How to dissolve an LLC in South Carolina

What does it cost to dissolve an LLC in South Carolina?

South Carolina is on the inexpensive end for the filing itself. The Secretary of State's fee to terminate an LLC has generally been modest, often around $10, but fee schedules change, so treat that as a planning figure and confirm the current amount on the Secretary of State's business filings page before you submit. The filing fee is separate from any final tax the Department of Revenue expects.

For an idle LLC that never traded, the filing fee is essentially the whole cost. For one that operated, the larger figure is usually the final state tax and any open Department of Revenue accounts, not the termination fee. The table below sets South Carolina beside a few states people often compare it to.

Fees and form names change; we confirm the current figures with the Secretary of State before we file. Compare states on the main dissolution guide.

How do you dissolve an LLC in South Carolina, step by step?

The order is what keeps a South Carolina dissolution clean. Filing the Articles of Termination while your Department of Revenue accounts are still open is the most common way people leave a loose end behind.

1. Vote to dissolve and record it. Approve the dissolution the way your operating agreement requires, usually a member vote, and put the decision in a short written resolution.
2. Wind up the business. Notify known creditors, settle or set aside money for debts, collect receivables, and distribute anything left to members. Handle debts before distributionsnot after.
3. File Articles of Termination. Submit them to the South Carolina Secretary of State and pay the fee. This is the core filing that ends the entity at the state level.
4. Close your state tax accounts. File final South Carolina returns marked final and close any Department of Revenue accounts, sales tax, withholding, or others the LLC held.
5. Close the IRS account. File final federal returns and send the IRS a letter to close the business account attached to your EIN.
6. Cancel everything else. Local business licenses, retail licenses, DBAs, and any registrations in other states.

Which form do you file in South Carolina?

A South Carolina LLC ends its existence by filing Articles of Termination with the South Carolina Secretary of State. That document records that the LLC has wound up its affairs and is terminating. Confirm the current form and title on the Secretary of State's business filings page before submitting, since forms are periodically refreshed.

South Carolina uses “termination” language for LLCs where some states say “dissolution,” but the document does the same job as the generic articles of dissolution used elsewhere. For an LLC, the Articles of Termination are the anchor filing.

Does South Carolina require tax clearance first?

South Carolina does not require you to attach a separate tax-clearance certificate to the Articles of Termination the way Texas requires a Certificate of Account Status. What the state expects instead is that you file your final South Carolina returns marked final and close any Department of Revenue accounts. The Secretary of State and the Department of Revenue are separate offices, so the termination filing does not close your tax accounts for you.

South Carolina state tax accounts to close

South Carolina does not impose a separate annual franchise tax on most LLCs the way California's $800 tax works, which keeps the closing simpler. The obligations that matter are the ones tied to how the LLC operated: income tax filings, and any accounts it registered for with the Department of Revenue.

If your LLC collected sales tax, withheld payroll tax, or held a retail license, each of those accounts needs a final return and a formal close-out. An open Department of Revenue account keeps generating filing expectations even after the entity is terminated at the Secretary of State, so this step is what actually ends the state-level obligations. If you are not sure which accounts your LLC registered for, a specialist can help you check before you file.

How long does it take in South Carolina?

The paperwork itself is quick, a day or two to prepare the Articles of Termination correctly once winding-up is done. Processing at the South Carolina Secretary of State depends on their queue and whether you file online or by mail; it has commonly run from a few business days to a few weeks. Because the state controls its own timing, we confirm the realistic current window before filing rather than promising a date the state owns.

Confirm the current processing times with the Secretary of State before relying on a date, the queue moves.

What about your EIN and final taxes?

Filing the Articles of Termination closes the South Carolina entity. It does not touch your federal tax life. The IRS does not cancel an EIN, the number is permanent and never reassigned, so what you actually do is close the IRS business account behind it. The IRS will not close that account while final returns are outstanding, and the South Carolina filing gives the IRS no signal at all.

On the state side, file your final South Carolina income return marked final, close any Department of Revenue accounts, and file the relevant final federal return for how your LLC is taxed. Getting those “final” markers right is what ends the annual cycle with the state and the IRS together.

What if you never used the South Carolina LLC?

This is the simpler case. If the LLC never conducted business, never obtained an EIN, and registered no Department of Revenue accounts, a state-only termination is usually the whole job, file the Articles of Termination and confirm there is nothing open on the tax side. See cancelling an LLC you never used for how that lighter path works.

If the LLC did get an EIN, even without trading, you still have that IRS account to close. The honest answer depends on those facts, and a specialist can confirm which route your situation puts you in before you pay for anything you do not need.

Rather have it handled?

We prepare and file the Articles of Termination, guide the final South Carolina returns and Department of Revenue close-outs, and, if your LLC ever had an EIN, close the IRS business account too. Two situations, two prices, a specialist call in both. If you are not sure which is yours, a specialist is on WhatsApp 24/7 and will tell you straight, even when the honest answer is the $99 or nothing at all.