How to form an LLC in South Carolina
A $110 filing and one of the few states with no LLC annual report.
Contents 6 sections
outh Carolina is quietly one of the more cost-efficient states for a plain-vanilla LLC. The Articles of Organization cost $110 to file and, unusually, there is no annual report for LLCs taxed as partnerships or disregarded entities. The ongoing state burden is tax, not paperwork.
Overview
The filing
File the Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1) with the South Carolina Secretary of State. Required elements:
- LLC name containing "Limited Liability Company", "Limited Company", "LLC", "L.L.C.", "LC", or "L.C."
- Initial designated office
- A South Carolina registered agent with a physical in-state street address
- Management structure (member-managed by default)
- Organizer signature
Online filings via the SOS portal clear in 1 to 2 business days; paper takes 5 to 7.
A South Carolina LLC taxed as a partnership has the lowest administrative carry-cost in the Southeast. Elect C-Corp treatment and you quietly opt into one of the more paperwork-heavy regimes in the same region.
Ongoing obligations
LLC annual report: none for pass-through LLCs. An LLC that elects C-Corp or S-Corp taxation must file Form CL-1 and pay an initial $25 license tax, then file the CL-4 annual corporate filing with the Department of Revenue. The South Carolina Department of Revenue business page has the current forms and the current minimum-tax schedule; those numbers drift, and the DOR page is the only reliable place to verify them.
License / franchise tax: C-Corp-taxed entities pay a license fee of $15 plus $1 per $1,000 of capital and paid-in surplus, minimum $25. That schedule is set by statute and rarely changes, but the DOR posts annual updates if the legislature adjusts the floor.
Income tax: South Carolina corporate income tax is 5%. Pass-through LLC members pay state personal income tax on their distributive share; the top individual bracket for 2025 is 6.2% per the South Carolina individual income tax summary. Nonresident members are included via Form SC1040 or a composite return.
EIN and federal setup
After the state filing clears, apply for a federal Employer Identification Number through the IRS EIN application. South Carolina uses the federal EIN as the basis for state tax registration through the MyDORWAY portal. If you plan to hire, you also register with the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce for unemployment insurance.
The IRS LLC classification page explains how a single-member South Carolina LLC is treated federally as a disregarded entity, and how Form 8832 changes that election. That default is the key reason pass-through LLCs escape South Carolina's corporate-license burden: there is no corporation for the state to tax until you actively ask to be taxed as one.
When South Carolina makes sense
South Carolina is a strong home-state choice for Charleston, Greenville, and Columbia-based founders. The no-annual-report rule means a dormant LLC costs exactly $0 per year to maintain (beyond registered-agent fees). It is rarely chosen as a formation state by non-residents because the corporate license fee bites anyone electing C-Corp treatment.
Source
- South Carolina Secretary of State: https://sos.sc.gov/
- South Carolina Department of Revenue: https://dor.sc.gov/tax/business
- IRS EIN application: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/apply-for-an-employer-identification-number-ein-online