Clarendon County Auditor Patricia Pringle says her office is following state law – and the same standards used by other counties across South Carolina – in how pickup trucks are classified and taxed, responding to claims that residents may have been overcharged.
The discussion began after State Rep. Fawn Pedalino requested an opinion from the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office earlier this month asking whether the county is using the wrong weight classification to determine a vehicle’s tax rate.
The opinion, dated Oct. 13, interprets S.C. Code § 56-1-2030, a Department of Motor Vehicles statute that defines vehicle weight for registration and licensing purposes, not property taxation.
By contrast, the Clarendon County Auditor’s Office is required to follow S.C. Code § 12-37-2645, part of the state’s property-tax law, which explicitly speaks to the weight limits for pickup trucks and directs auditors to use manufacturer weight data as defined in the Department of Revenue’s Vehicle Assessment Guide.
“The opinion is just that – an opinion,” Pringle said. “We follow the law and the Department of Revenue’s standards, not the DMV’s.”
Pringle said her office bases property-tax classifications on the South Carolina Department of Revenue (SCDOR) Vehicle Assessment Guide, which is issued under S.C. Code § 12-37-2645. The county’s valuation software, Price Digest, is provided through a SCDOR subscription and retrieves manufacturer-certified data for each vehicle by VIN, including its Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) and Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR).
“In nearly every case, those two numbers are the same,” she said. “DMV data rely on whatever weight the owner or dealer tells them, so we can’t use that. We use the manufacturer’s number that’s printed on the door panel.”
Unlike the SCDOR’s system, which is based on manufacturer specifications tied to a vehicle’s unique VIN, the DMV allows owners to self-report their vehicle’s weight when registering or renewing a tag. That figure is not verified by the DMV, meaning two identical trucks could show different weights depending on what the owners declared. This self-reported number can influence registration fees but does not determine the taxable classification.
If a resident believes a vehicle’s weight is listed incorrectly, Pringle said her office will accept a photo of the manufacturer’s door-panel label and update the record accordingly.
To illustrate the consistency among counties, Sumter County Auditor Lauretha McCants confirmed that her office recently handled the same inquiry about a Clarendon County resident whose truck weight has been part of the ongoing discussion.
McCants said she used the identical appraisal and assessment standards that appear on Clarendon County’s tax roll because all auditors are mandated to follow the SCDOR’s Vehicle Assessment Guide to ensure consistency statewide. Based on the truck’s gross vehicle weight of more than 11,001 pounds, it would be taxed at the 10.5 percent assessment ratio in either county.
According to McCants, if the vehicle were located in Sumter County District 2, the tax bill would be $1,565, compared to $1,932 in Clarendon County. The difference, she said, stems solely from the counties’ millage rates – 352.6 mills in Sumter versus 421.6 mills in Clarendon – not from how the trucks are classified or valued.
McCants also noted that the DMV relies on owner-reported weights for registration purposes, meaning those figures can vary depending on what a vehicle owner or dealer enters when registering the truck. “For property-tax assessments, we go by the manufacturer’s weight information from the VIN or the door-panel label,” she said. “That’s what the law and DOR require us to use.”
Pringle also emphasized that residents already have a clear way to appeal or correct their tax bills.
“If someone believes their truck is in the wrong category, they can appeal,” she said. “They can bring in a picture of the door-panel label or their bill of sale. If we’re wrong, we fix it or issue a refund. If they’ve got to pay right away, we tell them to pay ‘under protest’ so they don’t get penalties from DMV while we research it.”
While Pringle stands by her process, she said the Legislature could simplify the system statewide by taxing all personal-use trucks under 15,000 pounds at 6 percent or, if possible, allowing counties to adopt an ordinance to that effect.
“It would make things easier for everyone and take away all this confusion,” she said.
After summarizing the discrepancies outlined by Auditor Pringle, The Manning Times contacted Rep. Fawn Pedalino for clarification and follow-up. She had not responded by press time. This story will be updated online once additional comment is provided.
