South Carolina notice

SCDOR Estimated Assessment (C-293): No Return on File

SCDOR has no return for a period and has estimated the tax; filing the actual return is usually how it is resolved.

Reply by the date on the notice

File the return or pay by the due date on the notice; if you dispute that you had to file at all, a written protest is due within 90 days of the notice date.

An Estimated Assessment Notice (C-293), or for individual income tax a Proposed Assessment for Failure to File (I-331), means SCDOR has no return on file for a period it believes you had to file. It has estimated what you owe from the best information it has. Filing the real return, and paying any balance it shows, is usually how the notice is resolved.

What this notice is telling you

SCDOR's records show a return was due (individual income, withholding, sales or another tax) and none was received.
SC Code 12-60-430 lets SCDOR estimate the liability from the best information available and propose tax, penalties and interest on that basis.
The estimate is built from data such as IRS records or your account history, not from your own figures, so it can be higher or lower than what you actually owe.
Because no return was filed, the usual 36-month limit on SCDOR assessments does not apply to that period.

What to do

Check the account and period
Confirm the notice is for your account and the right quarter or year. Businesses with several SCDOR accounts often find the notice is for a withholding or sales account they forgot was still open.
Look for proof it was filed
If you did file, find the confirmation or a copy of the return and check it was filed under the same file number and period.
File the actual return
File through MyDORWAY or on paper. SCDOR's withholding guidance says filing the missing return satisfies the notice, and the same approach is the usual fix for other tax types.
Pay what the real return shows
Pay with the return, or ask for a Payment Plan Agreement if you cannot pay in full. Penalties and interest for late filing and payment still apply.
Protest if you had no filing requirement
If you believe you did not have to file for that period, file a written protest within 90 days explaining why.

Common reasons this notice arrives

A withholding account is still open after payroll stopped. SCDOR expects a quarterly return even for a quarter with no employees and zero withholding.
You moved to or from South Carolina, or earned SC-source income as a nonresident, and did not file an SC return.
A return was filed under the wrong file number, period or entity, so SCDOR's system shows nothing for the period on the notice.
Federal records show income for the year, but SCDOR has no state return for you.

If a withholding or sales account is no longer needed, SCDOR recommends closing it as of the last payroll or sales date. Otherwise the estimated notices keep coming each period.

Payments made but no return filed

SCDOR points out that a failure-to-file notice for withholding means it did not receive the return. That does not mean it did not receive your payments. Once the return is filed, it matches the payments already on the account. Have your deposit records ready before you assume the balance on the notice is real.

If you ignore it

An estimate that is neither filed against nor protested becomes a final assessment, which SCDOR sends as a Notice of Assessment (C-133). From there the collection path is the same as any unpaid assessment: a state tax lien, then possible wage or bank levies, refund offsets and, for businesses, revocation of the retail license. The estimate can then be collected as if it were a real liability, even if a filed return would have shown much less.

Several years missing

If one period is missing, others often are too. Before filing the period on the notice, it is worth checking which other SC returns are outstanding so that SCDOR is not sending separate estimates for each one.

Where this notice sits

The usual order. Not every account gets every notice, and some steps can be skipped.

Want a CPA to deal with it?

Bring the notice to a free consultation, in person on James Island or by video. We read it with you, tell you what it means for your account and, if you want us to, take over the response once SCDOR has our power of attorney on file.

Book a free consultation Call (843) 214-0631

Unfiled tax returns — Missed one year or several? We find out what the IRS already has, prepare the missing federal and South Carolina returns, and sort out the balance after they are filed.

Sources

By Haigler CPA Group. Updated October 25, 2026. Notices are revised from time to time, so go by the wording and dates on your own notice. The information on this site is general in nature and is not tax, legal, or accounting advice for your situation. Tax law changes and the right answer depends on facts we would need to review with you. Please speak with a qualified professional before acting on anything you read here.

Questions about Estimated Assessment (C-293)

Why does the estimate say I owe more than I think I do?

SCDOR is estimating without your deductions, credits or actual figures, so the result often overstates the tax. Filing the return replaces the estimate with real numbers.

I never had employees. Why am I getting withholding notices?

SCDOR requires a quarterly return for every open withholding account, even one with no payroll. If the account was opened by mistake or is no longer needed, close it in MyDORWAY so future quarters are not estimated.

Will filing the return remove the penalties too?

Not automatically. Filing replaces the estimated tax, but late-filing and late-payment penalties and interest on the actual tax can still apply. Ask about the penalties separately if you had reasonable cause.

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