United States · South Carolina · Updated for 2026
South Carolina paycheck calculator 2026
On South Carolina’s median pay of $46,490 in 2026, a single filer in South Carolina takes home $38,767.87 a year ($1,491.07 every two weeks), after $3,398.80 federal income tax, $3,556.49 Social Security and Medicare, and $766.85 of South Carolina tax.
Change the pay, schedule, filing status or deductions below to see your own paycheck. It works as a South Carolina salary calculator too: type a yearly salary or an hourly rate.
Take-home pay, 2026 · South Carolina · single · paid every two weeks
$1,491.07 a paycheck
$38,767.87 a year · $3,230.66 a month · $18.64 an hour
| Per paycheck | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Pay before tax | $1,788.08 | $46,490.00 |
| Federal income tax | −$130.72 | −$3,398.80 |
| Social Security | −$110.86 | −$2,882.38 |
| Medicare | −$25.93 | −$674.11 |
| South Carolina income tax | −$29.49 | −$766.85 |
| Take-home pay | $1,491.07 | $38,767.87 |
An estimate of the year’s tax divided evenly across your 26 paychecks, not your employer’s exact withholding table. An hour assumes 40 hours a week for 52 weeks.
Estimate your 2026 tax refund on this pay, with the new deductions for tips and overtime.
Federal income tax
Taxable income: $46,490 of pay after pre-tax deductions, less the $16,100 standard deduction for single = $30,390.
| Income in bracket | Tax | |
|---|---|---|
| 10% bracket | $12,400 | $1,240.00 |
| 12% bracket | $17,990 | $2,158.80 |
| Federal income tax for the year | $3,398.80 |
Social Security and Medicare
- Social Security: 6.2% = $2,882.38 a year.
- Medicare: 1.45% of all pay = $674.11 a year.
South Carolina tax
South Carolina taxes $46,490 of your pay, less the $13,230 South Carolina income adjusted deduction: $33,260 of taxable income.
| Income in bracket | Tax | |
|---|---|---|
| 1.99% bracket | $30,000 | $597.00 |
| 5.21% bracket | $3,260 | $169.85 |
South Carolina income tax: $766.85 a year.
Your tax rates
- Effective rate: 16.6%. That share of your pay goes in federal, state and payroll taxes.
- Marginal rate: 25.9%. Of your next dollar of pay, about 26 cents goes in tax, so you keep about 74 cents.
What are South Carolina’s income tax rates for 2026?
South Carolina has two rates for everyone: 1.99% on the first $30,000 of taxable income and 5.21% above that. Taxable income is your federal AGI less South Carolina’s own deduction, the income adjusted deduction: $15,000 single, $30,000 married filing jointly and $22,500 head of household.
The deduction shrinks once federal AGI passes $40,000 ($80,000 joint, $60,000 head of household) and is gone at $95,000 ($190,000, $142,500).
| Rate | Single | Married filing jointly | Head of household |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.99% | from $0 | from $0 | from $0 |
| 5.21% | over $30,000 | over $30,000 | over $30,000 |
How much tax do I pay on $46,490 in South Carolina?
$46,490 is the median yearly pay for all jobs in South Carolina (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025). A single filer paid every two weeks, with nothing taken before tax:
| Year | Per paycheck | |
|---|---|---|
| Pay before tax | $46,490.00 | $1,788.08 |
| Federal income tax | $3,398.80 | $130.72 |
| Social Security | $2,882.38 | $110.86 |
| Medicare | $674.11 | $25.93 |
| South Carolina income tax | $766.85 | $29.49 |
| Take-home pay | $38,767.87 | $1,491.07 |
Effective rate: 16.6% of pay in tax. Of the next dollar, about 26 cents goes in tax. Open this example in the paycheck calculator.
What is different about paychecks in South Carolina?
2026 is the first year of South Carolina’s new income tax law. It replaced the old three-rate schedule and the federal standard deduction with two rates and a deduction of South Carolina’s own, and it now starts from federal AGI.
South Carolina’s 2026 paycheck tables were set before the new law and still follow the old rules, so what your employer takes from each paycheck may not match the tax you owe for the year until the tables are updated. This calculator shows the tax under the new law.
While the deduction is shrinking, each extra dollar of pay also loses part of it. For a single filer earning between $40,000 and $95,000, that makes the rate on the next dollar about 6.6%, not 5.21%.
South Carolina cities and counties do not tax wages, and nothing else comes out of your paycheck for the state.
How does South Carolina compare with North Carolina and Georgia?
The same $46,490 salary, single, paid every two weeks:
| State tax and contributions a year | Take-home a year | Per paycheck | |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Carolina | $766.85 | $38,767.87 | $1,491.07 |
| North Carolina | $1,346.23 | $38,188.49 | $1,468.79 |
| Georgia | $1,571.35 | $37,963.36 | $1,460.13 |
You take home $579.38 a year more in South Carolina than in North Carolina.
You take home $804.50 a year more in South Carolina than in Georgia.
What does this calculator leave out in South Carolina?
- The two-wage-earner credit for a married couple who both work (it needs each spouse’s pay).
- South Carolina’s earned income credit, the exemption for dependents, and the retirement and age 65 deductions.
- Dependents, and credits such as the child tax credit.
- One job for the whole calendar year, with the same pay every paycheck, no bonus and no overtime.
- A married couple filing jointly is one earner: the whole household income is this pay.
- The year’s tax is divided evenly across your paychecks. Your employer withholds from each paycheck using your W-4 and the IRS tables, so a paycheck can differ a little.
The full list is on the sources page, and the method on how we calculate.
Which other states can I check?
- Alabama state income tax
- Alaska no income tax
- Arizona state income tax
- Arkansas state income tax
- California state income tax
- Colorado state income tax
- Connecticut state income tax
- Delaware state income tax
- District of Columbia state income tax
- Florida no income tax
- Georgia state income tax
- Hawaii state income tax
- Idaho state income tax
- Illinois state income tax
- Indiana state income tax
- Iowa state income tax
- Kansas state income tax
- Kentucky state income tax
- Louisiana state income tax
- Maine state income tax
- Maryland state income tax
- Massachusetts state income tax
- Michigan state income tax
- Minnesota state income tax
- Mississippi state income tax
- Missouri state income tax
- Montana state income tax
- Nebraska state income tax
- Nevada no income tax
- New Hampshire no income tax
- New Jersey state income tax
- New Mexico state income tax
- New York state income tax
- North Carolina state income tax
- North Dakota state income tax
- Ohio state income tax
- Oklahoma state income tax
- Oregon state income tax
- Pennsylvania state income tax
- Rhode Island state income tax
- South Dakota no income tax
- Tennessee no income tax
- Texas no income tax
- Utah state income tax
- Vermont state income tax
- Virginia state income tax
- Washington no income tax
- West Virginia state income tax
- Wisconsin state income tax
- Wyoming no income tax
Every state on one page: the US paycheck calculator. How the taxes work: US paycheck guides.
Pay by job: the highest paying jobs in South Carolina after tax, and 830 jobs with their pay in every state. Your federal refund for 2026, with the new deductions: the tax refund calculator.
On an hourly wage? The South Carolina minimum wage, with full-time pay and take-home pay.
Questions about paychecks in South Carolina
How much is taken out of a paycheck in South Carolina?
On $46,490 a year, single, paid every two weeks: $130.72 federal income tax, $136.79 Social Security and Medicare and $29.49 for South Carolina (income tax) a paycheck, leaving $1,491.07.
What is the take-home pay on $100,000 in South Carolina?
$74,936.00 a year, or $2,882.15 every two weeks, for a single filer with nothing taken before tax.
Is South Carolina state tax taken out of every paycheck?
Yes. Employers in South Carolina withhold state income tax from each paycheck along with federal tax. This calculator spreads the year’s tax evenly across your paychecks, so a single paycheck can differ a little.
What are South Carolina’s income tax rates in 2026?
1.99% on the first $30,000 of taxable income and 5.21% above that, for every filing status, under the law passed in 2026.
Does South Carolina still use the federal standard deduction?
No. From 2026 it uses its own income adjusted deduction: $15,000 for a single filer, shrinking to nothing between $40,000 and $95,000 of federal AGI.
Does South Carolina tax military pay?
Yes, for a South Carolina resident on active duty, even while stationed elsewhere. Guard and Reserve pay for weekend drills and other inactive duty can be deducted.