South Carolina’s Act 176, the Business License Standardization Act, requires every municipality and county government with a business license tax to update its business licensing class schedule every odd-numbered year to go into effect the following year. As such, 2023 is a time to update your licensing practices to remain in compliance with state law.
As required by Act 176, the class schedule updates use the latest statistical data on business profitability from the IRS, which then receives approval from the SC Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office.
If your current business license ordinance contains Class 9 in either appendix, use
If your current business license ordinance does not contain Class 9 in either appendix, use
Municipalities without Class 9
Your local government must adopt these by December 31, 2023, to address those licensing renewals that will take place for the license year running from May 1, 2024 – April 30, 2025. Once completed, you won’t have to handle this process again until 2025.
Here are the steps your municipality needs to take to stay compliant with the law:
- Make the text of the ordinance amendment applicable to your city or county by filling in the blanks with your city or county name.
- Have your council pass the ordinance using two readings, which must be conducted at least six days apart.
- Congratulations! You have an updated business license ordinance, which will be compliant with Act 176 in 2024.
Once the new ordinance is in place, please be sure to train your business licensing staff on the changes created by the updates, and update your business licensing software to account for the new class schedule.