SC State Fuel Use Credit

If you filing your 2019 tax return, and the car was registered to you during 2019, it would qualify.  Selling the car later would not prevent you from taking the credit.  Use the information from when the car was registered to you during the tax year.  

Eligibility

• Only resident taxpayers are eligible for this credit. 
  • A resident taxpayer may be an individual, partnership, corporation, trust, estate or any other entity subject to South Carolina income tax or required to file an income tax return. 
  • A nonresident taxpayer does not qualify for the credit.
• Up to two private passenger motor vehicles or motorcycles can be considered for the credit. A private passenger motor vehicle is:
  • a motor vehicle designed, used, and maintained for the transportation of 10 or fewer persons and
  • a truck having an empty weight of 9,000 pounds or less and a gross weight of 11,000 pounds or less
• Vehicles that qualify include cars, minivans, sport utility vehicles, and pickup trucks of a certain weight. 
• Vehicles and motorcycles must be registered in South Carolina to qualify.

Credit Amount

• The credit may not exceed the lesser of the resident taxpayer's:
  • actual motor fuel user fee increase incurred on purchases of motor fuel in South Carolina subject to the motor fuel user fee (e.g., gasoline, gasohol, diesel fuel, alternative fuel, such as compressed natural gas) for an eligible vehicle or
  • actual expenditures incurred in South Carolina on preventative maintenance for an eligible vehicle (e.g., new tires, oil changes, and regular vehicle maintenance)

Claiming the Credit

• The credit will be calculated on South Carolina Form I-385, “Motor Fuel Income Tax Credit,” and claimed on the resident taxpayer’s income tax return. SC Form I-385 must be included with the taxpayer’s income tax return. 
• A taxpayer must maintain documentation to support expenses incurred in South Carolina and reported on SC Form I-385, such as gas receipts and invoices. 
  • Fuel receipts or credit card statements must show the number of gallons purchased in South Carolina during the tax year. 
  • The maintenance invoices must show the car model, amount, and type of preventative maintenance work performed in South Carolina.
  • Fuel purchased outside of South Carolina and preventative maintenance performed outside of South Carolina may not be used in determining the credit.