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Frequently asked questions for mobile homes:
When would I need a Mobile Home License?
Per SC Code of Laws Section 31-17-320. (A) Within fifteen days after bringing a mobile home into this State, or the purchase of a mobile home in this State, or the relocation of a mobile home from one county to another within the State, for dwelling purposes, the owner, rental agent, or person in possession shall obtain a license from the governing body of the county or its designated agent hereinafter referred to as licensing agent, in which such mobile home is located.
Section 31-17-350. If the title to a mobile home is transferred to a new owner, the new owner or his agent shall within fifteen days after the date of such transfer, obtain a new license from the licensing agent.
What information would I
need to bring with me in order to get my mobile home license?
-Approved zoning permit (see Zoning/Planning office 321-2166)
-Property owner’s name and location where the mobile home will be located
-911 address (321-2182)
-Septic tank in & approved by DHEC (321-2175)
-Bill of sale, or title, showing the make, model, serial number, size and year of home
-If used mobile home, moving permit from previous owner
-If mobile home is staying in current location, the current paid tax receipt
How much would I have to pay for a mobile home license?
Section 31-17-340. The fee shall be five dollars.
When would I be required to get a moving permit for my
mobile home?
Section 31-17-360. If the mobile home is to be relocated, the owner, rental agent, or person in possession prior to relocation, shall obtain a moving permit from the licensing agent.
Is there a charge for the moving permit?
At this time there is no charge for the actual permit, but all taxes must be paid up to date. We will require a copy of the paid tax receipt.
Frequently
asked questions:
Does the value of my property ever change?
South Carolina’s Constitution requires that property be taxed fairly and equitably. When similar properties in the same taxing district are taxed differently, the system is unequal and unfair. From the time your real property first becomes taxable, the tax assessment does not change unless physical changes have been made or a new reassessment program is implemented.
The South Carolina Department of Revenue authorizes a reassessment program to correct such inequities. Only real property values are affected by reassessment.
How often does reassessment occur?
State law requires that counties reassess property every five years. Counties are on a staggered annual schedule.
How is my property reassessed?
A
field appraiser from the assessor’s office visits your property and measures
square footage. The appraiser also notes other information, such as age, type
of construction, type of heating and air conditioning, number of floors and
whether the structure has a garage, deck, swimming pool, or other amenities.
An appraiser then considers this
information along with selling prices of similar properties in the area, how
much it would cost to replace the property at current costs, and the general
physical condition of the property. For rental or commercial property, an
evaluation is made of how much income the property produces, what the operating
expenses are and what kind of investment return can be reasonably expected. The
appraiser also will visit the property to verify the information. With all of
this information, the appraiser then sets the value of your property.
How will I know if my property value changes?
Counties
must mail a property tax assessment notice to all property owners whose
property’s fair market value increased by $1,000 or more. Assessment notices
must be sent to the person listed as property owner as of December 31 of the
prior year.
The assessment notice is not a tax
bill. The notice is simply to notify taxpayers of a change in their property’s
value.
Tax bills are mailed usually in October
and must be paid by January 15.
What if I disagree with my property value?
If
after receiving your assessment notice, you disagree with the new value
assigned to your property, you have the right to appeal. An appeal must be
filed in writing within 90 days of receiving the assessment notice. You must
file your appeal with the county assessor. Don’t wait until your tax bill
arrives to appeal your new value; it’s too late then.
What are the grounds for an appeal?
An assessment
appeal is not a complaint about higher taxes. It is an attempt to prove that
your property’s estimated market value is either inaccurate or unfair.
You
may appeal when you can prove at least one of the three things:
- Items that affect value
are incorrect on your property record. You have a carport, not a garage.
Your home has 1,600, not 2,000 square feet.
- The estimated market
value is too high. You have evidence that similar properties have sold for
less than the estimated market value of your property.
- The estimated market
value of your property is accurate but inequitable because it is higher
than the estimated value of similar properties.
Note: You will not win an appeal because you think your taxes are too high. This is an issue you must take up with the officials who determine budgets. However, you may be eligible for tax relief or exemptions.
How do I appeal the Assessor’s appraisal of my property?
To
appeal an appraisal, the property owner must write the Assessor’s Office
between January 1 and March 1 of the tax year. In an appeal, the Assessor’s
Office schedules a hearing between the property owner and the Assessor or field
appraiser to discuss reasons for the appeal. After the hearing, the Assessor’s
Office sends the property owner a letter describing decisions and appraisal
changes. If the property owner has any further objections, they must write
their objections and send them to the Board of Assessment Appeals within 30
Days. The Board then schedules a hearing and notifies the property owner in
writing of the results. If still aggrieved, the property owner may file an
appeal with the Administrative Law Judge Division in Columbia.
What tax relief or exemptions may I be eligible for?
-If
you are 65 or older, totally disabled or legally blind, please contact the
Newberry County Auditor’s Office for
information concerning the Homestead Exemption. Their number is 321-2105.
-For
certain military veterans, veterans killed in the line of duty, paraplegics and
hemiplegics, please contact the South Carolina Department of Revenue at (803)
898-5480 for information.
-If
you are a homeowner you may be eligible for the legal residence discount.
-If
you have 5 acres or more of timberland or 10 acres or more of cropland you may
be eligible for the agricultural discount.
How do I apply to receive
the 4 percent legal residence special assessment or the agricultural use
assessment?
Applications
are available in the Assessor’s Office. Applications must be completed by
January 15th in the year following the purchase.
What is the definition of legal residence?
For
property tax purposes the term “Legal Residence” shall mean the permanent home
or dwelling place owned by a person and occupied by the owner thereof. It shall
be the place where he/she intends to remain permanently for an indefinite time
even though he may be temporarily living at another location. (Department of
Revenue Regulations 117-124.6)
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, is taxed on an assessment equal to four percent of the fair market
value of the property. South Carolina Code of Laws (12-43-220(c))
What are the qualifications requirements for legal residence?
For
purpose 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-occupant. A taxpayer may receive the four percent
assessment ratio on only one residence for a tax year. South Carolina Code of
Laws (12-43-220(c))
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 this address for some period during the
applicable tax year and remain in that status at the time of filling the
application required by this item, South Carolina Code of Laws (12-43-220(c))
Section
12-43-220(c) of South Carolina Code of Laws provides further: “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 South Carolina Drivers License; (B) copy of owner-occupant’s
voter registration card; (C) copies of South Carolina motor vehicle
registrations for all motor vehicles registered in the name of the
owner-occupant; (D) a copy of the most recently filed South Carolina individual
income tax return; (E) other proof required by the Assessor necessary to
determine eligibility for the assessment ratio allowed by this item.
Can I receive legal residence on more than one home?
No.
When signing the application you are certifying that the residence which is the
subject of application is your legal residence and where you are domiciled; and
that neither you nor any other member of your household own any other residence
which currently receives the owner-occupant four percent assessment ratio.
What does “a member of my household” mean?
It
means (a) the owner-occupant’s spouse, except when that spouse is legally
separated from the owner-occupant; and (b) any child of the owner-occupant claimed
or eligible to be claimed as dependant on the owner-occupant’s federal income
tax return.
Can I claim property
outside of South Carolina and my property in South Carolina?
No,
according to Omnibus Tax Legislation –S.852 Section 15 – it requires a taxpayer,
in order to qualify for the four percent tax assessment ratio, to certify that
the owner-occupant does not claim to be legal resident of a jurisdiction other
than South Carolina for any other purpose.
What
is the definition of agricultural real property?
Agricultural real property shall mean any tract of real property which is used to raise, harvest, or store crops or feed, breed or manage livestock, or to produce plants, trees, fowl, or animals useful to man, including the preparation of the products raised thereon for man’s use and disposed of by marketing or other means. It includes but is not limited to such real property used for agricultural, grazing, horticultural, forestry, dairying, and mar culture. In the event at least 50% of a real property tract shall qualify as “agricultural real property”, the entire tract shall be so classified, provided no other business for profit is being operated thereon. The term “agricultural real property” shall not include any property used as the residence of the owner or the others in that the taxation of such property is specifically provided for in section 12-43-230 of the South Carolina Code of Laws and Department of Revenue Regulation 117-124.7.
What are the qualification requirements for agricultural
real property?
Agricultural
real property which is actually used for such purposes and meets certain size
or income restrictions, not including however, a corporation which is the owner
or lessee except for certain corporations which do not.
- Have more than 10
shareholders
- Have as a shareholder a
person (other than an estate) who is not an individual
- Have a nonresident
alien as a shareholder; and
- Have more than one
class of stock
Timberland
tracts must
be five acres or more. Tract of timberland must be devoted to growing trees for
commercial use. Tracts of timberland less than five acres qualify if any of the
following conditions are met:
- Contiguous to a
qualifying tract
- Under same management
system as a qualifying tract
- Owned in combination with nontimberland
tracts that qualify as agricultural real property
Nontimberland
(cropland)
tracts must be ten acres or more. Tracts of nontimberland less than ten acres
qualify if any of the following are met:
- If contiguous tracts
with identical ownership meet the minimum acreage requirement when added
together.
- If a person making
application earned at least $1,000 gross farm income in at least three of
the past five years or at least three of the first five years if this is
initial application.
- If the property has
been owned by current owner or an immediate family member of the current
owner for at least ten years ending January 1, 1994 and the property was
classified as agricultural real property for tax year 1994.
When will the property be subject to Roll-Back taxes?
It
is understood by the “Property Owner” that when the real property which is in
agricultural use and is being valued, assessed and taxed as agricultural real
property and is applied to a use other than agricultural, it shall be subject
to additional taxes referred to as roll-back taxes.