property tax

Property Tax in Myrtle Beach, SC: How the Bill Is Set

Your Myrtle Beach property tax depends mainly on whether the home is your primary residence or a second home or rental. This guide shows how the assessment ratio and local rates build the bill.

Housing Ledger Editorial

13 Oct 2026 • 6 min read

Property tax in Myrtle Beach, SC runs below the state level: the median effective rate is 0.40%, compared with a South Carolina median of 0.66% ^[1]. If you are comparing towns, that gap is the first number to look at. It also helps to read Property Tax in Columbia SC: How Your Bill Is Calculated.

An effective rate is the tax as a share of market value, so your bill rises and falls with what the home is worth. A home valued at twice as much as another pays roughly twice the tax at the same rate. The rate matters most for higher-priced homes, where a small difference in percentage adds up to a larger annual bill.

The rate comes from a third-party trend page, so check it against current Horry County records before you budget. The next sections cover how the bill is set, how a second home is treated, and where to pay.

How is the property tax bill calculated?

Your property tax bill starts from the assessed value, not the sale price. The assessed value is a share of the home's market value, and that share depends on how the property is used. To go further, see Property Tax in Sugar Land, TX: How the Bill Is Built.

The assessment ratio sets the base

That share is called the assessment ratio. Primary homes are assessed at a 4% ratio, and second homes, rentals, commercial property, and land at 6% ^[2]. For a primary home, that means 4% of market value becomes the assessed value; for a rental or second home, 6% of market value does ^[3].

Two homes with the same market value can therefore have different assessed values.

Turning assessed value into an estimate

Once you have the assessed value, multiply it by the local millage rate to estimate the tax. Work through it in this order:

Find the property's assessed value, based on how it is used.
Find the millage rate for the property's location in Myrtle Beach.
Multiply the assessed value by the millage rate.

Why the sale price is not the starting point

The price a buyer pays does not enter the formula. What matters is the assessed value tied to how the property is used.

A paper tax bill sits on a wooden desk beside a calculator and pen for checking the figures.

Does owning a second home or rental change the bill?

A primary residence uses a 4% ratio, which keeps its assessed value lower than a second home or rental ^[2]. A second home or rental uses a 6% ratio on the same market value ^[3]. Two houses worth the same amount can therefore produce different tax bases, depending on how you use them.

What the 4% ratio does for your home

The ratio is the share of market value that the county uses as the base for your tax. If you live in the home as your primary residence, that share is the lower one. That is what keeps the assessed value down for an owner-occupied home.

What the 6% ratio does to a second home or rental

A rental or second home carries a bigger base than an identical house you live in.

Picture two neighboring houses with the same market value. The one you occupy is taxed on the smaller base, and the one you rent out is taxed on the larger base. Buyers who plan to rent part of the year should look at how the property will be used, not only at its price.

Confirm the ratio before you buy

The ratio depends on how the property is used, so the same house can be taxed differently under different ownership. Confirm which ratio applies to a specific property with Horry County records before you buy. Ask the county for the classification on record rather than relying on a listing description or a seller's word.

A two-story beach house with a screened porch and small pool stands among palm trees near the shore.

How does Myrtle Beach compare with the rest of South Carolina?

Compare Myrtle Beach with the rest of South Carolina by effective rate, not by dollar amounts. A median dollar payment reflects what homes in a sample are worth, so it cannot tell you what a specific house will cost. The effective rate, which is the tax as a share of value, scales with the home and is the fairer yardstick.

The SmartAsset calculator puts the South Carolina effective rate at 0.45%, with a median annual property tax payment of $1,337 ^[4]. That median is a rough baseline for a typical owner, not a quote for any particular home.

Ownwell reports a state median effective rate of 0.66% ^[1]. The two state figures differ because each source uses its own method and time period. Do not mix them in one comparison.

Comparing Myrtle Beach with the state

Put Myrtle Beach's effective rate beside the state's effective rate, never beside the state's dollar median. The two measures answer different questions, so a city's dollar median next to a state rate tells you little.

A small gap in rate can still matter. At the calculator's 0.45% rate, the yearly tax is $1,350. At Ownwell's 0.66% rate, it is $1,980. The gap is $630 a year on the same house, which is why the rate you choose changes the answer.

Making the comparison fair

Pull both figures from the same source wherever you can. Calculators and trend pages may use different years and methods, so a gap between them can come from the data rather than from the places. When the sources disagree, compare the rates within each source instead of across them.

Use the effective rate for both places, and keep the year and method the same. That gives you a comparison of the tax burden per dollar of value, which is what matters when you weigh a move or a purchase.

Where and how do you pay Horry County property tax?

Pay Horry County property tax through one of three routes: the county's online payment center, by phone, or in person. Start with the county's real property tax page, which covers payment options and the terms for each one ^[5]. Then choose the route that fits your schedule and budget.

Open the real property tax page. Go to the Horry County real property tax page and read the payment options before you choose a route ^[5]. Each route has its own terms, so compare them before you pay.
Pay by phone. Call 843-428-2126 to pay by phone ^[5]. The county states that "Convenience fees apply to all tax payments paid by phone" ^[5]. Plan for that charge on top of the tax amount, so the total you send is higher than the bill.
Pay in person with a card. The county notes that payments made in person with a credit or debit card follow separate terms ^[5]. If you plan to pay at the counter with a card, read those terms on the county page before you go, since they differ from the phone and online routes.
Find the bill in the online payment center. Open the Online Tax Payment Center and search by name or Tax ID number, since the site requires one of those for property taxes ^[6]. Use the Tax ID number if you have it, because it is the more exact search key.
Look at the result. The search should return the bill for the property you own, with its amount and due date listed.

The county's phone and online options can be used at any time of year, so you can pay from home instead of making a trip to the treasurer's office.

What should you do next?

The one thing to remember is that the property's use sets its assessment ratio, and that ratio drives the bill. A primary residence is assessed at 4% ^[2]. A second home or rental is assessed at 6% ^[2]. Find out which one applies before you run any numbers.

Your next step is to estimate the bill using the local millage rate, applied to the assessed value. Then confirm those figures on the official Horry County real property tax page ^[5]. A third-party estimate can help you plan, but the county's records are the ones to rely on.