WeVote
Log In

Bill

Bill

H 3489

IRC conformity

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Nathan Ballentine and 1 co-sponsor

SC H 3489 aligns the state income tax with the federal IRC through Dec 31, 2024 and adds an automatic extension for 2024-2025 federal provisions, avoiding timing gaps.

Referred to Committee on Finance
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · H 3489

Summary — H 3489 (IRC conformity)

Status: Referred to Committee on Finance
Introduced: February 27, 2025
Classification: Bill (amendment to S.C. Code §12-6-40)
Effective date: On approval by the Governor

Main purpose

H 3489 is a technical tax conformity bill that updates South Carolina’s statutory reference to the federal Internal Revenue Code (IRC) and provides a limited automatic conformity rule for certain expiring federal provisions. Its primary aim is to align South Carolina income tax law with the federal IRC as of the end of 2024 and to avoid timing mismatches when Congress briefly extends otherwise-expired federal provisions.

Key provisions

  • Updates the statutory definition of “Internal Revenue Code” in S.C. Code §12-6-40(A)(1)(a) to read: the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended through December 31, 2024 (and includes the IRC’s effective date provisions).
  • Adds/clarifies an automatic-extension rule at §12-6-40(A)(1)(c): if IRC sections that South Carolina has adopted and that expired on December 31, 2024 are extended (but not otherwise amended) by Congress during 2024–2025, those same sections or portions are also extended for South Carolina income tax purposes in the same manner they are extended federally.
  • Effective immediately upon the Governor’s approval.

Who would be affected

  • Individual and corporate taxpayers filing South Carolina income tax returns (their state tax base is tied to the adopted federal code).
  • South Carolina Department of Revenue (administration, forms, guidance).
  • Tax preparers, employers, and financial institutions that compute state taxable income or withholding.
  • State fiscal planners — because federal extensions can change state revenue baselines.

Practical effect and likely impact

  • Provides legal clarity by adopting the IRC through 12/31/2024 so the state tax code reflects federal changes up to that date.
  • The automatic-extension clause avoids timing mismatches and the need for emergency state legislative fixes when Congress temporarily extends federal tax provisions that had expired at the end of 2024 (so South Carolina taxpayers get the same treatment as at the federal level for those specific extensions).
  • The fiscal impact is contingent on which federal provisions (if any) are extended in 2024–2025 and their revenue effects; the bill itself is procedural/technical rather than creating new tax benefits.
  • Reduces administrative uncertainty for taxpayers and the Department of Revenue.

Procedural notes and materials consistency

  • The posted text versions dated 12/05/2024 and 04/30/2025 contain the same substantive change described above.
  • The bill is recorded as referred to Finance (per the supplied status). The supplied file also includes unrelated Massachusetts docket text (House Docket No. 1602) concerning zero‑percent municipal borrowing for green energy; that appears to be an insertion error and is not part of the South Carolina IRC-conformity change. Confirm jurisdiction and bill text if further legislative-history detail is required.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

Sign in to ask a question.