Taxes in the Upstate of South Carolina can be a bit daunting to understand.  It may be beneficial to a home buyer to have a primer on the taxes here.  They can be very confusing but should not scare you away from this amazing area.  

See if this helps...

There are two levels of taxes here and they are not easy to calculate.  Homeowners pay one or the other, never both.  As a common practice, Realtors usually call the appropriate county and they calculate the taxes as it is not a straight forward formula. 

Non-resident taxes are paid by the owners of rentals, vacation homes, and basically anything that is not owner occupied and not a primary residence

Resident taxes are paid by owners who are living IN their primary residence

Example #1 - xxx Horse Head Point, Seneca

Purchase price $849,000

Nonresident taxes (not owner occupied) $10,952.10

Resident Taxes (owner occupied under age 65) $3,562.40

Example #2 - xxx Tiger Terrace Dr, Seneca

Purchase price $287,000

Nonresident taxes - $3805.50

Resident Taxes - $1302.00

As you can see, the difference is significant!  There is also a Homestead Exemption but that is another article.

Confusing?  Yes, but the area is so worth it. Just take a look at this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGx5_cQ0q3w