PFFASC is excited to announce H 4697... OUR 3rd BILL FOR 2024 SOUTH CAROLINA SESSION HAS BEEN FILED!

THIS IS HUGE!!! Our retirees are hurting with the current situation at hand! A max cola of $500 a year keeps these men and women who have been retired IN POVERTY!! Eliminating the state income tax on their retirement will put thousands of dollars of their hard-earned money back in their pockets to survive!!

THANK YOU State Rep. Jay Kilmartin for being a champion to our members and showing that those who are retired are not forgotten. J. has been such a great friend to the Professional Fire Fighters Association of South Carolina, and we cannot thank you enough!! Again, a special thank you to PFFASC's Director of Government Relations, John Baker II, for the time and work he has put into filing bills for South Carolina firefighters!

South Carolina General Assembly
125th Session, 2023-2024
H. 4697
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Rep. Kilmartin
Document Path: LC-0421SA24.docx
Prefiled in the House on December 14, 2023
Ways and Means
Summary: Income tax deduction
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number
12/14/2023 House Prefiled
12/14/2023 House Referred to Committee on Ways and Means
A BILL
TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 12-6-1172 SO AS TO EXEMPT THE RETIREMENT INCOME OF FIRST RESPONDERS, LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS, AND TEACHERS; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 12-6-1170, RELATING TO RETIREMENT INCOME DEDUCTION, SO AS TO MAKE CONFORMING CHANGES.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Article 9, Chapter 6, Title 12 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:
Section 12-6-1172. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Retirement income" means the total of all otherwise taxable income not subject to a penalty for premature distribution received by the taxpayer or the taxpayer's surviving spouse in a taxable year from a South Carolina retirement plan enumerated in Title 9 or a private pension plan. For purposes of a surviving spouse, "retirement income" also includes a retirement benefit plan and dependent indemnity compensation related to the deceased spouse's state service.
(2) "First responder" means a paramedic, emergency medical technician, first responder dispatcher, or firefighter.
(3) "Law enforcement officer" means a person who meets the requirements of Section 23-23-10(E)(1) and who is certified by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Training Council.
(4) "Teacher" means a person teaching in this State in a K-12 school.
(B) An individual taxpayer, who served as a law enforcement officer, first responder, or teacher, each year may deduct all state employee or private pension plan retirement income that is included in South Carolina taxable income.
SECTION 2. Section 12-6-1170(C) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
(C)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, if a taxpayer claims a deduction pursuant to Section 12-6-1171 or Section 12-6-1172, then the deduction allowed by this section must be reduced by the cumulative amount the taxpayer deducts pursuant to Section 12-6-1171 or Section 12-6-1172; however, this subsection does not apply if the deduction claimed pursuant to Section 12-6-1171 or Section 12-6-1172 is claimed by a surviving spouse.
(2) In the case of married taxpayers who file a joint federal income tax return, the reduction required by item (1) applies to each individual separately, so that the reduction only applies to the amount the individual claiming the deduction pursuant to Section 12-6-1171 or Section 12-6-1172 otherwise could have claimed pursuant to this section if the individual had not filed a joint return.
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor and first applies to tax years beginning after 2023.