(Author’s note: On March 31, South Carolina lawmakers voted not to make changes to state tax law. The article has been updated to reflect the vote.)

South Carolina taxpayers will get a breather when filing their taxes this year, thanks to an automatic tax filing extension to October 15, 2026. The extra time was related to the state’s own tax uncertainty—created by federal tax changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) President Trump signed into law on July 4, 2025.

Some of OBBBA’s provisions, including the temporary “no tax on tips” and “no tax on overtime” deductions, were applied retroactively to federal taxes in 2025. The South Carolina Legislature was considering changing its state income tax to adopt the federal changes, also for 2025. Nearly a year after OBBBA was passed, and with the normal April 15 deadline just two weeks away, the South Carolina pols were still working on House Bill 3368, which would conform state law with OBBBA.

If you live in South Carolina, that legislative delay meant that 2025 state income tax returns filed in 2026 might not have accurately reflected your actual state tax liability. The automatic extension was intended to give taxpayers time to sort out any changes.

However, on March 31, 2026, SC legislators voted not to conform with OBBBA and will not adopt deductions for tips and overtime for 2025. The SC Department of Revenue (SCDOR) issued the extension before the vote and has confirmed that it remains in place. If you haven’t yet filed, you don’t need to take any action to take advantage of this filing extension.

Extends The Time To File, Not The Time To Pay

Crucially, as with a federal income tax extension, the South Carolina extension applies only to the deadline to file your return, not to pay what you owe.

According to the SCDOR, you will owe penalties if you do not pay at least 90% of your 2025 tax liability by April 15, 2026. However, SCDOR says that f you are expecting a refund, you don’t need to do anything except file your return by October 15.

What Should Taxpayers In Other States Do?

While South Carolina has given taxpayers some extra time and direction, it’s not so clear for taxpayers in other states.

If you live in a state that has already addressed OBBBA conformity (like Iowa, Montana, North Dakota, and Oregon, which have fully conformed to OBBBA), you can file by using taxable income as reported on your federal Form 1040.

If you live in a state with no state income tax (Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming), you can simply file your federal income taxes as usual—there’s nothing more to do.

But if you live in a state that hasn’t yet settled on........

© Forbes