What authority does South Carolina Revenue Ruling #24-1 give the January 2024 Deed Recording Fee Manual?

Plain-English summary

South Carolina Revenue Ruling #24-1 makes the Department's January 2024 Deed Recording Fee Manual the consolidated source of Department guidance on the deed recording fee. The ruling incorporates that manual “as if it were published in its entirety” in the ruling and says the manual serves every purpose a Revenue Ruling would serve for all topics it addresses.

The ruling explains the basic framework. South Carolina charges a deed recording fee for the privilege of recording a deed that transfers land, improvements, tenements, or other realty to another person. The fee is $1.85 for each $500, or fractional part of $500, of the realty's value as determined under § 12-24-30. The state receives part of the fee and the county receives part.

Except for the circumstances listed in § 12-24-20(B), the grantor is liable. Multiple grantors are jointly and severally liable, and the grantee is secondarily liable. The clerk of court or register of deeds collects the fee and remits the state's portion to the Department monthly.

The Department says it issued the ruling because its older manual had not been updated since 2018 even though taxpayers and practitioners were using the manual as their primary source. RR #24-1 consolidates the relevant advisory-opinion guidance through the January 2024 manual and supersedes RR 17-5, RP 15-1, and all earlier manual versions.

What this means for you

Parties transferring South Carolina real estate

Start with the January 2024 Deed Recording Fee Manual for the Department's transaction-specific positions. The ruling itself establishes the basic rate and liability framework but incorporates the manual for the detailed topics it covers.

Grantors and grantees

The default liability falls on the grantor. If there are multiple grantors, each can be responsible for the full amount through joint-and-several liability. The grantee remains secondarily liable. Check § 12-24-20(B) and the incorporated manual for any applicable exception.

Closing attorneys and recording offices

Calculate the fee in $500 increments, including a fractional final increment, using the realty's value determined under § 12-24-30. The recording office collects the fee, keeps the county portion, and remits the state portion monthly as described in the ruling.

Common questions

Q: What did RR #24-1 actually change?
A: It consolidated the Department's deed-recording-fee guidance by incorporating the January 2024 manual into the ruling and superseding RR 17-5, RP 15-1, and all earlier versions of the manual.

Q: What is the fee rate?
A: $1.85 for every $500, or fraction of $500, of the realty's value determined under § 12-24-30.

Q: Who normally owes the fee?
A: The grantor, subject to the circumstances listed in § 12-24-20(B). Multiple grantors are jointly and severally liable, and the grantee is secondarily liable.

Q: Does the ruling reproduce the January 2024 manual?
A: No. The ruling incorporates the manual by reference and gives it Revenue-Ruling effect for the topics it addresses, but the manual's detailed text is not included in the ruling text reproduced below.

Citations and references

• S.C. Code Ann. § 12-24-10 et seq. — South Carolina deed recording fee
• S.C. Code Ann. § 12-24-20(B) — specified liability circumstances
• S.C. Code Ann. § 12-24-30 — determination of realty value
• January 2024 South Carolina Deed Recording Fee Manual — incorporated by RR #24-1

Source

• Landing page: SC Advisory Opinion Search
• Original PDF: RR24-1.pdf

Original ruling text

STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA

DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
300A Outlet Pointe Blvd., Columbia, South Carolina 29210
P.O. Box 125, Columbia, South Carolina 29214-0575

SC REVENUE RULING #24-1
SUBJECT:

South Carolina Deed Recording Fee

EFFECTIVE DATE: Applies to all open periods under the statute
SUPERSEDES:

SC Revenue Ruling 17-5; SC Revenue Procedure 15-1; and all prior
versions of the South Carolina Deed Recording Fee Manual

REFERENCES:

S.C. Code Ann. § 12-24-10, et seq.

AUTHORITY:

S.C. Code Ann. § 12-4-320 (2014)
SC Revenue Procedure #09-3

SCOPE:

The purpose of a Revenue Ruling is to provide guidance to the public. It is
an advisory opinion issued to apply principles of tax law to a set of facts
or general category of taxpayers. It is the Department’s position until
superseded or modified by a change in statute, regulation, court decision,
or another Department advisory opinion.

INTRODUCTION
South Carolina imposes a deed recording fee pursuant to Chapter 24 of Title 12 for the privilege
of recording a deed in which land and improvements on the land, tenements, or other realty is
transferred to another person. The fee is one dollar eighty-five cents ($1.85) for each five hundred
dollars, or fractional part of five hundred dollars, of the realty’s value as determined by S.C. Code
Ann. Section 12-24-30 (2014). This fee is split such that the state receives a portion and the county
receives a portion. Except for circumstances listed in S.C. Code Ann. Section 12-24-20(B), the
grantor is liable for payment of the fee, or if there is more than one grantor, the grantors are jointly
and severally liable for payment of the fee. The grantee is secondarily liable for the payment of
the fee. The fee is collected by the office of the clerk of court or register of deeds, which remits
the state’s portion of the fee to the Department of Revenue on a monthly basis.
The Department has issued a variety of advisory opinions concerning the deed recording fee since
it was enacted in 1996. Based on recent input from constituencies, the Department learned that the
primary source of information about the deed recording fee was the Department’s manual, not the
advisory opinions published on the Department’s website. The Deed Recording Fee manual has
not been updated since 2018. As a result, the Tax Policy Services division worked to consolidate
the information in the relevant advisory opinions into an updated Deed Recording Fee manual.
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PURPOSE
The Department of Revenue’s manuals are typically intended to serve only as a set of guidelines
on the topic(s) discussed. However, the Deed Recording Fee manual has become the “go to” source
of information related to the deed recording fee. Therefore, the Department has consolidated the
information contained in several advisory opinions that have been issued since the inception of the
deed recording fee into a single Deed Recording Fee Manual published contemporaneously with
this ruling.
To effectuate the goal of providing a single source of information about the application of the deed
recording fee, the Department incorporates herein the guidance provided in the January 2024
version of the Deed Recording Fee Manual as if it were published in its entirety in this Revenue
Ruling. The January 2024 Deed Recording Fee Manual will serve all purposes that a Revenue
Ruling would serve on all topics addressed in the Manual.
SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE

s/W. Hartley Powell
W. Hartley Powell, Director
January 9
, 2024
Columbia, South Carolina

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