SC gas tax rises this week, meaning you’ll pay more at the pump. Here’s how much
South Carolina and out-of-state drivers will pay more for gas ahead of the July Fourth weekend holiday.
The fourth of six installments of a 2 cent hike on the state’s gas tax takes effect July 1, increasing to 24 cents per gallon.
Three years ago, South Carolina legislators raised the state’s gas tax and other fees to help fix roads and bridges and jumpstart interstate construction projects that are part of a 10-year infrastructure plan under the South Carolina’s Department of Transportation.
Those projects include the 16-mile Interstate 26 Midlands Connection road project, stretching from Exit 85 in Little Mountain to Exit 101 in Irmo. Construction is expected to start soon, and on Tuesday, the transportation department announced that a speed limit of 55 mph will take effect July 7 from mile-marker 81 to mile-marker 91. The speed limit will last throughout the entire construction.
The 10-year plan also includes construction on the corridor that connects interstates 126, 26 and 20 known as “Malfunction Junction.”
That project — which will include widening portions of I-26 and adding several ramps — is projected to cost $1.6 billion.
Work won’t start until next year. The project is expected to be complete by 2029.
Since the inception of the gas tax hike, more than $360 million in transportation dollars has been dumped into a fund for more than $1.3 billion worth of statewide infrastructure maintenance projects and interstate widening, according to a June memo from the Department of Revenue.
South Carolina taxpayers can claim a credit on their state income tax returns every time they pump gas or get car work done.
But drivers have to save their receipts.
On Tuesday, a revenue spokesperson said the credit had so far been claimed on 69,453 state income tax returns for an average credit of $42.41. And, of the $65 million available for the 2020 tax season, nearly $3 million had been claimed.
South Carolina will log two more gas tax increases, the first to 26 cents in July 2021, and then again a year later, when the tax rises to 28 cents.
This story was originally published June 30, 2020 at 12:42 PM.
