South Carolina Closing Costs for Sellers in 2026: Transfer Tax, Fees and Real Numbers

South Carolina charges a deed recording fee of $1.85 for each $500 of the realty’s value: $1.30 to the state and $0.55 to the county. State law makes the grantor, the seller, liable, with the grantee secondarily liable. On a hypothetical $300,000 sale the fee is $1,110.

South Carolina’s seller cost is a deed recording fee

South Carolina’s Department of Revenue calls this charge a deed recording fee. It is built from a state portion and a county portion collected when the deed is recorded.

The numbers below come from the South Carolina Department of Revenue (SCDOR) and the state code, checked in October 2026.

The rate

Component	Rate per $500, or fractional part
State portion	$1.30
County portion	$0.55
Total (Section 12-24-10)	$1.85

County clerks of court or registers of deeds collect the fee and pay the state’s portion to SCDOR. Filing and payment are done electronically through MyDORWAY, due by the 20th of the month after the deed is recorded. That is a recorder process, not something a seller does by hand, but it explains why the title company handles it.

Worked example: a hypothetical $300,000 sale

Line	Math	Amount
State portion	$300,000 / $500 = 600 units x $1.30	$780
County portion	600 x $0.55	$330
Total deed recording fee	600 x $1.85	$1,110

As with other per-$500 formulas, a price that ends in a fractional part rounds up to the next unit.

Deed recording fee at $1.85 per $500

Sale price	State ($1.30)	County ($0.55)	Total
$150,000	$390	$165	$555
$300,000	$780	$330	$1,110
$500,000	$1,300	$550	$1,850

The county portion is part of the total at every price, so the county you sell in does not change the $1.85 per $500 structure. Ask your title company to show the state and county lines separately on the statement.

Who customarily pays

Under Section 12-24-10, the fee is the liability of the grantor, with the grantee secondarily liable. In plain terms the seller is the primary payer on a normal sale. For master-in-equity deeds, government transfers and qualified retirement plan transfers, the grantee is primarily liable instead. Whether your contract shifts any of the cost is a negotiation point. Ask your title company or closing attorney what is customary locally. Agent commission is negotiable.

Exemptions

Section 12-24-40 lists exempt transfers. Examples include deeds with a value of $100 or less, transfers to government entities, transfers under IRC Section 1041, partition transfers with no consideration, statutory corporate or partnership mergers, corrective or quitclaim deeds confirming existing title, and mortgage foreclosure transfers to the mortgagee. If you think an exemption applies, your attorney needs to confirm it before closing.

Other seller costs to expect

Agent commission. Negotiable.
Mortgage payoff. Your balance plus interest through the payoff date.
Property tax proration. Settled at closing; your attorney will show how.
Attorney or settlement fees. Get a quote early.
Title insurance. We did not confirm a sourced rule on who pays or how premiums are set, so none is quoted here.

What this means for investors

The fee hits a flip twice, once at purchase and again at resale. If you buy at $200,000, your seller owes $740 on that deed (400 x $1.85). Resell at $300,000 and you owe $1,110 as grantor. That is $1,850 across two deeds before any other cost.

Wholesale assignment and double close are not the same. An assignment generally produces one closing and one deed to your end buyer, so one fee. A double close means two closings and two sets of costs. Buy at $200,000 and resell at $230,000 and you pay 460 x $1.85 = $851 on the second deed on top of whatever your seller paid on the first, plus title charges on both. Ask your title company to price both deeds before you quote a wholesale fee.

Build it into your maximum allowable offer. Subtract the recording fee on resale with repairs, holding costs and your target profit.

Run your numbers

Try your price in the closing cost calculator, then the deal analyzer in Automize CRM to see the full deal with the fee included.

This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Confirm your exact figures with your title company or closing attorney.

Sources

Rates checked October 24, 2026. General information, not tax or legal advice.

Common questions

How much is the South Carolina deed recording fee?

Section 12-24-10 sets the fee at one dollar eighty-five cents for each five hundred dollars, or fractional part, of the realty’s value. The South Carolina Department of Revenue splits that into $1.30 for the state and $0.55 for the county. On $300,000 the total is $1,110.

Who is liable for the deed recording fee in South Carolina?

The statute makes the fee the liability of the grantor, or the joint and several liability of the grantors, with the grantee secondarily liable. For master-in-equity deeds, government transfers and qualified retirement plan transfers, the grantee carries primary liability. Your contract can allocate cost differently between the parties.

Are any South Carolina deeds exempt from the recording fee?

Yes. Section 12-24-40 exempts deeds such as those where the value is $100 or less, transfers to government entities, some transfers to stockholders or partners, partition deeds with no consideration, corrective or quitclaim deeds confirming existing title, and foreclosure transfers to the mortgagee. A regular arm’s-length sale is not exempt.