Charleston County ranks No. 2 in taxes owed in South Carolina and No. 20 in taxes refunded each year, according to a new SmartAsset study that analyzed data from the IRS to determine where people received the highest tax refund and owed the most money.
Roughly 131,890 people in Charleston County received tax refunds , with an average refund of $2,781. However, 52,700 people end up owing an average of $6,946, giving Charleston County an owed tax index of 19.68.
This index is second only to Beaufort County’s 20.82, due to the slightly higher average of $7,261 owed taxes and despite the higher refund average of $3,131.
Not far behind Charleston’s high ranking is Berkeley County, with an owed tax index of 11.08, putting it at No. 5 in the state. Dorchester sits comfortably at No. 20 in the state, far enough down for an index to not be given.
On average, both Berkeley and Charleston counties owe more taxes than the average in South Carolina, $4,536.
Nationally, neither Charleston nor Beaufort counties cracked the top 100 for highest average taxes owed. Texas dominates the map, holding the top three counties and three others in the top 10.
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