Primary to rental conversion - property tax snafu

[David Waldy]

Hey fam! So we are discussing converting our primary to a rental. I just found out in the state of SC if you rent your home for a period of longer than 72 days, you are subject to the higher property tax rate for the ENTIRE YEAR. The yearly tax difference on this property is $800 as primary and goes up to $3500 as a rental. (Confirmed with tax assessor) It will cash flow positive due to our situation (ran the numbers multiple times through calculators) and even with the increased tax liability we are good so I don’t need help on that front. However I just learned that if we convert our house to rental anytime this year we are subject to paying the FULL YEAR of property taxes at the higher rate. Has anyone else encountered this? Do they not prorate based on how many months it’s a primary vs rental? I just don’t want to be in trouble with the tax man by missing something and I also don’t want to pay thousands more than I have to... Any thoughts would be appreciated!

[Will Gaston]

@David Waldy I own about ~50 units in Richland County and I am under the belief that they tax it based on what the property is as of January 1st. I own a few in Lexington but have never dealt with that.

On many occasions I have sold my investment properties to buyers that were going to use it as their primary residence. I'm almost certain that they were able to get the owner occupied rate (6% to 4%) for the entire year no matter when they bought it. 

Maybe it's different in Lexington County but I've never heard of that.