesses homes at 4% of market value in every county, Sumter County included. How South Carolina assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Sumter 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 Sumter County. South Carolina's exemptions and relief programs in full.
On top of the South Carolina programs, Sumter County runs its own:
- Local Option Sales Tax credit: Sumter County has a local option sales tax, and part of it is returned as a credit on every property tax bill in the county and its towns, figured from the property's value, so no application is needed.
How to appeal your Sumter County property assessment
In Sumter County you appeal to the Sumter County Assessor. The deadline: If an assessment notice was mailed to you, object in writing to the Assessor within 90 days of the date it was mailed. In a year with no notice, you may object in writing at any time: an objection made before the first penalty date (generally January 15) applies to that year's taxes, and one made later applies to the next year's. 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
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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 Sumter 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 Sumter County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Sumter 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.