South Carolina LLC Annual Report Exists Only Under a Corporate Tax Election

Where a South Carolina LLC Annual Report Actually Gets Filed

Title 33, Chapter 44, the LLC Act, gives the South Carolina Secretary of State no yearly filing to collect from a South Carolina limited liability company or from a foreign LLC holding a South Carolina certificate of authority. The annual report requirement sits in the tax code: § 12‑20‑20 has every corporation file one at the South Carolina Department of Revenue; a Title 12 definition decides which LLCs count.

‘corporation’ includes a limited liability company or professional or other association taxed for South Carolina income tax purposes as a corporationS.C. Code § 12‑2‑25(A)(3)

Schedule D, the official South Carolina annual report inside the corporate tax return, is drafted for corporations. It asks for the principal office, the in-state agent and its address, authorized and issued shares, the directors “or individuals functioning as directors” and the principal officers, the date business began in South Carolina, and the stated capital that sets the fee.

Due Date: the 15th of the Third or Fourth Month After the Tax Year

The filing requirements and the month follow the LLC’s federal tax election, through the return it files.

Section 12‑20‑20 sets the fourth month “unless otherwise provided,” and the Department of Revenue’s S corporation page puts the SC1120S, Schedule D and the fee on the 15th day of the third month. For an LLC with an S election, an April 15 date is a month too late.

Any 15th that lands on a weekend or a day the department or the Postal Service is closed is pushed to the next business day under § 12‑60‑50, and the calculator above applies it.

Filing Schedule D

There is no separate form to file: the annual report travels inside the SC1120 or SC1120S. The department recommends e‑filing through an approved software vendor, and requires electronic filing and payment once the liability for a filing period reaches $15,000.

On paper

Below $15,000, the paper return goes to SCDOR Corporate Taxable, PO Box 100151, Columbia, SC 29202 with a balance due, or to Corporate Refund, PO Box 125, Columbia, SC 29214‑0032 for a refund or zero return.

Paying the fee

On MyDORWAY by card or electronic check (Business Income Tax Payment), or by check to SCDOR with the FEIN, tax year and form number in the memo.

An extension, requested on Form SC1120‑T or by paying on MyDORWAY, moves the filing, not the fee: under § 12‑20‑20(C) the license fee stays due on the original date.

What Is Form CL‑1 in South Carolina?

Form CL‑1 is the Initial Annual Report of Corporations, filed once with a $25 minimum license fee. Its instructions say it plainly: “LLCs should only complete the CL-1 if they’re taxed as a corporation.”

Deadline

Within 60 days after the business starts in South Carolina or puts capital to use in the state. A business that starts on March 2, 2026 has until Friday, May 1, 2026.

Where an LLC sends it

To the Department of Revenue on MyDORWAY: inside the Business Tax Application when the tax account is opened, or later as a web message (More tab, “Send the SCDOR a Message”). Corporations file it with the Secretary of State alongside their Articles of Incorporation.

What it asks

FEIN, the start date (an expected date is accepted), the month the books close (December by default), an S election box, a registered agent who is a South Carolina resident, share counts and the owners or officers.

If it is late

Interest at the federal rate, a 5% monthly late-filing penalty and a 0.5% monthly late-payment penalty, each capped at 25%.

The CL‑1 instructions count the 60 days from the start of business and say nothing about an LLC that elects corporate taxation years after it began operating.

How the License Fee Is Figured From Capital and Paid-In Surplus

Under § 12‑20‑50, the fee is $15 plus $1 for each $1,000, or fraction of $1,000, of capital stock and paid-in surplus as shown by the records “on the first day of the taxable year in which the report is filed.” A $25 floor applies, so any amount up to $10,000 costs $25 (the return’s own line, × 0.001 plus $15, can land less than $1 under the statute’s count).

An LLC doing business partly outside South Carolina apportions the fee by its income tax ratio for the preceding year, but “the minimum license fee, however, may not be apportioned” (§ 12‑20‑60). The department also applies the fee paid with a return to the following tax year, which is why the first page of the SC1120 and SC1120S asks for an income tax period and a separate license fee period.

“Zero annual fees” is accurate for a South Carolina LLC under default taxation only. With an S or C election, the license fee comes back every year.

SC1065, Schedule L or Nothing: LLCs Without a Corporate Election

Under partnership taxation, a multi-member LLC owes the SC1065 on or before the 15th of the third month after its year ends; the department’s partnership page names “any multiple member LLC not taxed as a corporation.” The SC1065 has no Schedule D and no license fee.

A single-member LLC without a corporate election “is not regarded as an entity separate from its owner” (§ 12‑2‑25(B)(1)), so it files no return of its own. When the owner is a corporation, the LLC appears on Schedule L of the parent’s SC1120 or SC1120S, the list of disregarded LLCs doing business in South Carolina or registered with the Secretary of State.

When an Unpaid License Fee Leads to Dissolution

Under § 33‑44‑809, the Secretary of State can dissolve an LLC administratively when it leaves “a fee, tax, or penalty imposed by this chapter or other law” unpaid, which takes in the license fee owed to the Department of Revenue. The steps run in this order:

1. 60 days lateThe office can start an administrative dissolution (§ 33‑44‑809).
2. 60 days after the noticeThe LLC can still correct the ground before the certificate of dissolution is signed (§ 33‑44‑810).
3. Two years to applyReinstatement is open “within two years after the effective date of dissolution” (§ 33‑44‑811(a)); when a missed tax return caused it, the Secretary of State directs the LLC to the department first.
4. Form C‑268, $60The Certificate of Tax Compliance request is processed within ten business days, and the certificate stays valid for 30 days, so it is requested just before the reinstatement application goes in.