What a taxable index-fund account is actually worth after expense-ratio drag and after South Carolina takes its share of the gain — which, in most states, is not at the federal preferential rate.
There is no state equivalent of the federal preferential rate here — a long-term gain is charged at South Carolina's normal income brackets, exactly like wages. This is the common case, and it surprises people who assume the federal 15% carries over. STILL IN FORCE, AND CHECKED RATHER THAN ASSUMED — this was a live question because Act 110 of 2026 rewrote the South Carolina deduction landscape. S.C. Code Section 12-6-1150 allows individuals, estates and trusts a deduction equal to FORTY-FOUR PERCENT of net capital gain recognised, so only 56% of a long-term gain reaches the South Carolina rate schedule. Act 110 amended Sections 12-6-510, 12-6-50, 12-6-1140, 12-6-4910, 12-6-1720 and 12-6-3632; SECTION 12-6-1150 IS NOT AMONG THEM, and it remains in the codified chapter with no repeal noted. kind is 'ordinary' rather than 'excluded' because the surviving 56% is taxed at the ordinary two-bracket schedule with no separate capital gains rate; exclusionPct carries the discount. The practical effect at 2026 rates: a top-bracket long-term gain faces an effective South Carolina rate of about 2.92% (56% of 5.21%), which is low enough to matter in a relocation comparison. The deduction is for NET CAPITAL GAIN as federally defined, so it reaches the excess of net long-term gain over net short-term loss and not short-term gains.
What your state actually takes from a 401(k) withdrawal, a pension, and Social Security — in dollars, not a yes/no list.
2026 limits, employer match, the 60-63 super catch-up, and whether the Roth catch-up mandate applies to you.
When your RMDs start under SECURE 2.0, how much this year's is, and what missing it costs.
What retiring actually costs across all fifty states in 2026 — the three lines that decide it, why ranking states by income tax gets the answer wrong, the federal rules that follow you everywhere, and the decisions that are worth real money before you move.
South Carolina charges $1,066 in state income tax on a typical retirement income, $1,800 in property tax on its median home and $2,250 in insurance — $5,116 together, which is 3rd of 50.
What moving actually saves, on your own income mix rather than a headline rate — and how to establish domicile so the state you left cannot follow you.
Which account to draw first, priced. The three cliffs a withdrawal can cross without warning, the conversion window almost nobody uses, and why the order is the last big decision you can still change.