TAXES 21-14, South Carolina Income Tax Withholding

Published: March 10, 2021
Effective: Pay Period 05, 2021

Summary

The income tax withholding for the State of South Carolina includes the following changes:

The maximum standard deduction in the case of any exemptions has changed from $3,820 to $4,200.
The exemption allowance has changed from $2,590 to $2,670.
The table for State income tax withholding calculation has changed.

No action on the part of the employee or the personnel office is necessary.

Tax Formula

State Abbreviation:	SC
State Tax Withholding State Code:	45
Acceptable Exemption Form:	SC-4 or W-4 (see the Additional Information section)
Basis for Withholding:	State or Federal Exemptions (see the Additional Information section)
Acceptable Exemption Data:	0/Number of Exemptions
TSP Deferred:	Yes
Special Coding:	Determine the Total Number of Allowances field as follows: First Position - Enter 0 (zero). Second and Third Positions - Enter the number of exemptions claimed.
Additional Information:	Employees who have not previously submitted an SC W-4 and have submitted a 2020, or later, Federal Form W-4 will default to zero (00) allowances. Employees who have not previously submitted an SC W-4 and have not submitted a 2020, or later, Federal Form W-4 will default to the prior to 2020 Federal Form W-4 submission.

Withholding Formula (Effective Pay Period 05, 2021)

Subtract the biweekly Thrift Savings Plan contribution from the gross biweekly wages.
Subtract the nontaxable biweekly Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan payment(s) (includes dental and vision insurance program, and Flexible Spending Account — health care and dependent care deductions) from the amount computed in step 1.
Add taxable biweekly fringe benefits (e.g., taxable life insurance) to the amount computed in step 2 to obtain the adjusted gross biweekly wages.
Multiply the adjusted gross biweekly wages by the number of pay dates in the tax year to obtain the gross annual wages.
Determine the standard deduction by applying the following guideline and subtract this amount from the gross annual wages calculated in step 4:

If the Number of Exemptions Claimed Is:¹

Subtract This Amount:²

One or more

10% of annual wages or $4,200

^{1 Use annual wages when no exemptions are claimed.}
^{2 Use the lesser amount.}
Determine the personal exemption allowance by applying the following guideline and subtracting this amount from the result of step 5 to compute the taxable income:
Multiply the number of allowances by $2,670.

If the Number of Exemptions Claimed Is:¹	Subtract This Amount:²
One or more	10% of annual wages or $4,200

Apply the taxable income computed in step 6 to the following table to determine the South Carolina tax withholding:

Tax Withholding Tables

If the Amount of Taxable Income Is:	The Amount of Tax Withholding Should Be:
Over $0 but not over $2,800	0.5%
Over $2,800 but not over $5,610	$14.00 plus 3.0% of excess over $2,800
Over $5,610 but not over $8,410	$98.30 plus 4.0% of excess over $5,610
Over $8,410 but not over $11,220	$210.30 plus 5.0% of excess over $8,410
Over $11,220 but not over $14,030	$350.80 plus 6.0% of excess over $11,220
Over $14,030	$519.40 plus 7.0% of excess over $14,030

Divide the annual South Carolina tax withholding calculated in step 7 by the number of pay dates in the tax year to obtain the biweekly South Carolina tax withholding.

Resources

To view the updated tax formula, go to the HR and Payroll Clients page from the MyNFC drop-down menu on the National Finance Center (NFC) Home page. Select the Publications tab and select U.S. Income Tax Formulas from the Publications menu to launch the tax map. Select the desired State from the map provided for the formula.

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