Moving from Pennsylvania
to Myrtle Beach.

The short answer

Pennsylvania and South Carolina, side by side

One line moves against you and most move with you. Each 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 drops

Property tax, the wage tax and the most expensive gas in the region

Property tax

A $440,000 home in Montgomery or Bucks County bills about $5,800 to $5,900 a year. The same value in unincorporated Horry County bills roughly $1,600 at the primary rate, which also removes the school operating tax. Philadelphia itself is the exception: its rate is low and its houses cheap, so a rowhouse seller sees a smaller drop. You apply for the primary rate yourself; the property tax page has the calculator and the deadline.

The wage tax, if you still work

Nearly every Pennsylvania municipality taxes wages on top of the state rate, and Philadelphia's is about 3.7 percent. South Carolina has no local income tax anywhere. A working Philadelphia household keeps that entire amount. And if the move needs a job on this end, say so: we have pointed arriving clients at local employers and openings that fit their background, because the move only makes sense if you enjoy your life and job here in South Carolina.

Gas

Pennsylvania's fuel tax is 57.6 cents a gallon, the highest of any state we compare. South Carolina's is 28.75 cents. That is about 29 cents a gallon, every fill, the largest drop of any move on this site.

Retirees, read this first

Retirement income tax moves against you here

Most of our Pennsylvania buyers are retirees, which is why this page leads with the one line that moves against them. Pennsylvania taxes no retirement income at all. Pensions, 401(k) and IRA withdrawals after retirement age are simply not taxed, and neither is Social Security. That is rare, and it means a retired Pennsylvanian's state income tax bill is zero.

South Carolina taxes the same income past its deductions: up to $3,000 of retirement income before 65 and up to $10,000 from 65, per person, plus an age-65 deduction of up to $15,000, plus the standard deduction every filer gets. For a typical retired couple the resulting bill is small. It is not zero, and Pennsylvania's is.

So this page will not tell you the income tax is a reason to move. The property tax, the gas tax and the inheritance tax are, and the house math stands on its own.

The estate

The inheritance tax, and the part that stays behind

Pennsylvania taxes inheritances from the first dollar: nothing to a spouse, 4.5 percent to children, 12 percent to siblings, 15 percent to others. South Carolina has no estate or inheritance tax at all. For a family passing a home and savings to children, that difference is measured in tens of thousands of dollars.

One part does not move with you. Pennsylvania real estate stays subject to Pennsylvania inheritance tax even after you become a South Carolina resident, so keeping the old house keeps that tax attached to it. What any of this means for your own estate is a conversation for your attorney; we are stating the two states' rules, not advising.

The rest of the bill

The car, the clothes and the sales tax

Two smaller lines move against you. South Carolina taxes every vehicle on its value each year, roughly $360 to $460 on a $30,000 car plus a $50 road fee, where Pennsylvania charges a flat registration; count on a one-time $250 fee per vehicle on arrival and a 45 day window to register. And clothing, which Pennsylvania never taxes, carries the full 8 to 9 percent sales tax here. Deadlines and office addresses are on the new resident checklist.

Before you shop, one thing about the map. Myrtle Beach in a search box covers the whole run of towns around it, and several are smaller and quieter than the city: Surfside Beach, Pawleys Island, Litchfield, Little River. Prices differ town to town, plenty of buyers who searched Myrtle Beach end up buying in one of them, and we are glad to show you several in a day. The which town page maps the differences first.

Common questions

Pennsylvania to Myrtle Beach FAQ

Sources: Pennsylvania inheritance tax, Pennsylvania motor fuel tax, South Carolina 2026 income tax, Tax Foundation property taxes, Horry County vehicle tax. We are not tax advisers; rates change and your situation decides the answer. Verify with a professional before you plan around any of it.