- Assessor site
- https://www.sccounties.org/county/marion-county/directory ↗
- Search by
- county contact via the SCAC county page
- Reassessment cycle
- Three offices share the job: the county ASSESSOR (real property + the 4% legal-residence ruling), the county AUDITOR (personal property), and SCDOR (manufacturing, utilities, fee-in-lieu). QUINQUENNIAL countywide reappraisal, staggered, with ACT 388's 15%-per-cycle cap creating dual values — 'fair market value' on one line, the capped 'property tax value' actually taxed on the other. Class ratios: 4% owner-occupied / 6% commercial and everything else / 10.5% manufacturing (~6% effective after the 2022 exemption) — and the 4% class is fully EXEMPT from school operating millage, which the 6% class carries.
- Reassessment trigger
- Three events move a value: the reappraisal (capped 15%), improvements (added at full market, outside the cap), and an ASSESSABLE TRANSFER OF INTEREST — which voids the cap: full market reappraisal as of Dec 31 of the transfer year, with entity deals captured at >50% ownership-interest transfers, cumulated across related transactions over 25 years (§12-37-3150(A)(8)); commonly-controlled transfers are excluded.
- Personal & intangible property
- Business personal property taxed at 10.5% through the county AUDITOR — a different office than the assessor.
- CRE forecasting note
- Model the ATI, not the cycle: the seller's capped value is not your basis — reprice to full market for the transfer year, then calendar the post-2010 ATI PARTIAL EXEMPTION (25% off ATI value for 6% property, application required). Your pro formas carry school operating millage that homesteads don't. Appeals: 90 DAYS from an assessment notice; in non-notice years object BEFORE ~JAN 15 to reach the current year; then the County Board of Assessment Appeals (30 days) and the Administrative Law Court (30 days). Manufacturing and FILOT route through SCDOR. Ag rollback on use change.
- Residential note
- File the 4% LEGAL RESIDENCE application with the county assessor — the window runs through ~January 15 after the tax year, it auto-renews, and you must notify the assessor within six months of any change; without it you pay 6% AND school operating millage. Homestead exemption ($50,000 FMV) for 65+/blind/disabled via the auditor. Appeals: 90 days from any assessment notice; in quiet years, object before ~Jan 15 to reach the current year.
CAP RESET ON TRANSFER — An Assessable Transfer of Interest voids the 15% cap: full market reappraisal as of Dec 31 of transfer year — entity deals are ATIs when >50% of ownership interests transfer in one deal or a series of related deals within 25 years (§12-37-3150(A)(8)); commonly-controlled and affiliated-group shuffles are excluded.
SPLIT RATE — 4% owner-occupied vs 6% commercial/other vs 10.5% manufacturing (nets to ~6% after the 2022 exemption) — and the 4% class is fully exempt from school OPERATING millage (Act 388), which the 6% class carries.
RATIO CAUTION — The 15%-per-cycle cap creates dual values ('fair market' vs 'property tax value') — the capped number is what's taxed, until an ATI.
APPEAL DEADLINE — 90 days from an assessment notice; in non-notice years objections must land before ~Jan 15 to reach the current year; 30-day steps to the Board and the Administrative Law Court.
FILING REQUIRED RELIEF — 4% legal-residence application (through ~Jan 15, auto-renews, 6-month change duty); post-2010 ATI 25% exemption by application; ag use value; $50k homestead via the auditor.
STATE ASSESSED — SCDOR directly assesses manufacturing and utility property and administers fee-in-lieu (FILOT) — the county assessor handles real property only; the auditor handles personal.
Note: The Marion County Assessor's office in Marion handles real-property values here (personal property goes through the county Auditor; manufacturing through SCDOR). Homeowners: file the 4% legal-residence application — without it the rate is 6% plus school operating millage. Buying? Expect a full market reappraisal for the transfer year. To contest a value: 90 days from an assessment notice, or before mid-January in years without one. The link above is the county's page at the counties' own statewide association.
Primary sources: SCDOR policy manual (SCTIED Ch. 5, 2022 + 2025); Dorchester/Jasper/Berkeley/Oconee official pages; SC statehouse Act 388 materials; Lincoln Institute SC study; S.C. Code §§12-37-3130 to -3150, 12-43-217/-220, 12-60-2510/-2520 (as of 2026-07-04). Confirm current rules and figures with the assessing authority before any use.