Moving to or from South Carolina
The South Carolina Part-Year Resident Return: Two Ways to File
In the year you move into or out of South Carolina, Section 12-6-1710 gives you a choice. You can report all of your income for the year as if you were a resident and claim a credit for tax paid to the other state, or you can file as a nonresident using Schedule NR, which taxes everything you earned while a resident plus South Carolina-source income from the rest of the year. Which costs less depends on the other state's tax and on when your income arrived.
- Both methods are filed on the SC1040; the nonresident method adds Schedule NR.
- Under the nonresident method, deductions are prorated by South Carolina AGI over federal AGI.
- From 2026, that proration applies to the new SC Income Adjusted Deduction (SCIAD).
- The full-year method relies on the credit for taxes paid to another state, claimed on the SC1040TC.
- The choice exists only for the year you actually changed residency.
- The 2026 Schedule NR and SC1040 had not been published as of this writing.
Who this applies to
- Anyone who became or stopped being domiciled in South Carolina during 2026
- Married couples where one spouse moved on a different date from the other
- People who sold a home or received a large payment in the year of a move
Who this may not apply to
- Full-year residents who simply work in another state; they file as residents and claim the other-state credit
- Full-year nonresidents with South Carolina rental or business income, who file as nonresidents for the whole year
What the statute allows
Section 12-6-1710 gives a part-year resident two options. Under the first, you report and compute South Carolina tax as if you were a resident for the whole year and use the credit in Section 12-6-3400 for income tax paid to another state. Under the second, you compute tax as a nonresident under Section 12-6-1720, except that for the period you were a resident your South Carolina income includes everything a resident must report. H.4216 did not change Section 12-6-1710. It did amend Section 12-6-1720 so that the new SCIAD is prorated for nonresidents, and because the second option runs through Section 12-6-1720, we expect that proration to apply to part-year residents who choose it. SCDOR's 2026 forms will confirm the mechanics.
| Question | Full-year resident method | Nonresident method (Schedule NR) |
|---|---|---|
| What income goes on the South Carolina return | All income for the entire year, wherever earned | All income from the resident period, plus South Carolina-source income from the nonresident period |
| How the other state is handled | Credit for tax paid to the other state on income both states tax, on SC1040TC | Usually no credit needed, because nonresident-period income from other states is left out |
| Deduction (SCIAD from 2026) | Full deduction, subject to the federal AGI phase-out | Deduction multiplied by South Carolina AGI divided by federal AGI |
| Paperwork | SC1040 plus SC1040TC and a copy of the other state's return | SC1040 with Schedule NR attached |
| Tends to suit | Moves from a state with a similar or higher tax rate | Moves from a state with no income tax, or large income in the out-of-state period |
How the nonresident method works on Schedule NR
The 2025 Schedule NR asks for the dates each spouse lived in South Carolina. It then has two columns: Column A shows the federal amount for each type of income and Column B shows the part taxable to South Carolina. For a part-year resident, Column B holds every item received while you lived here, wherever it came from, plus wages, rent and business income tied to South Carolina from the months you lived elsewhere.
Proration comes next. Schedule NR divides South Carolina AGI in Column B by federal AGI in Column A and applies that fraction to the deduction. Some South Carolina subtractions have their own part-year rules: the 2025 schedule allows the retirement deduction, the age 65 deduction and the deduction for dependents under six only if you were a resident for part of the year, and the 44% capital gain deduction applies to the gains in Column B. Schedule NR must be attached to the SC1040; it cannot be filed alone.
A simple illustration
Suppose a single filer moved from Florida to Charleston on September 1, 2026, earned $60,000 in Florida wages before the move and $25,000 in South Carolina wages after. Florida has no income tax, so the full-year method would put all $85,000 on the South Carolina return with nothing to credit. The nonresident method would put only the $25,000 in Column B, and the SCIAD, already reduced by the federal AGI phase-out, would be multiplied by $25,000 divided by $85,000. In a move like this, the nonresident method is usually the cheaper one. Run both before you file; the right answer turns on your actual numbers.
How the full-year method works
Under the full-year method, South Carolina taxes all of your income, and you reduce the bill with the credit for taxes paid to another state. The SC1040TC instructions limit that credit to residents and part-year residents and set it at the lesser of two numbers: South Carolina tax multiplied by the share of income that both states taxed, or the tax you actually paid the other state on that income. You must have filed a return in the other state and had a real liability there; withholding alone does not count. If the other state later refunds that tax, Section 12-6-3400(B) requires you to repay the matching credit within 60 days.
Couples and special situations
- Different move dates: Schedule NR records residency dates separately for each spouse, so a couple filing jointly can show that one spouse arrived in June and the other in December.
- One spouse never a resident: SCDOR's instructions say that if you file a joint federal return and one spouse is a nonresident, you may file a joint SC1040 with Schedule NR.
- Military moves: Schedule NR includes a line for Armed Forces moving expenses, and a nonresident servicemember's military pay is not South Carolina income.
- Income paid after the move for work done before it: check where the work was performed, since that drives the source of wages under the nonresident method.
Credits in the year of a move
Some credits shrink or disappear for part-year filers. The South Carolina earned income tax credit, as amended by H.4216, is allowed only to full-year residents and is capped at $200. The child and dependent care credit is prorated through Schedule NR for part-year residents. Our credits guide covers each one.
Haigler CPA Group prepares part-year returns both ways and files the one that comes out lower. Call (843) 214-0631 to set up a free consultation.
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Sources
- SC Code Title 12, Chapter 6 — Sections 12-6-1710, 12-6-1720 and 12-6-3400
- SC General Assembly — H.4216 (Act No. 110 of 2026), ratified text
- SCDOR — 2025 Schedule NR, Nonresident Schedule
- SCDOR — 2025 SC1040TC, Tax Credits
- SCDOR — 2025 SC1040 Individual Income Tax Instructions
- SCDOR — Information Letter #26-20, Individual Income Tax Reform
South Carolina publishes new guidance and local governments change their rates, so check the source pages for anything that has moved since the date above. 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 people ask about this
Which part-year method usually costs less?
If you came from a state with no income tax or a lower rate, the nonresident method on Schedule NR is often lower because income earned before the move stays off the South Carolina return. If you came from a higher-tax state, the two methods can land close together, and the full-year method may simplify things. Compute both.
Can I use the part-year rules again the year after I move?
No. SCDOR's instructions say the choice is available only for the tax year in which you were a part-year resident. After that you file as a full-year resident or a full-year nonresident.
I sold my old house in Ohio after moving to South Carolina. Where is the gain taxed?
Gain from real estate is generally sourced to the state where the property sits, so Ohio may tax it. If you choose the full-year method, South Carolina also includes it and you claim a credit for Ohio's tax. Under the nonresident method, an out-of-state gain received during your resident period is still in Column B, so the credit question needs a careful look either way.
Do I get the whole SCIAD in the year I move?
Under the full-year method you start from the full amount, reduced only by the federal AGI phase-out. Under the nonresident method the deduction is also multiplied by your South Carolina share of AGI, so you receive part of it.
Keep reading
- Who counts as an SC residentFor income tax, a South Carolina resident is anyone domiciled here: the place you treat as your permanent or indefinite home and intend to return to. There is no day-count test, so time spent in or out of the state does not settle the question on its own. Once you are domiciled here, you stay a resident until you abandon South Carolina and set up a new permanent home somewhere else.
- Moving to SC: a tax checklistThe tax side of a move to South Carolina comes down to a handful of steps: pin down the date you became domiciled here, get South Carolina tax withheld or paid from that date, apply for the reduced property tax ratio on your new home, and plan your first return as a part-year resident. From 2026 the state return also works differently from the federal one, starting from federal AGI with South Carolina's own deduction and two tax rates.
- The SC Income Adjusted DeductionThe South Carolina Income Adjusted Deduction (SCIAD) replaces the federal standard and itemized deductions on South Carolina returns from tax year 2026. It is $15,000 for single or married filing separately, $22,500 for head of household and $30,000 for married filing jointly or surviving spouse, and it phases out as federal AGI rises, disappearing at $95,000, $142,500 and $190,000 respectively.
- SC tax credits for individualsOf South Carolina's main individual credits, H.4216 changed only one: from 2026 the state earned income tax credit is capped at $200. The two wage earner credit, the child and dependent care credit, the refundable tuition credit and the credit for taxes paid to another state all continue under their existing statutes. Most are nonrefundable, so they can reduce South Carolina tax to zero but not below it.
- South Carolina tax guideHow South Carolina taxes income, businesses and property, and what the Charleston area adds on top, with the state or local source beside every rule.
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