Serving Barnwell County and its neighbors since 1852
Barnwell County, South Carolina (the “County”) announced today that it has identified an error on the 2025–2026 property tax bills and is taking corrective action to ensure all taxpayers are treated fairly. The County recently discovered that the bills, which were mailed to property owners earlier this month, included updated property values from the County’s latest reassessment, but did not include a required adjustment, known as a “rollback”, to the property tax millage rate.
South Carolina law requires counties to reassess property every five years to keep assessed values consistent with current market conditions. Reassessments must be revenue neutral, meaning the tax rate must be adjusted, or “rolled back,” to prevent an increase in overall tax collections. Due to the rollback not being applied to the County’s tax rate, property owners were billed at a rate that exceeded what was intended for this tax year. “This was an honest oversight, and we want to assure our citizens that the County is taking all the proper steps to make it right,” said Hon. Freddie L. Houston, Sr., Chairman of Barnwell County Council. “For most taxpayers, the adjustment will be modest, but accuracy and trust are very important to us.”
The County is working to calculate the total amount of over-levy and will follow the process required by South Carolina law to correct the error. Under state law, any excess tax revenue collected must be deposited into a restricted account and held by the County Treasurer. The County is currently reviewing the appropriate steps to make the necessary adjustment through the proper legal process.
County officials are coordinating with the County Auditor, County Treasurer, and the South Carolina Department of Revenue to ensure that the rollback calculation is accurate and applied consistently across all affected properties. The County also bills and collects taxes for other local taxing bodies, such as the school district and municipalities, and will work with those entities to confirm their rates are correctly reflected.
The County will provide updates as soon as the review is complete and more information is available. Property owners should be aware that current tax bills remain due and payable as issued, and payments should be made by the stated due date in order to avoid late fees and penalties.
“We appreciate the community’s patience and understanding as we work quickly and transparently to make this right,” added Chairman Houston.
Date: November 3, 2025
