AerScheduler

Aircraft tax · United States

South Carolina aircraft sales and use tax

South Carolina taxes aircraft sales and long leases at 5 percent with a $500 maximum and no local tax, and private sales pay a casual excise tax on the same terms. Parts used to repair aircraft are exempt, and counties tax aircraft as personal property each year.

Every answer below quotes the state's own source. Last checked October 18, 2026. Estimate the tax on your aircraft

Do you pay sales tax on an aircraft bought in South Carolina?

Taxed. Sales of aircraft are taxed at 5 percent with a maximum of $500, and local sales taxes do not apply. A private sale by someone not in the business is not subject to sales tax, but the buyer pays a casual excise tax at the same 5 percent, $500 maximum, when the aircraft is titled or registered.

Do you owe use tax on an aircraft bought outside South Carolina?

Depends. Use tax applies to an aircraft bought elsewhere for use in South Carolina, subject to the same $500 maximum. Sales or use tax paid to another state is credited, and any shortfall is paid to the Department. An aircraft delivered to the buyer in South Carolina is taxed even if it is flown out of state.

What aircraft sales tax exemptions does South Carolina have?

Depends. There is no fly-away exemption for an aircraft delivered in South Carolina. The casual excise tax excludes transfers to immediate family, to heirs, and from an owner to a newly formed partnership or corporation.

Are aircraft rentals taxed in South Carolina?

Taxed. Aircraft rentals and leases are taxable. A written lease that states a term of more than 90 continuous days, and stays in force that long, gets the 5 percent rate and $500 maximum; shorter rentals do not qualify for the maximum.

Is flight instruction taxed in South Carolina?

Not clearly published. The Department has no current published guidance on whether flight instruction, or the aircraft time inside a lesson, is taxed.

The state's published guidance does not clearly answer this.

Are aircraft parts and maintenance labor taxed in South Carolina?

Depends. Parts and supplies used by aircraft repair businesses are exempt, but tools and equipment that do not become part of the aircraft are not. We did not find guidance on whether repair labor on aircraft is taxed.

  • parts and supplies used by persons engaged in the business of repairing or reconditioning aircraft. This exemption does not extend to tools and other equipment not attached to or that do not become a part of the aircraft;

    South Carolina Code of Laws, S.C. Code 12-36-2120(52) · checked October 18, 2026

Does South Carolina register or tax aircraft every year?

Taxed. Aircraft are personal property taxed each year by the county, valued from a nationally recognized aircraft value guide. A county may lower the assessment ratio for general aviation aircraft to no less than four percent of fair market value; otherwise personal property is assessed at ten and one-half percent.

  • The governing body of a county by ordinance may reduce the assessment ratio otherwise applicable in determining the assessed value of general aviation aircraft subject to property tax in the county to a ratio not less than four percent of the fair market value of the general aviation aircraft.

    South Carolina Code of Laws, S.C. Code 12-43-360 · checked October 18, 2026

  • Except as specifically provided by law, all other personal property must be taxed on an assessment of ten and one-half percent of fair market value of the property

    South Carolina Code of Laws, S.C. Code 12-43-220(f) · checked October 18, 2026

  • The fair market value for vehicles, watercraft, and aircraft must be based on values derived from a nationally recognized publication of vehicle valuations, except that the value may not exceed ninety-five percent of the prior year's value.

    South Carolina Code of Laws, S.C. Code 12-37-930 · checked October 18, 2026

AerScheduler can add sales tax, at the rates you set, to the invoices you raise for parts, labor and other charges, taxing only the lines your state taxes. How it works

Other states