South Carolina Employer Compliance Kit 2027: State Checklist, Deadline Calendar and Excel Tracker

Who it is for

Owners, office managers and bookkeepers who run payroll for employees working in South Carolina, from the first hire to the year-end forms.

Not the right fit if

Your employees work outside South Carolina: get that state's kit, or the 2027 Employer Compliance Bundle for several states. Not a payroll service, and not a legal review of your policies.

Why it is different

• Built only from our South Carolina data files, checked November 2026 against 20 official pages, among them South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW); SC DEW: Tax Rate Information; South Carolina Department of Revenue: SC W-4 (2025); Official page; Office of Immigration Compliance: You Must Verify All New Hires through E-Verify, SC LLR; Title 8, Chapter 14, Unauthorized Aliens and Public Employment, South Carolina Code of Laws (South Carolina Legislature); U.S. Department of Labor: State Minimum Wage Laws (updated November 5, 2026); U.S. Department of Labor: Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees (revised July 1, 2026).
• Every checklist item is confirmed on an official page and linked to it.
• The workbook recalculates with zero formula errors and dates the South Carolina new-hire steps for you.

What is inside

• Start here. How to use the kit, the 18 confirmed South Carolina rules at a glance and the 0 items to confirm.
• South Carolina 2027 checklist. Eight steps from unemployment tax registration to year-end filing, each confirmed rule with its source link and check date, from South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW), South Carolina New Hire Reporting (SCDSS), South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission. What it confirms: open a state unemployment tax account: DEW: employers without a DEW account number create one in the SUITS employer registration; taxable wage base for 2027: $14,000 per employee in 2027 ($14,000 in 2026); new employer tax rate: 1.06% for a new employer; quarterly wage reports and payments: DEW: April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31; state income tax withholding: State income tax applies; report each new hire to the state: Within 20 days after the employee's first day of work; e-Verify for private employers: Every employer must verify each new employee through E-Verify within three business days after hiring; minimum wage now (2026): No state minimum wage law, per US DOL; minimum wage change in 2027: No state rate; the federal $7.25 continues unless Congress changes it; tipped employees: Cash wage of at least $2.13 an hour in 2027, with tips making up the rest; paid sick leave: No statewide paid sick leave law for private employers; meal breaks for adults: no state rule; No requirement to give a lunch period; rest breaks for adults: no state rule; No requirement to give breaks; breaks for workers under 18: No separate meal-break rule for workers under 18: the US Department of Labor's state meal period table (revised January 1, 2023; checked November 2026) doesn't list South Carolina among the 35 jurisdictions with meal periods specifically for minors, so minors follow the adult rule; workers' compensation insurance: Businesses that regularly employ four or more employees in the state; final pay when you let someone go: Within 48 hours of the separation or by the next regularly scheduled payday, which may not be more than 30 days; final pay when an employee quits: Within 48 hours of the separation or by the next regularly scheduled payday, which may not be more than 30 days; state copies of W-2s and 1099s: Only include 1099s with South Carolina tax withheld (Form WH-1606), and only file 1099 forms that have South Carolina withholding (Form WH-1612).
• 2027 deadline calendar. 11 dates our South Carolina files state: 4 quarterly due dates from South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW); 2 state W-2 and 1099 filing dates from South Carolina Department of Revenue (SCDOR), with weekend dates flagged and a month-by-month planner for your own.
• New hire and pay change checklist. One page per hire, with the report to South Carolina New Hire Reporting (SCDSS) (new hires reported in 20 days) and the I-9 steps, and one per pay change.
• South Carolina compliance workbook (Excel). The South Carolina dates in a deadline tracker with days left and status, a new-hire sheet that dates each step from the start date (new hires reported in 20 days), and a pay-change sheet that flags any rate below the 2027 floor.