In SC this is how soon you can get your tax refund in 2026
New year, new tax season.
The South Carolina Department of Revenue has announced it will begin accepting returns on Jan. 26, the same date as the Internal Revenue Service.
The due date for both is the traditional April 15.
SC will begin processing returns Feb. 2. The agency said in a news release that is set to “allow employers time to meet the January 31 W-2 submission deadline.”
If you owe South Carolina taxes and pay electronically by May 1, no penalties or interest accrue.
Any federal taxes owed are due on April 15.
SC tax refunds
Refunds from SC can take up to eight weeks, but filing electronically could reduce the time. The IRS generally issues most refunds for electronically filed returns with direct deposit in under 21 days.
Paper returns typically take longer, usually 6 to 8 weeks for processing. Both the IRS and SCDOR are pushing the idea of filing electronically.
The IRS says refund status is generally available 24 hours after e-filing or four weeks after filing a paper return.
Whatever program you use to do so can more accurately estimate the time as well as update you on where your refund is in the process.
The IRS said it expects about 164 million individual income tax returns this year and has supplied online tools and resources. New this year is a Schedule 1-A for recently enacted tax deductions, such as no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on car loan interest and/or the enhanced deduction for seniors, the IRS said.
Avoid tax filing mistakes
SCDOR says beware of the common mistakes that can delay your refund or cause problems with payments.
- Paper returns and doing the math yourself causes errors
- Using variations of your name
- Not updating your mailing address
- Filing without your W-2 and 1099 forms
- Being careless as you enter information
Be careful when entering information about when you want to pay any amount owed. Filing software will tell the IRS to debit your account on whatever information is provided, whether it is what you intended or not.
This story was originally published January 14, 2026 at 6:00 AM.