2006 State Report > Housing > How South Carolina Helps
Housing: How South Carolina Helps
Homestead Tax Exemption
When considering where to retire, many people focus on a state's income taxes; however, it can be more helpful to focus on a state's property tax. While many states exclude some or all of a retiree's pension from income taxes, property taxes persist - and often increase - year after year.
Property taxes can make homeownership the biggest burden of all during the retirement years. To prevent elderly homeowners from being forced out of their homes by rising property taxes, South Carolina provides relief to older residents in the form of the Homestead Tax Exemption.
Under the Homestead Tax Exemption, the first $50,000 of the fair market value of a house or mobile home owned by a 65-year or older state resident of at least one year is exempt from municipal, county, school and special assessment real property taxes. Exemptions are provided to surviving spouses who are 50 or older and anyone who is legally blind or has a permanent disability, regardless of age.
During tax year 2003, there were 307,768 South Carolina residents who received Homestead Tax exemptions for a total amount of $133 million.
Emergency Rental Assistance Program
The Lieutenant Governor's Office on Aging (LGOA) has entered into a partnership with the South Carolina Housing Finance and Development Authority to assist low-income seniors age 60 and older with rental assistance. The program began on September 31, 2005 and will remain in effect until June 30, 2007 or until a zero balance is attained. Applicants may receive up to $1,000 per household for rental assistance. The program focuses on seniors who have households at 120% of the federal poverty level or below. In the first six months of the program, it awarded $55,285 in rental assistance to 115 eligible senior households.
Community Development Block Grants
Community Development Block Grants help to provide decent housing, economic opportunities, and a suitable living environment to people in South Carolina with low to moderate incomes. The South Carolina Department of Commerce administers the program for the state. Since 1982, the grants have provided $133 million towards rehabilitating substandard homes and developing new housing. An additional $37 million helped to build community facilities, including senior citizen centers. In 2004, South Carolina received $25 million in Community Development Block Grant funds to be used for 59 projects across the state.
HOME Investment Partnerships Program
The South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority's HOME Program is designed to promote partnerships among the federal government (HUD), state and local governments, and those in the nonprofit and for-profit sectors who build, own, manage, finance, and support low income housing initiatives. HOME programs include homeownership, lease/purchase, rental housing, and the tenant based rental assistance program.
Low-Income Home Energy Assistance
The federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program helps many older Americans with their home heating and cooling needs. The state received over $12 million in energy assistance funds for fiscal year 2004. There were 11,988 applicants to the Direct Assistance Program who were aged 60 and over. Through its Weatherization Assistance Program, which allocates 50% of its funds towards weatherizing the homes of seniors, 221 senior households were assisted in the 2004 program year.
ElderCare Trust Fund
The ElderCare Trust Fund was established in 1992 to award seed grants to public and private nonprofit organizations to establish programs that assist older South Carolinians in living with dignity and vitality in their communities. South Carolina tax filers can "check off" a voluntary contribution to the fund on their state income tax form. Since its inception, the ElderCare partnership has funded over 25 grants totaling more than $300,000 for projects including home repairs, transportation for medical visits and day care, exercise and health promotion, and the construction of wheelchair ramps for disabled adults. The program is administered by the South Carolina Lieutenant Governor's Office on Aging.
In 2004, the ElderCare Trust Fund received $33,268 through income tax check-offs. The five projects funded include two for medication awareness, two for senior home repairs, and one for an Alzheimer's social day care program.