Assessor

• Any increase in the fair market value of real property attributable to the periodic Countywide appraisal and equalization program implemented pursuant to Section 12-43-217 is limited to fifteen percent within a five year period to the otherwise applicable value.
• This limit does not apply to the fair market value of additions or improvements to real property in the year those additions or improvements are first subject to property tax.
• This limit does not apply to the fair market value of real property when an assessable transfer of interest occurred in the year that the transfer value is first subject to tax.

• Transportation - railroads, airlines, and pipelines. Real and personal property are assessed at 9.5%.
• Utilities real and personal property at 10.5%
• Manufacturing real and personal property at 10.5%
• Personal property - automobiles and campers are assessed at 6%
• Personal property - boats are assessed at 10.5%
• Certain boats may be taxed at 6%

Notification of appraisal/assessment information on property appraised by SCDOR is sent to the property owner directly. All real and personal property appraised in Horry County, including both property approved by the County and SCDOR are billed through the Horry County Auditor's Office.

• If the tract is used to grow timber it must be five acres or more or be contiguous to or under the same management system as a tract of timberland which meets the minimum requirements. Tracts of timberland of less than five acres are eligible to be agricultural real property when they are owned in combination with other tracts of non timberland agricultural real property. For the purposes of this item, tracts of timberland must be devoted actively to growing trees for commercial use.
• For tracts not used to grow timber as provided in item (1), tracts must be ten acres and up. Non-timberland tracts of less than ten acres which are contiguous to other such tracts which, when added together, meet the minimum acreage requirements, are treated as a qualifying tract. For this item only, contiguous tracts include tracts with identical owners of record separated by a dedicated highway, street or road or separated by any other public way.
• Tracts not meeting the acreage requirements of (2) qualify if the person making the application earned at least $1,000 of gross farm income for at least three of the five taxable years proceeding the year of the application. The Assessor may require the applicant to give written authorization consistent with privacy laws allowing the Assessor to verify farm income from the Department of Revenue or the IRS and to provide the Agriculture Stabilization and Conservation Service farm identification number of the tract and allow verification with the ASCS Office.

• Four percent of its fair market value for such agricultural purposes for owners or lessees who are individuals or partnerships and certain corporations which do not: have more than ten shareholders; have as a shareholder a person who is not an individual; have a nonresident alien as a shareholder; or have more than one class of stock.
• Six percent of its fair market value for such agricultural purposes for owners or lessees who are corporations, except for certain corporations specified in (1).

• When real property which is in agricultural use and is being valued, assessed and taxed under the provisions of this article is applied to another use other than agricultural, it shall be subject to additional taxes, referred to as roll-back taxes, in the amount equal to the difference, if any, between taxes payable on the basis of the agricultural use valuation and assessment and the taxes that would have been paid had the property been taxed at the market value appraisal and 6% assessment ratio. The roll-back can be applied to the property for the year in which the use changed and the immediately four tax years preceding.
• The assessor provides only the information needed by those branches of government which set the tax rate. Tax bills are prepared in September-October by the County Auditor and mailed by the County Treasurer in October.
• The countywide reassessment program is scheduled to be updated every five years. The value will remain as is until the next general reappraisal unless:
  • Construction activity has taken place
  • The property was carried as part of an acreage parcel the prior year and is now a lot
  • Multiple lot discount is applied
  • Owners may have requested a review of the prior year's values to be effective for the current year
  • An assessable transfer of interest occurs
  • Changes by the Assessor required by law

The South Carolina Code of Laws requires that once every five years all real property in every county within the State will be reappraised and adjusted to current fair market value as of December 31 of the year prior to implementing the reassessment. Only real property is appraised during a reassessment. Values of personal property, such as cars and boats, are adjusted on an annual basis and kept current through the Horry County Auditor’s Office at the direction of the South Carolina Department of Revenue. The purpose of a reassessment is to equalize the valuations of all real property in a county. The five-year reassessment cycle in South Carolina is an appraisal freeze, only broken on property sale or change to a property.

The fair market value of real property is constantly changing due to factors such as location, market demand, the age and physical condition of a neighborhood, and the state of the economy. As a result, non-uniformity in values occurs within tax jurisdictions whether or not property values increase or decrease. For example, some comparable houses are now selling for a lower amount than at the time of Horry County’s last reassessment in 2010 when the market value was determined as of the end of December 2008. The reassessment process ensures that all houses which have similar characteristics are valued consistently; the property values are equalized allowing property tax to be redistributed on a more equitable basis.

Property owners will pay no more or less than their fair share of the property tax burden. Forecasts indicate that some residents may share a greater burden of the property tax due to a this equalization process as some properties have increased in value, some properties have declined in value, and some have stayed about the same. If your property has increased in taxable value, you will likely receive a higher tax bill. If your property stayed at about the same taxable value, you may receive a higher tax bill because there are some properties that decreased in taxable value, causing the redistribution of the tax burden.

The Horry County Assessor’s Office maintains a database of the physical characteristics for approximately 250,000 properties within Horry County. The data includes information such as heated square footage, garages, decks, pools, type and quality of construction, land area, water features, and several other attributes required for the mass appraisal process. Properties are then grouped into one of approximately 2,622 appraisal models based on similar market characteristics.

Licensed staff appraisers determine land values for each of the appraisal models based on analysis of vacant and improved property sales. Structural improvements to the land are valued using a market sales modified Marshall & Swift cost service. The valuations produced for each appraisal model are tested for accuracy using actual market sales. After testing, the result of the mass appraisal model for Horry County is then measured against statistical standards of the International Association of Assessing Officers.

If a model fails the required standards, further review and refinements are necessary before acceptance. Commercial properties may be evaluated on rental income streams, operating expenses, and what kind of investment return can be reasonably expected. Subsequent to the valuation processes and testing, the reappraisal results must be submitted to the South Carolina Department of Revenue for further statistical testing and State approval. The Horry County Assessor is then notified of the approval and program implementation to the taxpayer.