SCACPA is excited to announce that a Conformity bill for the 2021 legislative session has been signed into law by Gov. Henry McMaster on Tuesday, May 18.

The bill was amended to decouple with 10 federal provisions. It also exempts the first $10,200 of federal unemployment payments from income tax.

The Conformity bill SC H.4017 (Reps. Simrill and Pope), relating to the application of the Internal Revenue Code to state income tax laws as amended, received its third reading in the Senate on Thursday, May 13, and the House then granted its recurrence.

The Senate further amended the bill to authorize $61,300,000 from the federal American Rescue Plan Act to the state general fund to account for the income tax exemption.

SCACPA thanks the legislative leadership who worked with South Carolina CPAs to get the Conformity bill through.

Two additional tax-related bills of interest to CPAs were also signed into law:

S.436 (Senator Cromer) deletes an aggregate credit provision and sets an annual limit for community development tax credits. The bill sunsets in 2023.

S.627 (Senators Bennett, Adams, Kimbrell, M. Johnson, Davis and others) relating to income tax rates for pass-through trade and business income and “S” corporations at the entity level (SALT Limitations). The bill creates an election for the business to pay the tax at the entity level, making it a direct tax and circumventing the current $10,000 limit on state and local taxes on the personal return. Previously, this bill was amended in subcommittee to clean up some language, including changing electing entity to “qualified” entity.

Check out SCACPA’s “View From the Dome” newsletter from Friday, May 14, for a full report on how the General Assembly adjourned Sine Die last Thursday, ending the first year of the two-year legislative session.

Legislators adopted a Sine Die Resolution to allow them to return to session in the coming weeks for unfinished business, including finalizing the state budget, redistricting and appropriating funds from the federal American Rescue Plan Act.

Look for our next “View From the Dome” update this Friday for further news on these bills and everything else of importance at the close of the 2021 Legislative Session.