South Carolina grants
& benefits: Healthy Connections without expansion, a $50,000 homestead break and lottery-funded tuition.

Without expansion, Medicaid here works by category. SCDHHS lists children, parents and caretaker relatives, pregnant women, people over 65, people with disabilities, children with developmental delays and breast or cervical cancer patients as the groups usually eligible.

The parent and caretaker limit is low: 62% of the poverty line, or $1,705 monthly for a household of four from March 1, 2026. Children reach much higher, up to 208% ($5,720 a month for four) through Partners for Healthy Children, and a pregnant woman's coverage runs 12 months after the birth.

People aged 65 and up, or blind or disabled, qualify on income up to $1,330 monthly (the poverty line for one) and resources up to $9,950. QMB uses those limits to pay Medicare premiums, copays and deductibles. For one person, SLMB (to $1,596) and QI (to $1,796) pay just the Part B premium, with no Medicaid card.

KFF says the new federal Medicaid work requirements reach expansion adults, plus partial-expansion waiver adults in Georgia and Wisconsin. South Carolina covers neither group, so an hours test here would come only through Palmetto Pathways, a state waiver that is still pending.

The federal rule and its exemptions are explained in our Medicaid work requirements guide.

QMB, SLMB and QI are compared side by side in our Medicare Savings Programs guide.

The state return exempts Social Security and railroad retirement pay that the IRS taxed. Income from a qualifying retirement account earns a deduction of up to $3,000 a year before 65 and up to $10,000 a year after.

From the year you turn 65 you can also deduct $15,000 against any South Carolina income. Retirement or military retirement deductions you claim come off that $15,000 first, except when claimed as a surviving spouse. The 2025 SC1040 instructions still list the $15,000 amount.

The homestead exemption exempts from tax the first $50,000 of fair market value of your legal residence. You must be at least 65, totally and permanently disabled, or legally blind by December 31, and have lived in the state for a full calendar year by then.

Apply once at your county auditor's office, bringing proof such as a birth certificate or SC driver's license; you reapply only if you move. For tax year 2026, SCDOR says the state also authorized a temporary extra homestead amount that your auditor applies if your account qualifies.

A veteran whose service-connected disability is rated total and permanent can have the dwelling home exempted from property tax, whether owned alone or jointly with a spouse. The county must already have granted the 4% legal residence assessment ratio on that home.

The same rating exempts two private passenger vehicles the veteran owns or leases, registered alone or jointly with a spouse. Register the vehicles with the SCDMV before applying. A surviving spouse who stays unmarried can claim the home exemption and one vehicle.

SCDOR says VA rating decision letters do not satisfy the law. Bring a certificate from the VA or your county veterans service officer showing the total and permanent rating and its effective date, then apply on MyDORWAY or mail Form PT-401-I.

Military retirement pay is fully exempt from state income tax at any age, and a surviving spouse receiving it can claim the same deduction. Retirement pay for reserve or National Guard service is exempt too.

The South Carolina Education Lottery funds the state's main need-based and merit awards, and only state residents qualify. The SC Need-based Grant is worth as much as $3,500 annually for full-time students at eligible public colleges, or $1,750 part time. File the FAFSA; the campus aid office sets the amount.

At technical colleges and some two-year campuses, Lottery Tuition Assistance pays a set amount per credit hour, $80 this year, for students taking at least six hours. SC WINS then helps cover tuition and required fees still owed after other aid.

Merit awards are separate. LIFE is worth as much as $5,000 annually, and Palmetto Fellows pays up to $6,700 as a freshman and $7,500 after that, with STEM, education and accounting majors able to add an enhancement on top.

Residents aged 60 or older can attend public college classes without paying tuition, on a space-available basis, under state law. They still have to meet the school's admission standards.

More than 590,000 South Carolinians get SNAP in an average month, DSS reports; about 48% are under 18 and nearly a quarter are over 50. Apply on the DSS Benefits Portal or through a county office. Benefits start within 30 days, or within seven for households needing expedited help.

USDA approved a waiver that takes candy, energy drinks, soft drinks and sweetened beverages off the SNAP list in South Carolina. USDA then told DSS to postpone the project, called Healthy Food SC, to a revised start date of November 1, 2026.

Income limits and EBT deposit dates are in our South Carolina food stamps guide.

The Office of Economic Opportunity sets LIHEAP's framework yet accepts no applications itself. Every dollar goes to the local Community Action Agency for your county, which decides eligibility and pays the power or fuel company.

Household income must not top 60% of the state's median income: $31,993 a year ($2,666.08 monthly) when living alone and $61,525 a year ($5,127.08 monthly) with four people.

Bring proof of citizenship or qualified immigrant status, a government ID showing you live in South Carolina, 30 days of gross income for every adult, and a current need such as a bill due in an adult's name.

Agencies may serve households less often or pay less than the state maximum to stretch funds. A denial is appealed to the agency first, then in writing to the Office of Economic Opportunity.

The federal program behind this aid is covered in our LIHEAP program guide.