South Carolina real estate lawyers who represent developers or clients who sell land to developers deal with the issue of rollback taxes routinely. But lawyers who don’t deal with this issue on a regular basis should be aware of it to avoid stepping into what can amount to a very expensive trap.

Rollback taxes are assessed when the use of property that has been taxed as agricultural rate changes. Under prior law, rollback taxes were accessed for a five-year period. South Carolina Code Section 12-43-220 was amended in this year’s shortened legislative session to reduce the lookback period to three years. The amendment is effective January 1, 2021. In the year the use of the property changes, the difference between the tax paid under the agricultural use classification and the amount that would have been paid (typically under a commercial designation) is charged at full fair market value.

How expensive can the difference be? Agricultural use valuation is based upon crop yield and was frozen in 1991. For coastal and many other counties the difference between the agricultural use fair market value and the commercial fair market value can be enormous. In addition, many, but not all, agricultural use properties are taxed at a four percent assessment ratio versus the commercial designation’s six percent assessment ratio, and the millage is different.  This alone can contribute to a large rollback tax. Rollback taxes can easily amount to thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars.

When agricultural property is sold, the rollback tax issue comes into play. There is no norm in South Carolina as to who pays the rollback taxes. If the parties and their lawyers are aware of the issue, payment of the additional tax should be covered by contract. I’ve seen the issue arise for the first time at closing, however, and the typical tax proration contract provisions just don’t do the job to cover this issue. The buyer will argue that the decision to change the use of the property was not the buyer’s concern, and the seller will argue that the buyer had the advantage of the lower tax rate. Negotiations can get heated quickly.

When agricultural property is sold, the purchaser is required to sign an affidavit within thirty days of the sale stating under penalties or perjury that the property continues to qualify as agricultural. If that affidavit is not filed, the assessor will automatically apply rollback taxes. Note that if the issue is not handled at closing, the purchaser will have the ultimate responsibility, and you do not want to be the lawyer who failed to notify your purchaser client of this trap.

Fee-in-lieu completely eliminates rollback taxes and this should be a consideration for any large commercial project. A minimum investment of $2.5 million is required for a fee-in-lieu but many urban counties will not approve a fee-in-lieu for the statutory minimum. As always, contact a tax expert for assistance with these sticky matters.