Free calculator · South Carolina
South Carolina Car Tax, Title and License Calculator
Tax, title and license on a $40,000 new car in South Carolina comes to about $555 — $500 of that infrastructure maintenance fee and $55 government fees. Put your own price in below and every charge is itemized, with a link to the agency that publishes each figure.
Fill in two things and you have your answer. Everything below is prefilled with the most common case, so change only what applies to you.
Prefilled with $40,000, the median price of the 81 new models we track. Use the price on your quote.
South Carolina taxes the price after your trade-in comes off, so this lowers your tax. Leave it at 0 if you are not trading a car in.
In South Carolina, a fully electric car owes $120 up front ($60 a year, collected 2 times) and regular hybrids $30 a year to replace the fuel tax they do not pay. plug-in hybrids owe nothing extra.
Financing adds a small fee to record the lender’s lien on your title.
Tax, title and license in South Carolina
$555
on top of the $40,000 price, so you drive away having paid $40,555.
Infrastructure maintenance fee
$500
5% state rate
Title + registration
$55
2 years collected up front
Then every year
$20
To keep it registered
See every charge, itemized
| Charge | When | At signing |
|---|---|---|
| State infrastructure maintenance fee (capped)5% of the price would be $2,000, but South Carolina caps this charge at $500. Every car above $10,000 pays exactly the cap. | Once, at signing | $500.00 |
| Certificate of title | Once, at signing | $15.00 |
| Registration and license plateSouth Carolina publishes this as $40 for a two-year registration. It is shown here per year, and both years are collected at the counter. | Every year× 2 years up front | $40.00 |
| Total due at signing | $555.00 |
- South Carolina issues a new vehicle 2 years of registration at first titling, so the annual charges are collected 2 times at the counter.
What most calculators get wrong here: South Carolina does not charge sales tax on a car. It charges 5% capped at $500 — so every vehicle over $10,000 pays exactly $500, whether it costs $30,000 or $130,000.
What each charge on a South Carolina car actually is
Four kinds of money change hands when you buy a car, and only two of them are fixed by law. Knowing which is which is the difference between paying the right amount and paying whatever the paperwork says.
| Charge | Who sets it | Can you argue with it? |
|---|---|---|
| Sales tax | South Carolina law — 5% statewide | No. The rate is fixed. What you can change is the taxable amount, by negotiating the price down or the trade-in up. |
| Title fee | South Carolina, to put the car in your name | No. It is the same figure for everyone. |
| Registration and plates | South Carolina, to put it on the road | No, though the amount depends on the vehicle and where you live. |
| Dealer documentation fee | The dealership | Yes — this one is the dealer's, not the state's. It is not in the total above. |
First time buying? The short version: the price you agree on is not the money you hand over. Add roughly $555 in South Carolina on a $40,000 car before the dealer adds anything of their own. Budget for it up front, because it is due at signing and it cannot be talked down.
What this calculator leaves out, and why
Everything above is a charge South Carolina publishes. These are the ones it does not, so we do not guess at them — an invented number would be worse than a missing one.
- The annual county vehicle property tax, which is the largest recurring cost of owning a car in South Carolina and is not on this page. Each of the 46 counties sets its own millage against its own assessment of your vehicle, it is billed by the county auditor, and the DMV will not renew your registration until it is paid. Expect it to be worth far more per year than the $40 registration. There is no statewide table to cite, so we do not guess at it — ask your county auditor for the figure on your car before you buy.
- The $250 infrastructure maintenance fee charged instead of the 5% fee when you bring a vehicle in from another state. That is a new-resident rule, and this page prices a purchase from a South Carolina dealer.
- The dealer documentation fee, consistent with every other state in this tool.
- Used, private-party and lease transactions. A private sale is charged the same 5% capped fee but on fair market value rather than the price you agreed.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page is published by the agency that charges it. Nothing is estimated, averaged or copied from another calculator. Here is each document and the date we last read it.
| Document | Published by | Last verified |
|---|---|---|
| S.C. Code § 56-3-627 — Infrastructure maintenance fee (5% of the sales price, not to exceed $500) | South Carolina General Assembly | 2026-08-04 |
| S.C. Code § 56-3-620 — Biennial registration and license fees ($40 biennially for a private passenger vehicle, owner under 64) | South Carolina General Assembly | 2026-08-04 |
| S.C. Code § 56-3-645 — Biennial road use fee, electric and hybrid vehicles ($120 biennially for all-electric, $60 for hybrid) | South Carolina General Assembly | 2026-08-04 |
| S.C. Code § 56-19-420 — Fee for a certificate of title ($15 for issuance or transfer of a certificate of title) | South Carolina General Assembly | 2026-08-04 |
We re-check every state once a year and show the date here rather than quietly serving an old figure. Fee schedules move with legislative sessions, so if you are reading this well after the date above, confirm the total with your county tax office before you sign.
Frequently asked questions
- How much is tax, title and license in South Carolina?
- On a $40,000 new car it comes to about $555 — $500 of infrastructure maintenance fee and $55 of title and registration fees. South Carolina caps the infrastructure maintenance fee at $500, so unusually the tax does NOT scale with the price: a car twice this expensive owes exactly the same $500.
- What is the car infrastructure maintenance fee rate in South Carolina?
- 5% statewide. South Carolina does not charge sales tax on a car. It charges a 5% infrastructure maintenance fee that stops at $500, so every vehicle priced above $10,000 pays exactly $500.
- Does a trade-in lower the infrastructure maintenance fee in South Carolina?
- Not on a new car. South Carolina does deduct the trade-in before applying the 5%, but the infrastructure maintenance fee stops at $500 — and any car over $10,000 is already at that ceiling with or without a trade-in. You pay $500 either way.
- What is the title fee in South Carolina?
- $15. It is charged once, to put the car in your name, and it is the same for everyone — it is not a dealer charge and it is not negotiable.
- How much is car registration in South Carolina each year?
- About $55 is due at signing for the title and first registration, and roughly $20 a year after that for a gas car, though South Carolina collects the first 2 years up front so you will not be billed again until then. Electric cars pay more in most states because of road-use fees that replace fuel tax.
- Is the dealer documentation fee included in this?
- No, and that is deliberate. The documentation fee is the dealership's charge, not the state's, and South Carolina does not publish it — so there is no figure we could cite. It is also the one line on the paperwork worth questioning. Everything in the total above is fixed by law.
The same calculator for other states
We build these one state at a time, because each one is a different fee architecture rather than the same table with different numbers. 12 states are live so far — the national calculator compares all of them side by side on the same car, and tells you how to work yours out if it is not here yet.
Each link opens that state's own tax, title and license calculator.