South Carolina program
State tax rules for the treatment year
South Carolina changed its income-tax deduction rules for the 2026 tax year. A preparer can review what that means for your return.
What it is
South Carolina changed its income-tax deduction rules for the 2026 tax year. A preparer can review what that means for your return.
A treatment year can change income and expenses. South Carolina now separates its deduction rules from federal standard and itemized deductions. The state and federal returns need their own review.
Eligibility rules
- The change separating state deductions from federal standard and itemized deductions starts with the 2026 tax year.
What you get
- A review of the treatment year under the correct state tax rules.
What the help includes
- From the 2026 tax year, South Carolina no longer follows the federal itemized deductions, so a federal medical-expense deduction does not carry over. The state earned-income credit is worth at most $200 and only reduces tax you owe.
If you decide to apply
- Ask the hospital social worker about local free tax help familiar with the 2026 change.
- Have medical receipts, income records and last year’s return ready for the preparer.
A tax preparer, and the Department of Revenue · Official page ↗
If you decide to go ahead
- The preparer can explain the state result separately from any federal medical-expense deduction.
Good to know
Large medical bills do not guarantee a refund. The return depends on the rules and your full tax situation.
Other details
- Free tax help may be available through the social worker. For a 2025 South Carolina return, the automatic filing deadline is October 15, 2026; it did not extend the payment deadline. The 2025 state earned-income credit and the new 2026 $200 cap are different rules, and both are limited by state tax owed.
Official sources
“Could a preparer review both returns for our treatment year under the new state rules? Could you help us find free tax help and explain which records to bring?”
Why I’m asking: I want to understand whether our income and medical costs change what we owe.
More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules
Who does what
The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.
You
Keep receipts and ask a preparer.
Your social worker
The hospital social worker often knows where free tax help is.
The care team
Records and letters when the application asks for them.
- Who decides
- The Department of Revenue, on the return you file.
- Ask your social worker
- “We have had a year of big medical costs and less income. Is there free tax help locally that knows the new state rules?”
How to apply
First step: Keep the receipts and ask a preparer about the treatment year.
- Keep every medical receipt for the treatment year.
- Ask a preparer what the 2026 change means for a year with big medical costs.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: Take the year's medical costs and income records to a preparer and ask what the new rules mean for you.
What to gather
- Medical receipts for the year
- Income records
- Last year's return
How long: At tax time.
What a yes looks like
A smaller bill or a refund.
What a no looks like, and the next move
Nothing lost by asking.
Watch out
- The rules changed for the 2026 tax year, so last year's advice is out of date.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
South Carolina decoupled from the federal deduction rules from the 2026 tax year; check the return with a preparer.
Covers: A check of the treatment year's return with a preparer who knows the 2026 change
Legal protection: Keeping every medical receipt for the treatment year costs nothing and can only help
What it costs the family: Nothing to check.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Change
- South Carolina decoupled from federal standard and itemised deductions, effective with the 2026 tax year
- State credit
- NOT FOUND for a child's medical costs or a disabled dependant
The trap: Carrying forward last year's advice. The rules changed from the 2026 tax year.
Where I read this
- South Carolina Department of Revenue — Information about H.4216 — South Carolina Department of Revenue, read September 10, 2026