Moving from North Carolina
to Myrtle Beach.

The short answer

North Carolina and South Carolina, side by side

The two states are closer on taxes than any other pair we compare. Each line is explained below.

Rates are the 2026 tax year. Property figures are the most recent federal survey data. The calculator on our cost of living page runs the full comparison against your income.

Side by side

What you pay in taxes now, and what you would pay here

It opens on a real example. Change any line to your own numbers and press Calculate. It estimates the income tax, the local income tax where your town charges one, and the property tax on both ends, and what the price of the house puts back in your pocket. Estimates, not facts. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

An estimate, not a fact. Rates, brackets and retirement rules come from each state's own department of revenue and statutes for 2026, and the Myrtle Beach property tax uses Horry County's 2025 certified millage for an owner-occupied home outside the city limits, with the 4 percent residential ratio, the school operating exemption and the 65 and older homestead exemption. Left out on both sides: federal tax, car taxes, insurance, and any credit that depends on your own return. Where a state rule is too detailed to model we leave it out, and almost every one of those left out would RAISE the bill in the state you are leaving, not lower it: Connecticut's tax recapture, New York's supplemental tax, and the exemption phase-outs in Maryland and Ohio. Two run the other way and we would rather name them: Pennsylvania's tax forgiveness and the Massachusetts senior circuit breaker are low-income credits we do not apply, so if you qualify for one, your bill up north is lower than we show. Insurance is its own question on this coast and usually costs more here than up north; the coastal insurance page has the real numbers. Your accountant has the last word, and we will sit down and go through it with you.

What the sale buys

What a Charlotte or Raleigh sale buys at the coast

A typical Charlotte home sells for about $389,000 and a typical Raleigh home about $437,000, against about $342,000 here. That is not the gap a New York seller sees, but it usually trades a suburban lot for a coastal one with money left over, and the property tax on it drops at the same time.

Myrtle Beach is the name people search, but the market around it is a set of towns: North Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach, Murrells Inlet, Pawleys Island, Little River and inland Conway, each with its own prices. One of them may fit you better than the city itself, and we would love to show you the ones you have not seen on a weekend trip. What actually differs between them is laid out town by town.

Because the bills are this close, most North Carolina moves are about the coast itself, or a lifestyle change, not the tax math. The cost of living generally shifts less from North Carolina than from any other state we compare. The cost of living calculator shows whether your city runs more or less than Myrtle Beach and its surrounding areas, in about a minute.

Income tax

The income tax can move either way, and the line sits near $100,000

North Carolina charges one flat rate on everything past its deduction. South Carolina charges a low rate on the first $30,000 and a higher one above it, with a deduction that shrinks as joint income climbs from $80,000 to $190,000.

We ran the two published schedules side by side for a married couple with no dependents. At $60,000 of income, South Carolina charges about $600 and North Carolina about $1,400. At $100,000 the two states land within a few dollars of each other. Above $100,000, South Carolina charges more, not less.

Dependents and credits move that line, so treat it as the shape of the comparison rather than your bill. What it means in practice: a working couple under $100,000 saves a little, a higher earner pays a little more, and nobody should make this move for the income tax alone.

Pensions

Check which kind of pension you hold before you move

North Carolina fully exempts some older government pensions: state, local and federal retirees who had five years of service before August 12, 1989, and military retirees with twenty years of service. If that is you, this move taxes income that has been tax free. South Carolina exempts military retirement fully at any age, but other government pensions are ordinary retirement income here, sheltered only by the deductions.

Every other retiree does better here. North Carolina taxes private pensions, 401(k)s and IRA withdrawals at the flat rate with no age break at all. South Carolina allows a retirement deduction of up to $3,000 before 65 and up to $10,000 from 65, plus a separate age-65 deduction of up to $15,000. Social Security is untaxed in both states.

The rest of the bill

Groceries, gas, property tax and the car

Groceries and gas get cheaper

North Carolina puts a 2 percent local tax on groceries. Horry County puts none. Gas runs about 12.5 cents a gallon cheaper here on the two states' published fuel taxes.

Property tax drops, but modestly

Charlotte and Raleigh both run about 0.69 percent effective. Horry County runs about 0.38 percent on a primary home, and the primary rate also removes the school operating tax. It is a modest improvement, but it is still a few thousand dollars a year saved, usually on a bigger home. You apply for the primary rate yourself; the property tax page has the calculator and the deadline.

The car tax is familiar

North Carolina already taxes vehicles every year with the registration, so this one is not a surprise. The mechanics differ: here the county bills you first and the plate renews after you pay, a car titled elsewhere pays a one-time $250 fee at first registration, and you have 45 days from the move. The steps are on the new resident checklist.

Sales tax goes up

General merchandise runs about 7.1 percent combined in North Carolina, against 8 percent in the county and 9 percent inside the City of Myrtle Beach.

One recent move

A North Carolina family who built here instead of buying

One of our recent North Carolina clients decided not to buy an existing house at all. They wanted out of North Carolina's taxes, a warmer coast, and a home built to their own plan, without ending up too far from family. They chose Longs, inland past Little River, where land is affordable enough that the house they actually wanted fit the budget, and they commute. We found the land, helped them vet a builder, and connected them with BrickWood Mortgage, which financed the construction.

They brought their cleaning business with them too, and being local let them pitch the big hotels here directly. Land, builder and construction loan is a harder transaction than a resale. It has more steps and more ways to stall, and it goes better when the agent and the lender already work together. That is the setup we run.

Chapter 3 Realty has a business relationship with BrickWood Mortgage. The full RESPA Affiliated Business Arrangement disclosure is in the footer of this page and here. You are never required to use BrickWood, and you are free to shop lenders.

Common questions

North Carolina to Myrtle Beach FAQ

Sources: North Carolina income tax schedules, North Carolina vehicle property tax, South Carolina 2026 income tax, Tax Foundation property taxes, Zillow research data. We are not tax advisers; rates change and your situation decides the answer. Verify with a professional before you plan around any of it.