What are South Carolina's Filing Requirements?

According to South Carolina Instructions for Form SC 1040, you must file a South Carolina income tax return if:

You are a resident if:

You filed a federal return with income that was taxable by South Carolina.
You had South Carolina income taxes withheld from your wages.
You are married filing jointly, age 65 or older and your gross income is greater than federal gross income filing requirement amount plus $30,000.
You file using any other filing status, age 65 or older and your gross income is greater than the federal gross income filing requirement amount plus $15,000.
You are age 65 or older and have South Carolina income tax withheld from your wages.

You are a nonresident if:

You had South Carolina income taxes withheld from your wages.
You are a nonresident or part year resident and you had received income from South Carolina rental property, businesses or other investments.

Can I File a Different Filing Status Than My Federal Return?

If you file a joint federal return, you must file a joint SC1040 with the Schedule NR. You will report all income for the entire year to South Carolina. Your spouse will only report income earned in this state.
If you file separate federal returns, you must file a separate South Carolina return. Your spouse must also file a separate South Carolina return if they have income taxable by South Carolina.