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REMOTE EMPLOYEES

Hiring a remote employee in South Carolina

Your company is in another state and one employee lives and works from home in South Carolina. Which state's taxes apply, unemployment, paid leave and South Carolina's employer rules, each with its official source.

Facts checked on October 5, 2026 against the official sources listed at the end of this page. For employers. General information, not legal or tax advice: confirm a rule with the agency before you rely on it.

South Carolina at a glance

Income tax
South Carolina withholding
Reciprocity
None
Unemployment
$14,000 wage base, 1.06% new employer
Paid leave
None
New hire report
Within 20 days

Which state's taxes apply

Work state
South Carolina taxes wages for work done in South Carolina. Withhold South Carolina income tax on the employee's wages.Source: SCDOR, Withholding Tax (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
Withholding form
SC W-4Source: SCDOR, Withholding FAQs & Refund Procedures (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
Reciprocity
No state exempts South Carolina residents from its withholding by reciprocity.Source: SCDOR, Withholding FAQs & Refund Procedures (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
Convenience rules
If your company is in Delaware, New York or Pennsylvania, the employee is assigned to an office there and works there on some days, that state taxes the days worked from home in South Carolina for the employee's convenience.Source: Delaware Division of Revenue, 2025 Form PIT-NON Instructions, Non-Resident Individual Income Tax Return (PDF) (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026; NYS DTF, TSB-M-06(5)I, New York Tax Treatment of Nonresidents and Part-Year Residents: Application of the Convenience of the Employer Test to Telecommuters and Others (May 15, 2006, PDF) (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026; PA Department of Revenue, PA Personal Income Tax Guide, Gross Compensation (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
Office days in your company's state
That state's day limit, if it has one, decides whether it withholds on those days: see its page, or the helper below.
An employee from another state working in South Carolina
South Carolina sets no day count before a nonresident's wages for work there are withheld.Source: SCDOR, Withholding FAQs & Refund Procedures (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026

Where to withhold: two states

Pick your company's state, the state where the employee lives and works from home, and the days a year the employee works at your office. The answer reads each state's rules from the data on these pages.

Your company is in
Employee lives and works from home in
Days a year at your office
Assigned to an employer office in New YorkMatters only in the states with a convenience rule (Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania), and only with office days there.

Income tax withholding

  • South Carolina: all wages.

No New York withholding: the employee does no work in New York.

Unemployment

South Carolina: the employee works from home there, so the work is localized in South Carolina.

Simplified: resident credits, dollar tests, local taxes and a move during the year are not worked out here. Each state's rule and its source are on its page.

Unemployment

The employee works from home in South Carolina, so the work is localized in South Carolina: pay South Carolina unemployment tax, not your company state's.

Agency
SC Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW)Source: SC Department of Employment and Workforce, Tax Rate Information (2026 Unemployment Insurance Tax Rate Table) (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
Wage base
$14,000 Fixed by lawSource: SC Department of Employment and Workforce, Tax Rate Information (2026 Unemployment Insurance Tax Rate Table) (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
New employer rate
1.06% 1.06% in 2026: the higher of the rate class 12 rate or 1% (class 30), plus the 0.06% administrative contingency assessment Surcharges includedSource: SC Department of Employment and Workforce, Tax Rate Information (2026 Unemployment Insurance Tax Rate Table) (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026

Open the account: South Carolina payroll tax registration

South Carolina has no paid leave program funded through payroll.

South Carolina employer rules

Employment law applies where the employee works, so these follow the employee into South Carolina.

Final pay
Fired: Within 48 hours of separation or by the next regular payday, which may not be more than 30 days later Quit: Same as firedSource: South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 41, Chapter 10, Payment of Wages (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
Pay frequency
No minimum frequency: the employer sets the time and place of payment, tells employees in writing at hire (or posts it), gives 7 days' written notice of changes, and pays at the designated time.Source: South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 41, Chapter 10, Payment of Wages (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
Pay notice
In writing at hire: normal hours and wages, time and place of payment, and deductions (posting at the workplace is allowed); changes in writing at least seven calendar days before they take effect (not required for raises).Source: S.C. Code Title 41, Chapter 10 (South Carolina Payment of Wages Act), §41-10-30 (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
New hire reporting
Within 20 days of the start date.Source: S.C. Code Title 43, Chapter 5, §43-5-598 (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
E-Verify
Every private employer must enroll in E-Verify and verify each new employee within three business days of hire.Source: S.C. Code Title 41, Chapter 8, §41-8-20 (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
Sick leave
No state sick leave law.Source: S.C. Code Title 41, Chapter 10 (South Carolina Payment of Wages Act), §41-10-10(2) (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026

When the employee moves

Re-check the work state and the registrations before the next payroll: a move changes which state's withholding, unemployment, paid leave and employer rules apply.

Registering your business in South Carolina, and whether one remote employee creates tax nexus for your company, are separate questions this page does not cover.

More on South Carolina

WORKLIO HCM

Payroll for employees who work from home in another state

Worklio HCM withholds by home and work state, reciprocity included, and handles city and county taxes. We help open state withholding and unemployment accounts when you hire somewhere new, and our registration service can register your employer tax accounts for you. Taxes are calculated, deposited and filed in every state and locality, and when an agency notice arrives, you upload it and our tax team resolves it.

Remote employees in other states

Sources

The agency page or document behind each fact, as checked.

General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements with the relevant agency or your advisor. You remain responsible for your employment taxes and for each state's rules.

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