Editor’s Note: This article is the first in a series of four.
By Larry Dandridge
South Carolina may be the most military- and veteran-friendly state in the union. My next four articles will cover S.C. military and veteran benefits. You can find summaries and explanations of SC military and veteran benefits online at:
* My Army Benefits (South Carolina) webpage at https://bit.ly/3JXFY5P.
* Military.COM (State Vets Benefits) webpage at https://bit.ly/3UI6QLX.
* The Island News article titled “Veterans should want to live, work, retire in SC,” dated June 1, 2022, at https://bit.ly/3UZ0NUv. Provides more than 20 reasons why veterans want to live in S.C.
* The S.C. Department of Veteran Affairs Consumer Affairs webpage at https://bit.ly/4bkkA6I. This page covers benefits including Credit of State Retirement for Military Service, Admissions Tax Exemptions, Income Tax Exemption on Military Retired Pay, Real Property Taxes- Homestead Exemption, Free Hunting and Fishing Licenses for Disabled Veterans, State Parks Benefit for Totally Disabled Persons, Special License Plates, Home and Auto Property Tax Exemptions, Specially Adapted Housing, Tax Exemption for Compensation, Pension, Disability Retirement Pay and VA Payments, Driver Services for Military and Veterans, and Active Duty Pay Relevant to the S.C. Department of Revenue and Taxation.
The S.C. Department of Veteran Affairs Consumer Affairs webpage
The following 12 S.C. Veterans’ Benefits are summarized at the SCDVA “Consumer Affairs” webpage at https://bit.ly/4bkkA6I.
1. Credit of State Retirement for Military Service: An active member of one of the retirement systems administered by the SC Public Employee Benefit Authority may establish up to six years of service credit for any period of military service for which he or she does not already have service credit in one of the correlated defined benefit plans. Visit the “Public Employee Benefit Authority” website at https://www.peba.sc.gov and log into Member Access to request a cost estimate.
2. Admissions Tax Exemption: Provides for the exemption of admissions taxes to athletic contests in which junior American Legion athletic teams are participants unless the proceeds are given to individual players as salary or otherwise. For more information, call 803-612-1171.
3. Income Tax Exemption on Retirement Pay: H.3247 signed into law in 2022 exempts military retiree pay from taxation. The law is effective beginning tax years after 2021 making military retiree pay 100-percent exempt from state income tax with no earned-income cap. Learn more at the SCDVA “Claiming Military Retiree State Income Tax Exemption in S.C.” webpage at https://bit.ly/3UJC6dC.
4. Property Taxes – Homestead Exemption: All persons who have been declared permanently and totally disabled by the Social Security Administration, VA, or other state or federal agencies, are eligible for a homestead exemption in an amount set by the S.C. General Assembly. This also applies to persons over age 65. For more information, go to the S.C. Department of Revenue (DOR) “Homestead Exemption” webpage at https://bit.ly/3UFT24D and contact the County Auditor’s Office.
5. Free Hunting and Fishing Licenses: South Carolina provides free hunting/fishing licenses to disabled veterans. The license must be applied for directly from S.C. Department of Natural Resources showing proof of disability. For more information, call S.C DNR at 803-734-3838 or visit the DNR website at https://bit.ly/4bxLTtO.
6. State Parks Benefit for Totally Disabled Persons: S.C provides that any S.C. resident who is a permanently and totally disabled veteran may enter any state park at a reduced rate upon presentation of supporting disability documentation. The veteran may also apply for a reduced fee “Palmetto Passport.” Certain services may require an additional fee. For more information, call the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism at 803-734-0156 or visit the website at https://www.scprt.com.
7. Special License Plates: Upon establishing proof of eligibility for entitlement, the S.C. Department of Motor Vehicles (SCDMV) may issue special motor vehicle license plates to the following: National Guard, National Guard Retirees, Purple Heart Recipients, Disabled Veterans, U.S. Armed Forces Retirees, Ex-Prisoners of War, Medal of Honor Recipients, Pearl Harbor Survivors, Normandy Invasion Survivors, and Marine Corps League. Learn more at the SCDMV webpage at https://bit.ly/3QJFyng, watch the SCDVA YouTube News Video at https://bit.ly/4bj4FW7, or call 803-896-5000. Learn more by reading The Island News article titled “S.C. military license plates,” dated January 25, 2023, at https://bit.ly/3WG13sL.
8. Property Tax Exemption: The S.C. (Real) Property Tax exemption (see the S.C. DOR webpage https://dor.sc.gov) provides that the dwelling house in which a veteran resides who has been rated as one hundred percent permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability by the VA, an Ex-POW, or a Medal of Honor recipient may be tax exempt. The tax exemption applies to the surviving spouse and may be transferred when purchasing another dwelling. Contact your local Veterans Service Officer (VSO) to help you file for real (home) and personal (autos) property tax exemptions if you are 100% service-connected disabled. For more information, contact your VSO and county/municipal tax offices, visit the S.C. DOR website at https://dor.sc.gov, or call 803-898-5700 for help. Download the SC DOR Property Tax Exemption Form (application) For Individual Form PT-4301-I at https://bit.ly/4bypxIK.
9. Specially Adapted Housing Tax Exemption: South Carolina provides for the exemption of state, county, and municipal taxes on the residence of veterans who have lost the use of their lower extremities or who have paralysis of one lateral half of the body resulting from injury to the motor centers of the brain. For more information, contact your county and municipal tax offices, or visit https://dor.sc.gov or call 803-898-5700.
10. Tax Exemption for Compensation, Pension, Disability Retirement Pay, and VA Payments: South Carolina provides that federal tax-exempt money received from pension or compensation provided by the VA, or disability pay from the Armed Forces will not be included in S.C. tax. For more information, call 800-827-1000.
11. Driver Services for Military and Veterans: South Carolina provides for an exemption of municipal parking meter fees when a veteran’s vehicle bears a disabled veteran (“V” tag), Purple Heart, or Medal of Honor license plate. For more information, read the The Island News article “S.C. military license plates,” dated January 25, 2023, at https://bit.ly/3WG13sL and contact your county and municipal government offices.
12. Active Duty Pay Relevant to the SC Department of Revenue & Taxation: Non-resident armed services personnel, who are legal residents of other States, stationed within South Carolina under military orders are not subject to South Carolina income tax on their service pay. They are, however, subject to tax on any other income earned in South Carolina by spouses of service personnel. For more information, visit the DOR website at https://dor.sc.gov or call 803-898-5700.
Larry Dandridge is a Vietnam War wounded warrior, disabled veteran, ex-Enlisted Infantryman, ex-Warrant Officer Pilot, and retired Lt. Colonel. He is a past Veterans Service Officer, a Patient Adviser at the RHJ VA Hospital, the Fisher House Charleston Good Will Ambassador, and the VP for Veteran Affairs for the local Army Association Chapter. Larry is the author of the award-winning book Blades of Thunder and a contributing free-lance writer with the Island News. Contact him at LDandridge@earthlink.net or 843-276-7164.
