A bill

 

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS SO AS TO ENACT THE "SAVE OUR PROPERTY ACT"; AND BY ADDING SECTION 12-45-440 SO AS TO AUTHORIZE AN ASSESSOR TO DEFER PROPERTY TAXES UNTIL THE NEXT YEAR ON CERTAIN RESIDENTIAL OR AGRICULTURAL PROPERTY IF AN APPLICANT'S INCOME IS LESS THAN A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OF THE COUNTY MEDIAN INCOME.

 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

 

SECTION 1.  This act may be cited as the "Save Our Property Act".

 

SECTION 2.  Chapter 45, Title 12 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

 

    Section 12-45-440. (A) An individual who owns residential or agricultural real property that is subject to property tax may file an application for relief with the assessor, pursuant to subsection (B), if the individual has owned the property for at least twenty years or inherited the property from an immediate family member. If the real property was inherited, the deceased family member and the owner's time of ownership combined must equal at least twenty years to be eligible. The application must be filed every year the individual seeks relief.

    (B) The assessor shall provide a form by which an application for relief may be filed. The assessor may require the submission of reasonable documentation of need, such as income tax returns, bank statements, and bills due in the tax year. The documentation must be accepted as true and the burden of proof is on the assessor to prove otherwise. The documentation provided is subject to public review through a Freedom of Information Act request. Personal identifying information may be redacted from the documentation except the name of the person filing the application for relief must not be redacted.

    (C)(1)  Upon review of the application for relief and supporting documentation, the assessor shall defer all of the property tax due if the assessor determines that the individual's income is less than or equal to sixty percent of the county median income. If the individual's income is greater than sixty percent of the county median income but less than one hundred percent of the county median income, then the assessor may defer parts of property tax due until the next tax year. If the individual's income is greater than one hundred percent of the county median income, then the assessor may not defer any property tax due on the property unless the individual received a deferment pursuant to this section for the same property in the previous tax year. The assessor has the burden of proof to deny a deferment or any larger deferment. Any amount deferred is not subject to interest or penalties and is due the next tax year following the next year's property tax penalty schedule.

       (2)   An individual may file the application for relief in consecutive tax years, and the assessor may defer all or parts of any previously deferred property tax until the next tax year in accordance with the provisions of item (1).

       (3)   If the owner of a property that is receiving a deferment or for which an application has been made dies, then the deferment or application must be continued as though the owner was not deceased using the most recently available documentation. The continuation only may cease upon the transfer of the property to someone other than an immediate family member.

       (4)   The assessor shall notify the treasurer of any deferment.

    (D)  Any decision of the assessor made pursuant to this section may be appealed to the county board of assessment appeals in the manner set forth in Subarticle 9, Article 9, Chapter 60, Title 12.

 

SECTION 3.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor and applies to tax years beginning after 2025.

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