Beaufort County sales tax lowering soon. Here’s when, why and by how much
Things are about to get cheaper for Beaufort County as the Green Space Tax will cease from all sales on March 1, 2025, reducing the county’s overall sales tax rate from 7% to 6%.
May 1, 2023, marked the beginning of a 1% Green Space Tax increase for Beaufort County. This tax was implemented to preserve and purchase recreational land and protect certain areas against development.
The sales tax increase was set to run for two years, ending in May of 2025 or until $100 million was collected.
According to the South Carolina Department of Revenue, this program is ending a few months early because it raised $111 million during its almost two years of activity, surpassing both its collection and timeline constraints. It will be removed from all sales on March 1, 2025.
When Beaufort County residents hit the polls in November of 2022, 52% of voters cast their ballots in support of the program.
Purchases of food, gas and medicine were exempt from the sales tax.
Based on previous reporting, since this tax was in effect between two summers, tourism and visitor commerce were expected to bring in roughly 40% of the $100 million goal.
Beaufort County is the first county in South Carolina to adopt the Green Space Tax, which originated from a state bill introduced by state Sen. Tom Davis (R-Beaufort) in 2022.
In the distribution of these tax dollars, officials used the Beaufort County Green Print Plan, which highlights areas deemed critical for preservation. The areas outlined in red were the focus of this tax project.
The Green Space Program allowed the county to purchase development rights or total ownership of land threatened by development, which helped lessen detrimental impacts on land use, traffic, public safety, storm water runoff and water quality.
This tax program was separate from the others in existence, such as the Rural and Critical Land Preservation program, which is funded by property tax.
This Green Space Tax is also different from the 1% tax increase from 2018 that went to traffic improvements, also known as the “penny tax” that was reintroduced in 2024 and rejected by Beaufort County voters.
Green Space efforts are different because they are much larger in scope and only use sales tax proceeds.
Beaufort County stated on Wednesday, Feb. 5, that if any additional funds are collected by the Green Space Sales Tax before its end date, they will be added to the same fund to aid in the continued conservation work.
