Fillable Special Assessment Ratio Application Form (Page 2 of 2) in pdf

You may not receive any further notification if your application is approved for the 4% ratio. If approved the 4% ratio will be computed into your tax bill and will reflect in the assessment

ratio on your bill. If your application is not approved by the time the bill is due, pay the bill and a refund will be issued if the application is approved and the special assessment ratio granted.

FOLLOWING ARE EXCERPTS FROM THE STATUTE

SECTION 12-43-220. Classifications shall be equal and uniform; particular classifications and assessment ratios; procedures for claiming certain classifications; roll-back taxes.

(c)(1) The legal residence and not more than five acres contiguous thereto, when owned totally or in part in fee or by life estate and occupied by the owner of the interest, and additional

dwellings located on the same property and occupied by immediate family members of the owner of the interest, are taxed on an assessment equal to four percent of the fair market value

of the property.

If residential real property is held in trust and the income beneficiary of the trust occupies the property as a residence, then the assessment ratio allowed by this item applies if the trustee

certifies to the assessor that the property is occupied as a residence by the income beneficiary of the trust. If this property has located on it any rented mobile homes or residences which are

rented or any business for profit, this four percent value does not apply to those businesses or rental properties. For purposes of the assessment ratio allowed pursuant to this item, a residence

does not qualify as a legal residence unless the residence is determined to be the domicile of the owner-applicant.

(2)(i) To qualify for the special property tax assessment ratio allowed by this item, the owner-occupant must have actually owned and occupied the residence as his legal residence and

been domiciled at that address for some period during the applicable tax year. A residence which has been qualified as a legal residence for any part of the year is entitled to the four percent

assessment ratio provided in this item for the entire year, for the exemption from property taxes levied for school operations pursuant to Section 12-37-251 for the entire year, and for the

homestead exemption under Section 12-37-250, if otherwise eligible, for the entire year.

MEMBER OF HOUSEHOLD: DEFINITION:

(iii) For purposes of sub item (ii) (B) of this item, "a member of my household" means:

(A) The owner-occupant's spouse, except when that spouse is legally separated from the owner-occupant; and

(B) Any child under the age of eighteen years of the owner-occupant claimed or eligible to be claimed as a dependent on the owner-occupant's federal income tax return.

(iv) In addition to the certification, the burden of proof for eligibility for the four percent assessment ratio is on the owner-occupant and the applicant must provide proof the assessor requires

including, but not limited to:

(A) A copy of the owner-occupant's most recently filed South Carolina individual income tax return;

(B) Copies of South Carolina motor vehicle registrations for all motor vehicles registered in the name of the owner-occupant;

(C) Other proof required by the assessor necessary to determine eligibility for the assessment ratio allowed by this item. If the assessor determines the owner-occupant ineligible, the

six percent property tax assessment ratio applies and the owner-occupant may appeal the classification as provided in Chapter 60 of this title.

(v) A member of the armed forces of the United States on active duty who is a legal resident of and domiciled in another state is nevertheless deemed a legal resident and domiciled in this

State for purposes of this item if the member’s permanent duty station is in this State. A copy of the member's orders filed with the assessor is considered proof sufficient of the member's

permanent duty station.

(vi) No further applications are necessary from the current owner while the property for which the initial application was made continues to meet the eligibility requirements. If a change in

ownership or use occurs, the owner who had qualified for the special assessment ratio allowed by this section shall notify the assessor of the change in classification within six months of the

change.

(vii) If a person signs the certification, obtains the four percent assessment ratio, and is thereafter found not eligible, or thereafter loses eligibility and fails to notify the assessor within

six months, a penalty is imposed equal to one hundred percent of the tax paid, plus interest on that amount at the rate of one-half of one percent a month, but in no case less than thirty

dollars nor more than the current year's taxes. This penalty and any interest are considered ad valorem taxes due on the property for purposes of collection and enforcement.

(viii) Failure to file within the prescribed time constitutes abandonment of the owner's right for this classification for the current tax year, but the local taxing authority may extend the time

for filing upon a showing satisfactory to it that the person had reasonable cause for not filing before the first penalty date.

(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a taxpayer may apply for a refund of property taxes overpaid because the property was eligible for the legal residence assessment

ratio. The application must be made in accordance with Section 12-60-2560. The taxpayer must establish that the property in question was in fact his legal residence and where he was

domiciled. A county council, by ordinance, may allow refunds for the county government portion of property taxes for such additional past years as it determines advisable.

(5) To qualify for the four percent assessment ratio, the owner-occupant of a legal residence that is being purchased under a contract for sale or a bond for title must record the contract for

sale or the bond for title in the office of the register of mesne conveyances or the clerk of court in those counties where the office of the register of mesne conveyances has been

abolished. For purposes of this subsection, a contract for sale or a bond for title is the sale of real property by a seller, who finances the sale and retains title to the property solely as security

for the debt.

(7) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the owner-occupant of a legal residence is not disqualified from receiving the four percent assessment ratio allowed by this item if the taxpayer's

residence meets the requirements of Internal Revenue Code Section 280A (g) as defined in Section 12-640(A) and the taxpayer otherwise is eligible to receive the four percent assessment

ratio.

(8)(i) For ownership interests in residential property created by deed if the interest in the property has not already transferred by operation of law, when the individual claiming the special four

percent assessment ratio allowed by this item has an ownership interest in the residence that is less than fifty percent ownership in fee simple, then the value of the residence allowed the

special four percent assessment ratio is a percentage of that value equal to the individual's ownership interest in the residence, but not less than the amount provided pursuant to subitem

(4) of this item. This subitem (8) does not apply in the case of a residence otherwise eligible for the special four percent assessment ratio when occupied jointly by a married couple or which

remains occupied by a spouse legally separated from a spouse who has abandoned the residence. If the special four percent assessment ratio allowed by this item applies to only a fraction

of the value of residence, then the exemption allowed pursuant to Section 12-37-220(B)(47) applies only to value attributable to the taxpayer's ownership interest.

(ii) Notwithstanding subitem (i), for ownership interests in residential property created by deed if the interest in the property has not already transferred by operation of law, an applicant may

qualify for the four percent assessment ratio on the entire value of the property if the applicant:

(A) Owns at least a twenty-five percent interest in the subject property with immediate family members;

(B) Is not a member of a household currently receiving the four percent assessment ratio on another property; and

(C)

(D) Otherwise qualifies for the four percent assessment ratio.

For purposes of this subitem, 'immediate family member' means a parent, child, or sibling.