What is South Carolina's latest statewide per capita income figure used for tax incentives (per SC IL #12-16)?

Plain-English summary

This Information Letter updates South Carolina's statewide per capita personal income figure to $33,388 — one of the numbers several South Carolina tax incentives use to decide whether a business qualifies (and for how much). A number of income, sales and use, and property tax incentives require the jobs tied to the incentive to meet a state or county per capita income requirement, so the Department publishes these figures to help taxpayers test eligibility.

Unlike the Department's combined state-and-county letters, this edition updates the state figure only. The Department publishes the state per capita income figure twice a year and the county figures once a year, releasing each when it receives the figures from the South Carolina Board of Economic Advisors.

What this means for you

If you are claiming a South Carolina tax incentive

Where an incentive turns on the statewide per capita income threshold, use the updated $33,388 figure for the applicable period. For county-level thresholds, consult the Department's most recent combined state-and-county per capita income letter.

If you advise on economic-development credits

This is a mid-year update to the state figure only; confirm you are using the state figure in effect for the relevant year, and pull the separate county figures when a county threshold applies.

Common questions

Q: What is the updated South Carolina state per capita income figure?
A: $33,388, as published in this October 2012 letter.

Q: Does this letter include county figures?
A: No. This edition updates the state figure only; the county figures are published separately once a year.

Q: Why does per capita income matter for taxes?
A: Several South Carolina income, sales and use, and property tax incentives condition eligibility or amount on whether the associated jobs meet a state or county per capita income requirement.

Source

• Landing page: https://dor.sc.gov/advisory-opinion-search
• Original PDF: https://dor.sc.gov/sites/dor/files/policies/IL12-16.pdf

Original ruling text

State of South Carolina

Department of Revenue
301 Gervais Street, P. O. Box 12265, Columbia, South Carolina 29211
Website Address: http://www.sctax.org

SC INFORMATION LETTER #12-16

SUBJECT:

Per Capita Income Figures for State of South Carolina

DATE:

October 22, 2012

SUPERSEDES: All previous documents and any oral directives in conflict herewith.
REFERENCE:

S. C. Code Section 12-6-3360 (2000, Supp. 2011)
S. C. Code Section 12-6-3410 (2000, Supp. 2011)
S. C. Code Chapter 15, Title 12 (Supp. 2011)
S. C. Code Section 12-36-2120(65) (2000, Supp. 2011)
S. C. Code Section 12-37-930 (2000, Supp. 2011)
S. C. Code Section 12-6-2320 (2000, Supp. 2011)
S. C. Code Section 12-10-80 (2000, Supp. 2011)
Act No. 187, Sec. 7 (2011-2012 Session)

AUTHORITY:

S. C. Code Ann. Section 12-4-320 (2000)
S.C. Code Ann. Section 1-23-10(4) (2005)
SC Revenue Procedure #09-3

SCOPE:

An Information Letter is a written statement issued to the public to
announce general information useful in complying with the laws
administered by the Department. An Information Letter has no
precedential value.

In recent years, a number of income, sales and use, and property tax incentives have been
added that require jobs associated with the incentive to meet certain state or county per
capita personal income (herein referred to as “per capita income”) requirements to
determine qualification for, or the amount of, the particular incentive. In order to aid
taxpayers in determining whether the per capita income requirements of an incentive are
met, the Department publishes the county and state per capita income amounts each year.
Generally, the information concerning state per capita income is updated twice a year,
usually in May and October. The information concerning per capita income for South
Carolina’s counties is updated once a year, usually in May. The Department publishes both
the county and state figures when it receives the figures from the South Carolina Board of
Economic Advisors. The most recently available state per capita income figure is:
State of South Carolina $33,388
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Among the incentives that use state per capita income are the following:
Personal Property Corporate Headquarters Credit in Code Section 12-6-3410 - The
personal property headquarters credit contained in Code Section 12-6-3410 is available
to a taxpayer that: (1) meets all the requirements necessary to claim the real property
headquarters credit, (2) meets other statutory requirements as to the personal property
that is used at the headquarters; and (3) creates at least 75 new full-time headquarters or
research and development type jobs at the headquarters and those jobs have an average
cash compensation level of more than twice the per capita income of the State.
“Qualifying Service-Related Facility” Definition in Code Section 12-6-3360 - Code
Section 12-6-3360 allows a job tax credit for taxpayers that create new full-time jobs at
a qualifying new facility or an expansion of an existing qualifying facility. One of the
qualifying facilities is a “qualifying service-related facility.” A “qualifying servicerelated facility” includes a business, other than a business engaged in legal, accounting,
banking or investment services or retail sales, having a net increase at a single location
of at least:
(1) one hundred and seventy five jobs;
(2) one hundred jobs that have an average cash compensation level of more than
one and one-half times the state per capita income or the per capita income in the
county where the jobs are located, whichever is lower;
(3) fifty jobs that have an average cash compensation level of more than twice the
state per capita income or the per capita income in the county where the jobs are
located, whichever is lower; or
(4) twenty- five jobs that have an average cash compensation level of more than
two and one-half times the state per capita income or the per capita income in the
county where the jobs are located, whichever is lower.
Small Business Job Tax Credit in Code Section 12-6-3360 - Code Section 12-63360(C)(2) provides that small businesses with 99 or fewer employees that increase
employment by two or more new full-time jobs may be eligible for the job tax credit.
The amount of the credit depends in part on whether the gross wages of the new fulltime job amounts to a minimum of 120% of the county’s or state’s average per capita
income, whichever is lower.
Job Development Credit Qualifying Expenditures under Code Section 12-10-80 Employee relocation expenses for employees with gross wages equal to twice the per
capita income of the state or county in which the project is located, whichever is lower,
can qualify as eligible expenditures for reimbursement from job development credits.

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Sales and Use Tax Exemption for Computer Equipment for Technology Intensive
Facilities in Code Section 12-36-2120(65) – A sales and use tax exemption is available
for computer equipment used in connection with a technology intensive facility if the
taxpayer meets certain investment requirements and creates at least 100 jobs at the
facility over a five year period and those jobs have an average cash compensation of at
least 150% of the state per capita income.
Special Benefits for Life Sciences Facilities and Renewable Energy Manufacturing
Facilities in Chapter 15, Title 12 and Code Section 12-37-930 – A business may
qualify for special incentives if its facility qualifies as a life sciences facility or a
renewable energy manufacturing facility. For certain incentives, the business must
invest $100 million in a project and create 200 new jobs at the project with an average
cash compensation of at least 150% of the annual per capita income in the state or
county in which the facility is located, whichever is less.
Special Allocation and Apportionment Incentives under Code Section 12-6-2320 –
Several of the special allocation an apportionment provisions contained in Code Section
12-6-2320(B) (which allows a taxpayer meeting certain requirements to use a special
method of allocating and apportioning its income) require that certain per capita income
requirements be met.
New Sales and Use Tax Exemption for Datacenters – A sales and use tax exemption is
available for computers, computer equipment, computer software and some of the
electricity used by a qualifying datacenter. To qualify, a taxpayer must invest a
minimum of $50 million(or one or more taxpayers must invest a minimum of $75
million) in real or personal property, or both within a five year period; create and
maintain at least twenty-five jobs at the datacenter and those jobs must have an average
cash compensation of at least 150% of the per capita income of the state or county
where the datacenter is located, whichever is lower (per capita income to be determined
at the time the datacenter is certified by the Department of Commerce); and the
taxpayer must maintain the 25 jobs for three consecutive years after certification.
Each of these incentives has special rules on how to determine whether the per capita
income requirements of each particular incentive have been met. Therefore, the appropriate
statutes should be consulted to determine whether the per capita income requirements of the
particular statute are met as well as to assure that all other requirements of the statute have
been met.

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