How to Estimate Charleston Real Estate Taxes

Since we get a lot of questions about real estate taxes in Charleston, we’ve included a tax estimator below. Often buyers assume that they’ll pay the same amount in taxes as the previous owners, but when a home is recently purchased the assessed amount usually changes. Because Charleston’s home prices have increased so much in the past few years, the taxes are generally higher for the new home owner.

This is the most accurate Charleston County tax estimator we’ve found for primary residents. It’s recently been updated, so if it’s been a few months since you visited the county’s website, you might want to plug in your numbers to check the results.

Remember that second homes/investment properties are taxed at the 6% rate instead of the owner occupied 4% rate. To estimate taxes for an investment property, you can switch out the 0.04 to 0.06 under Tax Assessment and leave in the Property Tax Relief section since it’s a credit for primary residents. (Or, an easier rule of thumb will be to simply double the primary tax amount.)

Example: Taxes for a $325,000 Purchase Price

Appraised Value: 325,000
Tax Assessment: 0.04
Assessed Value: 13000
Combined Millage Rate: 0.2634
Total Tax (before exemptions): $3,424.20

Charleston County Tax Credit: -$279.50
(0.00086)
City of Charleston Tax Credit: -$250.25
(0.00077)
Property Tax Relief: -$1,306.50
(0.1005)
Total Tax: $1,587.95
Solid Waste Recycling and Disposal Fee: $99.00
Total Tax Due: $1,686.95

Different municipalities and service districts create differences in millage rates. Usually this is a very small amount, so the one we’ve used above is for James Island. No estimating tool will give you an exact number, but again, the one shown is the closest we’ve found.

This estimator is for Charleston County Real Estate. Berkeley County tends to run a little higher for real estate taxes, while Dorchester County is more affordable. Check out these resources for estimates:

Berkeley County tax estimator

Dorchester County tax spreadsheet