In mid-2019, the Realist system updated the way property tax information is reported for some counties in South Carolina.  For the 2018 tax year, and going forward, they will display the “full billed taxes” levied on a property, while in previous years they reported the “tax amount paid”.  In addition to the dollar amount of the property taxes, Realist displays a year-over-year rate change as a percentage.  For properties affected by this change, this has caused the change from 2017 to 2018 to look much larger than in years past.

For example:

The difference in these two numbers can be accounted for by discounts or rebates that the homeowner or property qualifies for.  Realist’s decision to change from one value to the other was based on the fact that a new property owner may not qualify for the same discounts or rebates as the previous owner, and thus the full amount of property taxes billed to the property is more accurate information.

Realist only reports the most recent three years of tax information.  This means that the shift in data fields (and the apparent large change between 2017 and 2018) will be displayed through the end of 2020.  Once 2018 is the oldest tax year displayed, the “Change (%)” will not be reported for that year and should remove any confusion about the different values.  This will take place shortly into the year 2021, when tax information for 2020 is made available to Realist.

If you have any questions about this information, please contact Canopy MLS Support