Staying compliant in South Carolina

Do South Carolina LLCs file an annual report?

Only if the LLC is taxed as a corporation. The Department of Revenue's FAQ puts it this way: "not subject to the annual report or the License Fee: A Limited Liability Company (LLC) not taxed as a corporation".¹

So the answer turns on a tax election, not on the business itself. Two LLCs selling the same product can face different filings because one chose to be taxed as a corporation. It also explains an oddity here: the yearly report for an LLC taxed as a corporation goes to the Department of Revenue, not the South Carolina Secretary of State, which handles formation and agent records.

If your LLC is not taxed as a corporation

There is no yearly report, no report deadline and no report fee. The record the South Carolina Secretary of State holds, including your agent and designated office, stays as last filed until you or your agent file a change. Our explainer on how annual reports work elsewhere describes what other states ask for, which is useful if you also run an LLC across the border; compare staying compliant in North Carolina and staying compliant in Georgia.

If your LLC is taxed as a corporation

The Department of Revenue treats it like a corporation for this purpose. Its FAQ says such an LLC first completes the CL-1 Initial Annual Report. After that, the statute sets the yearly report due date on or before the fifteenth day of the fourth month following the close of the taxable year (S.C. Code § 12-20-20(B)), and the License Fee goes to the Department with the report. This guide's sources do not set out what the report asks for line by line, so use the Department's own instructions.¹

If you are not sure which group your LLC is in, your federal tax filings show how it is taxed, and an accountant can confirm it.

Does South Carolina charge LLCs a franchise tax or license fee?

Not for an LLC that is not taxed as a corporation; among LLCs, South Carolina's corporate License Fee applies only to one taxed as a corporation, with a minimum of $25 (S.C. Code § 12-20-50).¹

The Department of Revenue collects the License Fee along with the corporate annual report.

Other state taxes are outside this page. Sales tax, payroll withholding and income tax depend on what your business does and how it is owned, and the Department of Revenue can tell you which registrations apply. For federal filings, go to the IRS. Keep those dates on their own list, separate from the South Carolina Secretary of State items here, because missing a tax payment can affect your LLC's standing with the South Carolina Secretary of State too, as the next section explains.

What can get a South Carolina LLC dissolved, and how do you reinstate it?

The ground the statute sets out is financial: the South Carolina Secretary of State can administratively dissolve an LLC that does not pay a fee, tax, or penalty imposed by this chapter or other law within sixty days after it is due (S.C. Code § 33-44-809).³

That wording reaches beyond filing fees. It covers a fee, tax or penalty "imposed by this chapter or other law", so an unpaid state tax can put the LLC's existence at risk, not just a missed form. For an LLC taxed as a corporation, a late License Fee is the obvious example.

On the other side, the same section lists no ground related to the agent or designated office. A resigned agent or an outdated office is therefore not, by itself, a reason the South Carolina Secretary of State can dissolve you. The danger is indirect. If a notice about an unpaid fee or tax goes to an address no one checks, the payment window can close without your knowing.³

If the LLC is dissolved, South Carolina allows a way back.

1. File the Application for Reinstatement by a Limited Liability Company Dissolved by Administrative Action with the South Carolina Secretary of State.⁴
2. Pay the $25 fee.⁴
3. Do it within two years after administrative dissolution; the application window is set by statute.⁴

This guide's sources do not list a late penalty for LLCs at the South Carolina Secretary of State. Before applying for reinstatement, ask the Department of Revenue whether any tax balance has to be cleared first, and talk to a lawyer if the business signed contracts while dissolved. The South Carolina registered agent guide covers who may act as agent and how a lapse plays out.

How do you keep your registered agent and designated office current?

You file the Notice of Change of Designated Office, Agent or Address of Registered Agent for $10 whenever the agent, the agent's street address or the designated office changes, and the statute requires both to stay on record (S.C. Code Ann. § 33-44-108).^{2, 3}

People forget the designated office. The statute asks for an office, which need not be a place of business in this State, so it can be an address where no business happens. It still has to be accurate, because when an agent resigns, the South Carolina Secretary of State mails copies to the designated office and to the LLC's principal office, and the agency ends on the 31st day after filing. An office you left long ago means the copy goes nowhere useful, and an LLC with no yearly report has no routine filing to prompt a check before the agency ends.³

You can file online through SC Business Entities Online or on a paper form. Foreign LLCs authorized here (registration costs $110) carry the same duty to keep an agent and office in the state (S.C. Code Ann. § 33-44-108). The full step order for switching agents, with the cancellation last, is in the guide to changing a registered agent.^{3, 5, 6}

What provider compliance features do for a South Carolina LLC

Agent services sell compliance tools built mostly around annual reports. For a South Carolina LLC not taxed as a corporation, there is no report for them to file, so the useful part shrinks.

• Report filing plans. Tailor Brands puts annual compliance report filing and updates in its Essential and Elite packages but not in Lite. ZenBusiness lists Annual Report Filing $100 per report and Worry-Free Compliance $199/year, LegalZoom $99 + state filing fees, bills once, Northwest charges $100 + state fees per filing, InCorp $89 + state fees, and Harbor Compliance $199 per state per year plus filing fees. None of these facts says the provider files the Department of Revenue report for an LLC taxed as a corporation, so ask in writing before paying.^{7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12}
• Northwest says its agent customers are auto-enrolled in Compliance Services, billed through annual auto-pay. If you use Northwest for a South Carolina LLC with no report, ask how that enrolment is billed.¹³
• Reminders. Bizee advertises free lifetime compliance notifications. With no report to track, ask what a reminder service covers for South Carolina, such as state tax notices or the agent's renewal.¹⁴
• Forwarding. The agent receives court papers and any state mail addressed to it, and forwards them only to the contact details it holds, so keep your email and phone current with the provider.
• Renewal. With no report fee, the agent service is often the only recurring charge tied to the state record. Tailor Brands renews at $199/year, Bizee at $149/year and InCorp at $129 per year. Harbor Compliance's terms need non-renewal notice at least 90 days before the end of the current term.^{15, 16, 17, 18}

Side-by-side prices are on the South Carolina agent comparison, and services with compliance tools compares the features more broadly. Read how to cancel an agent service before you drop one.

What does a South Carolina LLC compliance calendar look like in the first year and after?

For an LLC not taxed as a corporation the calendar holds no fixed state filing date, so the items below are checks you set for yourself, plus one date for LLCs taxed as corporations.

Year one

1. When the South Carolina Secretary of State files your Articles, look up the record and confirm the agent, the agent's street address and the designated office. Formation itself is covered in the South Carolina LLC formation guide, and the fees in the cheapest ways to form a South Carolina LLC.
2. Settle your tax status with an accountant. If the LLC elects corporate tax treatment, it files the CL-1 Initial Annual Report first, then a yearly report and License Fee due on or before the fifteenth day of the fourth month following the close of the taxable year.¹
3. Register for any state taxes your business owes, through the Department of Revenue.
4. Save your agent service's renewal date and its cancellation notice period.

Year two and later

1. No South Carolina Secretary of State report falls due for an LLC not taxed as a corporation.
2. An LLC taxed as a corporation files its Department of Revenue annual report and License Fee each year by the statutory date.
3. Pay every state fee and tax on time; an unpaid one can lead to dissolution after the window in S.C. Code § 33-44-809.³
4. Check the state record once a year. If the agent or designated office has changed, file the notice of change ($10).²
5. Act on any resignation copy at once, before the agency ends.

Terms used here, such as designated office and administrative dissolution, are in the glossary, and what a registered agent does explains the agent's role.