Military Retirement — Deducted in Full
All military retirement income comes out of South Carolina taxable income — no cap, from tax year 2022 — and a surviving spouse deducts the same way, DIC included.
Verified August 19, 2026
What this benefit is
All military retirement income comes out of South Carolina taxable income — no cap, from tax year 2022 — and a surviving spouse deducts the same way, DIC included.
What it's worth: The whole of your military retirement income, deducted
- The saving is your marginal state rate on the amount deducted, so it depends on your bracket.
Who is entitled to it
- You receive military retired pay.
- Your home is in South Carolina.
Not sure whether that describes you?
Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.
How to claim it
Deadline: April 15, with your return- 1Deduct all military retirement income on the South Carolina return — the cap disappeared for tax years after 2021.
- 2A surviving spouse deducts the same way, and the definition reaches dependency and indemnity compensation tied to the deceased spouse’s service.
- 3If you filed 2022 or later under the old capped rules, look at amending.
- File with
- The Department of Revenue, on your annual return
- Annual
- Claimed once a year.
Sources
- authority · statuteS.C. Code §12-6-1171
Why only one source type: The statute on the legislature’s own site states the unlimited deduction and the surviving spouse definition in terms; SCDOR’s guidance document is a scanned PDF with no text layer.
This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.