Doing Business Here

Cost-effective operations are easy to achieve in Dorchester County. Corporate incentives and affordable land prices minimize start-up costs and help make companies profitable from the start. The state's pro-business tax structure, along with low labor and utility costs, help ensure long-term success.

Taxes

South Carolina has many tax incentives that can reduce a company’s tax liability, thus increasing your bottom line. This page contains a brief summary of state taxes and incentives. More detailed information on how these taxes are calculated and the incentives available to qualifying companies can be found in the resources.

Income and Tax Credits

South Carolina's corporate income tax rate of 5% is the lowest in the Southeast. Corporate income tax is based primarily on federal gross and taxable income. Companies engaged in multi-state activities will only pay taxes on the income derived from business activity conducted in South Carolina.

 Companies may be entitled to the following corporate income tax credits:

Economic Impact Zone
Manufacturers locating in Dorchester may be eligible for a one-time credit against corporate income tax of up to 5% of investment in new production equipment.

For more information about incentives, be sure to check out the Incentives section on the site.

Sales and Use Tax

As a state, South Carolina imposes a sales and use tax of 6%. In addition, Dorchester County also imposes a sales tax of 1%. Generally, all retail sales are subject to the sales tax. Proceeds go towards infrastructure improvements or a rollback of property taxes. A variety of sales tax exemptions are offered, and a detailed list of sales tax exemptions for manufacturers can be found in the website resources on our site as well.

Property Taxes

There is no state property tax in SC; only local government taxes. The assessment ratio is 9% for manufacturing property and 6% for commercial real property. Manufacturing and commercial personal property is assessed at 10.5%. Unlike many states, South Carolina exempts all inventories (raw materials, work-in-progress, and finished goods), intangible property, and pollution control equipment from property taxation.



Wages

Dorchester County businesses have access to a diverse and highly-skilled talent pool. Learn more about the area’s workforce and competitive labor costs, including average annual wages for various occupations and regional comparison data.

SC Works Labor Market Data
SC Power Team Data Center
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