Tools · Property tax
Who pays property tax on this campus depends on who occupies it
Under its current nonprofit owner the parcel is exempt and pays $960 in City fees. A new owner is exempt only if its ownership and its use qualify, and the South Carolina Department of Revenue decides on an application. The same campus can cost nothing a year in tax, or close to a hundred thousand dollars.
This is research on the statutes and published cases, not tax advice. SCDOR determines eligibility.
Exempt, taxable or uncertain, by structure
| Owner and occupant | Status | Why | What must be filed |
|---|---|---|---|
| A public charter school leases the campus (from a nonprofit or a for-profit owner) | Exempt | §59-40-140(K) ("whether owned or leased"); §12-37-220(A)(2) as SCDOR applies it; Hock RH LLC v. SCDOR (2018): a private LLC's campus leased to a charter school was exempt | Owner applies to SCDOR with the lease and the charter; again after every new deed |
| A public charter school owns the campus | Exempt | §59-40-140(K); §12-37-220(A)(2) | Application after the deed |
| A church occupying it for worship and its ministries | Exempt | §12-37-220 (church property, on the premises it occupies); income-producing church property does not qualify | Application to SCDOR |
| A charitable nonprofit running its own program on site | Exempt | §12-37-220: property of charitable or educational societies used primarily for their meetings and business, or occupied by a charitable foundation | Application to SCDOR |
| A nonprofit vocational or trade school owning and using it | Exempt on the statute's text | §12-37-220(A)(2), "other institutions of learning" whose profits are not applied to private use; no South Carolina ruling on a vocational school was found | Application to SCDOR |
| A for-profit landlord leasing to a state agency or college | Taxable | The institution-of-learning exemption covers property of the institution, not a leasehold; the public-lease exemption reaches only property leased on a nonprofit basis and not office space | None; the 25% transfer exemption may need notice to the assessor before 31 January |
| A for-profit school owning it | Taxable | §12-37-220(A)(2) excludes institutions whose profits are applied to private use | None |
| A nonprofit owner letting it to a state agency or college | Uncertain | Exempt only if leased "on a nonprofit basis" and not as office space; a foundation's leased property has been treated as taxable | Application to SCDOR |
The taxable bill
For a taxable owner: value × 6% assessment ratio × the district's millage. The value below defaults to the asking price as an illustration; the assessor sets the actual value when the property is reassessed after a transfer.
Annual property tax: $95,792, plus $960 in City fees.
At the defaults the bill is $95,792 a year, or $71,844 with the 25% transfer exemption. That exemption is written for a parcel currently subject to tax; this one is exempt now, so whether it applies at this sale is not settled by the statute's text. When the parcel was last taxable, under the previous owner and at a lower value, it paid $27,071 to $34,613 a year (2007-2015, under the previous owner).
Two timing traps for an exempt buyer
The first 31 December. Exemption follows the property's status on 31 December, which sets the next year's tax. If an exempt buyer closes in a year but the school or program is not yet in occupation, or the application not filed, by that 31 December, one year at the full taxable rate is possible.
Space the exempt occupant does not use. The statute's pattern is to assess a taxable portion separately. If part of the campus, such as the second building, is let to a taxable user, that part can be taxed while the rest stays exempt.
Sources
- S.C. Code Title 59, Chapter 40 (charter schools: §59-40-70 application and opening; §59-40-140 funding and tax exemption). South Carolina Legislature. Accessed 7 October 2026.
- S.C. Code Title 12, Chapter 37 (property tax: §12-37-220 exemptions; §12-37-3135, -3140, -3150 transfers and reassessment). South Carolina Legislature. Accessed 7 October 2026.
- S.C. Code §12-43-220 (assessment ratios). South Carolina Legislature. Accessed 7 October 2026.
- Hock RH LLC v. South Carolina Department of Revenue (S.C. Ct. App. 2018). South Carolina Court of Appeals. Accessed 7 October 2026.
- Tax Estimator for parcel 7-12-14-355.02 (district 7SSZ millage). Spartanburg County (qPublic). 2025 levy. Accessed 7 October 2026.
- Spartanburg County Treasurer tax bills, map number 7-12-14-355.02. Spartanburg County Treasurer. Accessed 6 October 2026.