South Carolina Paycheck Calculator
Figure basis: Official South Carolina Department of RevenueThis South Carolina paycheck calculator estimates your take-home pay after the taxes withheld from a typical wage. Enter your gross pay, choose how often you are paid (weekly, every two weeks, twice a month or monthly) and select your filing status to see a full breakdown of every deduction and your net pay. The estimate combines four withholdings: federal income tax, calculated with the 2026 Internal Revenue Service annualised percentage method; Social Security at 6.2% up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500.00; Medicare at 1.45% on all wages; and South Carolina state income tax withholding, applied with the brackets published by the South Carolina Department of Revenue for tax year 2026. Results update as you type and the page link captures your inputs so you can save or share a calculation. This estimate covers federal withholding, FICA and state income tax only; State Disability Insurance where a state levies it, and any city or county local income tax, are not included and are noted separately. Use it to check a payslip, compare an offer, or plan a pre-tax contribution.
A $5,000 biweekly paycheck (single filer) in South Carolina is about $3,850.81 take-home, after federal income tax $766.69, Social Security $310.00, Medicare $72.50 and South Carolina income tax $0.00.
How the South Carolina paycheck calculation works
annual gross = gross per period x pay periods per year
federal withholding = IRS Pub 15-T annualised percentage method, de-annualised
Social Security = min(annual gross, $184,500.00) x 6.2% / periods
Medicare = annual gross x 1.45% / periods
state withholding = South Carolina income tax on annual gross / periods
take-home = gross per period - federal - Social Security - Medicare - state
Worked example
A single filer paid $5,000.00 every two weeks (26 pay periods a year) in South Carolina, for 2026:
- Annual gross = $5,000.00 x 26 = $130,000.00
- Federal income tax withheld this period = $766.69
- Social Security = $310.00; Medicare = $72.50
- South Carolina income tax withheld = $0.00
- Take-home = $5,000.00 - $766.69 - $310.00 - $72.50 - $0.00 = $3,850.81
South Carolina's new two-rate withholding for 2026
South Carolina rewrote the state portion of your paycheck for 2026. Under H.4216, signed on 30 March 2026, the old graduated schedule (a top rate of 6% in 2025) becomes just two rates: 1.99% on the first $30,000 of taxable income and 5.21% on everything above, applied the same way to every filing status. Because $30,000 of taxable income is easy to clear on a full-time wage, most South Carolina workers see the bulk of their state withholding calculated at the 5.21% rate, with only the first slice taxed at 1.99%.
The deduction side changed too. South Carolina now starts from federal AGI and replaces the federal standard deduction with its own South Carolina Income Adjusted Deduction (SCIAD): $15,000 for a single filer, $30,000 for a married couple filing jointly, and $22,500 for head of household. The SCIAD phases out as income rises and disappears entirely at $95,000 (single), so a higher earner keeps less of it and effectively pays a touch more per paycheck than the flat rates alone imply.
Social Security stays fully exempt from South Carolina tax, and the state has no local wage tax to add on top of the state line. This calculator applies the 2026 schedule after federal withholding and FICA; enter your own gross pay and status above to see where the SCIAD phase-out leaves your South Carolina line.
South Carolina paycheck calculator: frequently asked questions
How much is take-home pay on a $5,000 biweekly paycheck in South Carolina?
A single filer earning $5,000 every two weeks in South Carolina keeps about $3,850.81 after federal income tax withholding ($766.69), Social Security ($310.00), Medicare ($72.50) and South Carolina state income tax withholding ($0.00). Enter your own gross pay, pay frequency and filing status above for your figure.
Does South Carolina have a state income tax withheld from paychecks?
Yes. South Carolina income tax is withheld from wages in addition to federal income tax and FICA. This calculator applies the South Carolina brackets published by the South Carolina Department of Revenue (tax year 2026) using the annualised method.
What FICA taxes are withheld from a South Carolina paycheck?
Social Security is withheld at 6.2% on wages up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500.00, and Medicare at 1.45% on all wages, with an additional 0.9% Medicare tax on wages above the filing-status threshold. These are federal taxes that apply to wages in every state.
Does this South Carolina paycheck estimate include SDI or local taxes?
No. This estimate covers federal income tax withholding, Social Security, Medicare and South Carolina state income tax withholding. State Disability Insurance (SDI), where a state levies it, and any city or county local income taxes are not included; check your state and local authorities for those.
Official sources
- Federal income tax withholding and standard deduction (tax year 2026): US Internal Revenue Service, as at Jun 12, 2026.
- Social Security wage base and FICA rates (2026): US Social Security Administration and IRS Topic 751, as at Jun 12, 2026.
- South Carolina income tax brackets (tax year 2026): South Carolina Department of Revenue, as at Jul 16, 2026.
Reviewed by the CalculatorHub team, edited by James Graham, 25 June 2026. See our methodology. General information, not financial or tax advice. State Disability Insurance and local income taxes are not included.