Proposed Budget - Fiscal Year 2025
On January 5, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster proposed a fiscal 2025 budget that recommends $40.0 billion in all funds, an increase of $1.1 billion, or 2.9 percent, over fiscal 2024. The general funds portion of the budget totals $12.3 billion, an increase of $636.6 million, or 5.5 percent, over fiscal 2024. The governor’s budget assumes net general fund revenues of $12.3 billion, an increase of 5.5 percent over fiscal 2024. The budget provides $54.3 million in non-recurring funds to increase the state’s rainy day fund to $1.2 billion, which is 10 percent of the general funds available in the General Appropriations Act, and is the largest rainy day fund in state history. In tax policy changes, the budget proposes a $2,000 nonrefundable state income tax credit for every active-duty law enforcement officer and first responder employed by a public entity, providing $39.5 million in tax relief. The budget also includes $99.8 million to decrease the individual income tax rate to 6.3 percent for tax year 2024 after meeting the statutory threshold for revenue growth, automatically triggering the tax reduction.