Beaufort County Treasurer and Property Taxes

Three county offices share a property tax bill. The Assessor appraises real property and mobile homes, decides each home’s assessment rate, and takes appeals. The Auditor values motor vehicles, watercraft and other personal property, and prepares the tax bills. The Treasurer collects the money.

None of the three lists an office on Hilton Head Island. The Treasurer is at 100 Ribaut Road, Suite 165, in Beaufort, (843) 341-8404, with a Bluffton office at 4819 Bluffton Parkway, 3rd Floor. Both are open Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and open at 9:30 on Wednesdays. The Assessor, (843) 255-2400, is at 100 Ribaut Road, Room 210; the Auditor’s offices are in Beaufort and Bluffton. Most of the work is online. Searching a parcel is covered on the property records page.

The Town of Hilton Head Island collects its own taxes and fees separately from the county, so a county bill does not cover the Town’s business license or rental taxes. The county guide, Beaufort County Services on Hilton Head Island, covers the rest of what the county does.

South Carolina assesses a home at a percentage of its appraised value. A legal residence, the owner’s own home and up to five contiguous acres, is assessed at 4%. A residence that does not qualify is assessed at 6%, and so is other real property such as commercial property. The 4% rate also exempts the owner from the school operations tax, so for a primary home the difference is larger than the two points suggest.

For short-term rental owners, this is the part that costs money. A home qualifies for 4% only if it is not rented for more than 72 days in a calendar year. A second home or a rental house past that limit is assessed at 6%, which means a larger bill every January. Owners who live on the island part of the year and rent the rest should count their rental days before they apply.

The Assessor handles the legal-residence application, online with document upload or on a PDF form, and the Exemption Viewer shows its status. The owner has to apply before the first penalty date of the tax year in which they first claim it, which is after January 15. If your home is on the 6% rate but is your primary residence, call the Assessor at (843) 255-2400.

South Carolina law makes property taxes due from September 30 to January 15 after the assessment. After January 15 the penalties stack: 3% of the tax, then 7% more after February 1, then 5% more after March 16.

A mailed payment is judged by its U.S. postmark. The Treasurer’s office warns that postmarks now show the day the mail is processed, not the day it is dropped off, so a payment mailed right before January 15 can carry a later date. The Treasurer waives a penalty only with proof the post office accepted the payment on time, or when the county made the error. If a home sold, the penalty can be waived when the notice went to the earlier owner.

The Treasurer’s myBeaufortCounty site takes payments online at any hour and confirms them right away. The Treasurer also has a free iOS and Android app, and a lookup for original tax bills and receipts. You can pay in person at the Beaufort or Bluffton offices, or by mail, a few days early. The Treasurer’s phone is (843) 341-8404.

Car and boat taxes are billed too: the Auditor values motor vehicles and watercraft, and the Treasurer collects. For the Town’s own taxes, see the Town guide.

The Auditor’s office provides the homestead exemption application for senior citizens. The legal-residence 4% rate is a separate application, through the Assessor, not the Auditor. The Auditor’s forms page has the homestead application, and the Auditor’s help center answers questions about eligibility.