Finance

Accountant Salary in South Carolina (2026)

The average Accountant in South Carolina earns around $85,000/year. After taxes, your estimated take-home is $64,685/year ($5,390/month).

Take-Home Pay Breakdown

CategoryAmount
Annual Take-Home Pay
$64,685
Monthly Take-Home Pay
$5,390
Biweekly Take-Home Pay
$2,488
Hourly Take-Home Pay

based on 2,080 hrs/year

$31/hr
Federal Tax
$9,870
State Tax
$3,943
FICA Taxes
$6,503
Effective Tax Rate

total taxes ÷ gross salary

23.9%
Estimates only — not tax advice. · Full disclaimer →

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Accountant Salary Ranges in South Carolina

Entry Level (0–3 yrs)

$58,000

/year

See tax breakdown →

Mid Level (3–7 yrs)

$85,000

/year

See tax breakdown →

Senior Level (7+ yrs)

$122,000

/year

See tax breakdown →

Not all Accountants earn the same — not even close

South Carolina's accountant market is anchored by the Big 4 Greenville + Charleston offices (Deloitte + EY + KPMG + PwC), Elliott Davis Greenville (the largest SC-HQ'd CPA firm with substantial Pacific Northwest expansion + ~600 employees across SC + NC + GA + VA offices), Dixon Hughes Goodman (now Forvis Mazars post-2022 merger, substantial SC presence), Bauknight Pietras & Stormer Columbia + WebsterRogers Florence, plus substantial corporate accounting at BMW + BlueCross BlueShield of SC + Sonoco + Michelin NA + Domtar + Boeing 787 + Volvo + Mercedes-Benz Vans + MUSC.

Partner (Big 4 / Elliott Davis / Forvis Mazars)

$345,000–$785,000+ TC

Big 4 Charleston/Greenville partner · Elliott Davis partner · profit-share + equity

Senior Manager / Director

$135,000–$235,000

Big 4 senior manager · Elliott Davis senior manager · Fortune 500 director · partner-track band

Senior Tax Manager (Corporate)

$118,000–$185,000

Big 4 corp tax + Fortune 500 tax · SC corp tax + multi-state + manufacturing specialty

Senior Audit Manager (Big 4)

$115,000–$175,000

Big 4 SC audit · Fortune 500 public-company audits · ICFR + SOX specialty

Senior Controller / Director Accounting

$125,000–$200,000

Fortune 500 corporate controller · SC manufacturing + healthcare + federal contractor

Senior Forensic / Valuation

$108,000–$185,000

Big 4 forensic + transaction services · CFE + ABV credential premium

Senior Tax Accountant (Private Wealth)

$98,000–$165,000

Elliott Davis private client · WebsterRogers private wealth · SC no estate tax specialty

Mid-Level Senior (3-5 yrs)

$68,000–$95,000

Big 4 senior associate · Elliott Davis senior · transitioning to manager band · CPA-track

Junior Staff Accountant (0-3 yrs)

$52,000–$72,000

USC Moore School MAcc + Clemson + College of Charleston + Furman accounting pipeline · entry CPA

Senior Industry Accountant

$82,000–$128,000

BMW · Sonoco · Boeing · Michelin · BCBS · Volvo · industry-specialty premium

Worth knowing: Elliott Davis Greenville is the largest SC-HQ'd CPA firm and a feature most national accounting-career surveys understate for the state. Elliott Davis (~600 employees across SC + NC + GA + VA offices, ~$130M revenue, HQ Greenville with offices in Charleston + Columbia + Charlotte + Augusta + Norfolk, founded 1925, one of the largest accounting firms HQ'd in the Southeast outside of Atlanta + Charlotte) operates substantial private-client + manufacturing + healthcare + government tax + audit + advisory practices. Elliott Davis partners clear $345-785K+ TC. The country's $11B BMW Spartanburg + ~$5B-7B-revenue Sonoco + ~$22K NA Michelin + ~$6K Boeing 787 + Volvo + Mercedes-Benz Vans Charleston combined create the largest single-state US automotive + aerospace + packaging manufacturing accounting cluster outside MI + AL — supporting substantial industry-specialty corporate accounting at $82-128K TC. SC has NO state estate tax (sunset 2005) — meaningful differentiator vs MA $2M / OR $1M cliffs for senior partner retention. SC's 6.5% top bracket catches partner + director comp at $250K+ TC but is substantially lower than OR/MN's 9.85-9.9% tops. SC has 0% income tax up to $3,460 first bracket — exempt entry income. RTW state since 1954 with ~2.5% union density (among lowest US).

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