Horry County Property Taxes (2023)

South Carolina’s Constitution requires that property is taxed in accordance with the value of the property.  In Horry County, the last property assessment occurred in 2024 and the next assessment will be in 2029.  The assessment does not change unless physical changes have been made, a reassessment program is implemented or an assessable transfer of interest occurs.

The tax rate is reflected in mills where 1 mill is 0.1 percent (i.e. a .001 millage rate).  Horry County sets the tax rate every year.  For 2023, the tax rate (in mills) in Horry County was the sum of 56.2 mills (County) + 128.1 mills (School) + 23.2 mills (Fire) + 8.7 mills (Waste Management)  = 216.2 mills.  Since 1 mill is 0.1 percent, the total County millage rate for 2023 was 216.2 times .001 = 0.2162.

All real property is assessed at 4% assessment ratio (owner occupies residence – also termed as “legal residence”) or 6% assessment ratio (farm or all others).

“Legal residence” (for owner occupied homes) also Includes a tax credit in which the school operation tax is exempted.  The County sets the school operation tax which was 118.1 – or 0.1181 mills for the year 2023.

The property tax is then the assessment ratio times the millage rate minus the school operation tax exemption.

As an example, the Horry County tax for (1) an unincorporated area and (2) an owner-occupied residence would be computed as follows:

Fair market value (Assessment) times 4% (since owner occupied) times 0.2162 (County Millage rate).

For a $300,000 home this would be 300,000 x 0.04 x 0.2162 = $2,594.40.

The school credit would then be $12,000 x 0.1181 = $1,417.20 for the year 2023.

The total tax would then be $2,594.40 - $1,417.20 = $1,177.20.

Notes:

• Much of Horry County is classified as “unincorporated”, but some areas of Horry County are classified as “incorporated”.  There is an additional tax for the “Incorporated” area, i.e. municipalities such as City of Myrtle Beach, City of Conway, City of North Myrtle Beach, etc.  Each of those municipalities have determine their own tax rate.
• There is a “homestead exemption” whereby those age 65 and over, the blind, the disabled or surviving spouses may be eligible for a $50,000 deduction from the Assessor's market value appraisal for their legal residence.

Print This Post Email This Post

Share on Social Media: