Property Tax for Creek-Front Property on the Waccamaw Neck Near Pawleys Island
Property tax on the marsh/ICW side of Pawleys Island runs through Georgetown County, South Carolina's statewide assessment framework, and -- for property inside the tiny incorporated Town of Pawleys Island -- a reportedly unusual local wrinkle: the town itself may not levy its own municipal property tax at all. Most of the creek-front and marsh-front submarket this page is about sits outside that town's 131-person population count entirely, in unincorporated Georgetown County communities along the Waccamaw Neck mainland, which changes which layers of millage actually apply. This page lays out the statewide framework and the local wrinkle honestly, including where this research could not verify a specific current number.
South Carolina's 4%/6% Assessment Ratio, Applied to a Creek-Front Parcel
South Carolina's property-tax system starts with the same statewide assessment-ratio rule everywhere in the state, including here: owner-occupied primary residences are assessed at 4% of fair market value, while second homes, investment property, and most non-owner-occupied residential property are assessed at 6%. Because the 6% ratio is 50% higher than the 4% ratio on the same fair market value, that distinction matters more, not less, for a creek-front or ICW-adjacent property, since a meaningful share of this submarket -- gated golf-and-marina communities like Heritage Plantation and Pawleys Plantation, and vacation-oriented creek-front neighborhoods in South Litchfield -- skews toward second-home and investment ownership rather than primary residences.
A property owner must formally apply for the 4% legal-residence rate with the Georgetown County Assessor's office and provide documentation that the property is their actual primary residence; it is not automatic. A buyer purchasing a creek-front property as a second home or a short-term-rental investment should budget on the 6% assessment basis unless and until they can document owner-occupied status, and should not assume a prior owner's 4% rate carries forward to a new owner without a fresh application.
The Town of Pawleys Island: Reportedly No Municipal Property Tax
A distinctive, and reportedly real, local fact: since residents formed the Town of Pawleys Island, the town has not levied its own separate municipal property tax, according to a Litchfield-area real estate brokerage's own published guide to the area. If accurate, that would mean a property owner inside the town's actual incorporated limits -- which, per the 2020 Census, hold only 131 residents -- pays Georgetown County and school-district millage without an additional town-level rate layered on top, a genuine departure from how most incorporated South Carolina beach towns fund themselves.
This page treats that claim honestly as reported, not confirmed: it comes from a single real estate brokerage source, not from the Town of Pawleys Island's own ordinance text or Georgetown County's own tax-roll documentation pulled directly in this research pass. It is also worth stating plainly that most of the creek-front, dock-owning submarket this destination covers sits outside the town's tiny incorporated boundary anyway, in unincorporated Georgetown County communities along the Waccamaw Neck -- so for the majority of properties relevant to this page, the town's tax status may be moot regardless of whether the claim is accurate. Confirm directly with the Town of Pawleys Island and the Georgetown County Assessor's office whether a specific parcel sits inside town limits at all, and if so, what its actual current tax layers are.
Unincorporated Waccamaw Neck: County and School-District Millage
For the creek-front and marsh-front communities that sit outside the Town of Pawleys Island's limits -- which, based on the town's tiny 131-person population, is most of this submarket -- the applicable tax layers are Georgetown County's general millage, the relevant school district's millage, and any special-purpose district millage (fire protection, water/sewer, or a gated community's own property-owners' association assessment, which is a separate, non-tax cost). Aggregator sites (not a primary Georgetown County source) put a median effective property-tax rate in the broader Pawleys Island area around 0.55%, against a cited South Carolina statewide median around 0.72% and a national median around 1.02% -- directionally useful, but these are estimates built from blended data, not a specific millage calculation.
This page does not have a confirmed, current, primary-sourced Georgetown County general-fund millage rate or school-district millage rate to state as fact -- county millage is set annually by County Council and varies by taxing district within the county, and this research pass could not pull a specific, current, verified figure to the standard this site holds itself to. Get a current combined-millage estimate directly from the Georgetown County Assessor's office or its published property-tax calculator for the specific parcel in question, not from a general-area aggregator estimate.
A Note on Gated-Community Fees That Look Like Tax But Aren't
Creek-front property in communities like Heritage Plantation, Litchfield Plantation, and Pawleys Plantation commonly carries mandatory property-owners' association dues and, in some cases, club-membership fees tied to golf, marina, or clubhouse amenities -- Litchfield Plantation's own materials describe a beach clubhouse, swimming pool, a 60-slip marina, and a Carriage House Club membership as part of its amenity package, for example. These are real, recurring costs that function similarly to a tax bill in a monthly or annual budget, but they are private contractual obligations to a homeowners' association or club, not government property tax, and they do not appear on a county tax bill.
This page does not state a specific current HOA dues figure, club-membership fee, or marina slip-rental rate for any named community, because those change frequently and were not independently confirmed to a current, sourced figure in this research pass. Request current HOA/POA financial disclosures and any club-membership fee schedule directly from the specific community or its management company as part of due diligence, separate from -- and in addition to -- the government property-tax research described above.
What to Verify Before You Budget a Number
Grounded in sourced fact: South Carolina's statewide 4% owner-occupied / 6% non-owner-occupied assessment-ratio structure, applied identically to every parcel in the state regardless of waterfront type; the Town of Pawleys Island's tiny 131-resident population (2020 Census), meaning most of this submarket's creek-front property sits in unincorporated Georgetown County rather than inside town limits; and the existence of real, separate HOA/club fees in the area's major gated communities, distinct from government property tax.
What genuinely isn't confirmed here, stated honestly rather than guessed: whether the Town of Pawleys Island truly levies no municipal property tax (reported by one brokerage source only); the current Georgetown County general-fund millage rate and the current school-district millage rate that would apply to a specific parcel; and current HOA dues, club-membership fees, or marina slip rates for any named community. Before making a purchase decision, get a current, parcel-specific tax estimate from the Georgetown County Assessor's office (including its own property-tax calculator), confirm whether a specific address falls inside or outside the Town of Pawleys Island's limits, and request current financial disclosures directly from any relevant homeowners' association or club. Nothing on this page is legal, tax, or financial advice.
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Get a Free Agent Referral →Independent research. No ads. No sponsored listings. Data sourced from: South Carolina's statewide 4% owner-occupied / 6% non-owner-occupied property-tax assessment-ratio statute, which applies identically across this site's South Carolina markets; a Litchfield-area real estate brokerage's published guide reporting that the Town of Pawleys Island does not levy its own municipal property tax, a claim sourced to that single brokerage source and not independently verified against the town's own ordinance text or Georgetown County tax-roll documentation this research pass; the 2020 U.S. Census for the Town of Pawleys Island's 131-resident population figure; general Georgetown County and South Carolina property-tax-rate aggregator estimates (not a primary county source) for directional median effective tax rates; Litchfield Plantation's own published amenity materials describing its beach clubhouse, pool, 60-slip marina, and Carriage House Club membership; and Heritage Plantation and Pawleys Plantation's own materials describing their gated-community and homeowners'-association structure. Several real gaps are disclosed rather than filled with an invented number, including the current, confirmed status of the Town of Pawleys Island's municipal tax levy; the current Georgetown County general-fund and school-district millage rates for a specific parcel; and current HOA dues, club fees, or marina slip rates for any named community. Tax rates, millage, and HOA fees change; confirm current figures directly with the Georgetown County Assessor's office, the Town of Pawleys Island, and the relevant homeowners' association or club before making a purchase decision. Nothing on this page is legal, tax, or financial advice.