Greenville County Penny Sales Tax: Common Questions
FAQ
COMMON QUESTIONS
How long would the tax last?
Not more than eight years, or until $1.1 billion has been collected, whichever comes first. Both limits are printed in Question 1. State law would allow a transportation tax to run up to 25 years; this ordinance sets eight. If the measure is approved on November 3, 2026, the Board of Elections and Voter Registration must certify the result by November 30, 2026, and collection would begin May 1, 2027.
Would groceries, gasoline, or prescriptions be taxed?
No. County Council elected to exempt unprepared food, the groceries eligible for purchase with USDA food benefits, at the July 21, 2026 final reading. The exemption applies to the item, not the shopper, so it covers everyone who buys those groceries. Prepared food and restaurant meals are not on that list and would be taxed. Motor fuel and prescription drugs are exempt from all South Carolina sales tax under general state law, so they were never subject to a local sales tax. Rent and mortgage payments are not taxable retail sales. Residential electricity, home heating fuel and water are exempt.
Why does the county measure appear as two questions?
Because the two questions rest on two different laws. Question 1 authorizes the tax under S.C. Code §4-37-30. Question 2 authorizes up to $150,000,000 in general obligation bonds under the South Carolina Constitution, Article X, Section 14(6), which permits a local government to incur such debt by majority vote in a referendum. The bonds would be repaid from the tax, so Question 2 lets the county borrow against future collections and begin larger projects earlier. The two questions are decided separately; Question 1 can pass without Question 2. Bond costs are paid from the same money: the $1,100,000,000 cap "includes administrative costs and debt service on bonds," and each project amount includes "any sums as may be required for the issuance of and debt service for bonds."
Is there a list of the roads and projects?
Not a fixed one. The ordinance produces a project list every year through the county budget. The County Administrator compiles the list and submits it to County Council by its first regular meeting in May, and Council adopts a budget for the tax revenues before each fiscal year begins. The county has published a preliminary project list for the first year and an interactive map of those projects. The list is marked "Final list to be approved by Council annually." It covers intersection, safety and congestion projects; bridge and drainage projects; preliminary engineering, right-of-way acquisition and planning studies; resurfacing of county roads, state roads and Fountain Inn streets; and pavement preservation on county roads. It lists no transit projects and no greenbelt land or easement purchases, and it does not say how the transit and greenbelt shares would be used in the first year. For county-maintained roads, the starting point is the county's February 2024 Countywide Infrastructure Inventory and Assessment, which rated 60% of county-maintained pavement fair or poor. The county maintains 1,840 miles of road, and the six municipalities maintain 600 more. Cities are allocated a share of road funds, subject to the ordinance’s reductions and approval of eligible projects. This differs from the 2024 measure, which carried a fixed list of 1,564 projects written by an appointed commission, as that statute required. The state law behind this tax allows that flexibility so the county can meet needs that cannot be anticipated years in advance. If a complete list were fixed for the whole period, another storm like Hurricane Helene would be hard to respond to, and continued growth will bring challenges that are not evident at the start.
Could the money be spent on something other than roads, transit and greenbelts?
No. State law provides that the revenue "must be used only for the purpose stated in the imposition ordinance," and the ordinance bars any transfer to a purpose outside the three approved in the referendum. All spending is subject to an annual independent audit made available to the public.
If I live in a city with its own measure, would I pay both?
If both pass, yes. Greenville, Simpsonville, Mauldin and Travelers Rest each placed a separate 1% municipal measure on the November 3 ballot under the Municipal Tax Relief Act of 2026. Greer and Fountain Inn did not. Inside a city where both measures pass, taxable purchases would carry 8%: the state's 6%, plus 1% for the county, plus 1% for the city. Outside those cities, 7%. A city measure must direct at least 20% of its proceeds to a credit against that city's owner-occupied property tax; the county measure contains no property-tax credit.
