Payroll tax account closure in South Carolina
Close mid-year in South Carolina and you still owe the WH-1606 annual return, not a WH-1605. Getting that wrong is the usual reason the account stays open.
2 agencies · Verified 2026-08-03
South Carolina
South Carolina state tax filings.
Which agencies South Carolina uses, which forms they take, and what South Carolina does differently. Every entry carries the date it was checked against the agency's own material.
Who you deal with in South Carolina
South Carolina Department of Revenue
Retail License and the sales and use tax account behind it
MyDORWAY
South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce
Unemployment insurance employer account
SUITS, the State Unemployment Insurance Tax System
2 separate agencies, on 2 separate systems. Doing something with one does nothing to the others.
What South Carolina does differently
- The fourth quarter return is not a WH-1605. It is the WH-1606, and it is required if the account was open for any portion of the year. Close in February and the WH-1606 is still coming, covering the whole year, not the stub. This is the single most common South Carolina mistake.
- Twenty four months of no sales forces the issue. South Carolina law requires you to surrender the Retail License after 24 consecutive months without sales. Businesses that pause rather than close, or that hold a license speculatively, hit this without ever deciding to close anything.
- Two numbers, two lengths, two agencies. A nine digit Withholding File Number from Revenue and a six digit Employer Account Number from Employment and Workforce. Payroll software asking for one and given the other fails in a way that is easy to misdiagnose.
- A dormant license is not a free option. Twenty four consecutive months without sales requires surrender under state law. Businesses that pause, or that register early in case they need it, run into this without ever deciding to close.
Filings we handle in South Carolina
Sales tax account closure in South Carolina
South Carolina law makes you surrender a Retail License after 24 straight months without sales, whether or not you meant to close. We handle the closure.
1 agency · Verified 2026-08-03
Payroll tax registration in South Carolina
SCDOR issues a nine digit Withholding File Number and SCDEW determines your unemployment liability separately. Two agencies, two numbers, two different formats.
2 agencies · Verified 2026-08-03
Sales tax registration in South Carolina
South Carolina law requires you to surrender a Retail License after 24 consecutive months without sales, so a dormant license eventually forces a decision.
1 agency · Verified 2026-08-03
You keep the client. We never email them.