SCDOR Appeals Attorney in South Carolina

If the South Carolina Department of Revenue has proposed additional tax, denied a refund, or moved to revoke a license, you generally have 90 days to file a written protest. South Carolina Tax Law Firm PA represents individuals and businesses in SCDOR appeals across the state, from the protest through a contested case hearing at the South Carolina Administrative Law Court. We confirm your deadline, prepare the protest, and present the facts and the law to the Department and, if needed, to an administrative law judge.

Call (803) 753-7376 or request a consultation. Have the SCDOR notice in front of you, including the date on it. The appeal deadline runs from that date.

How the SCDOR appeal process works

South Carolina has one appeal path for most state tax disputes, set out in the South Carolina Revenue Procedures Act (S.C. Code Title 12, Chapter 60). It has two stages: an administrative appeal inside the Department, and then a hearing before an independent judge.

Stage 1: Written protest to the Department

After an audit, SCDOR usually issues a Notice of Proposed Assessment. To dispute it, you file a written protest with the Department within 90 days of the date of the notice. The Department may extend that period if you ask before it runs out. The protest goes to the Department’s appeals staff, who review the file, may ask for more information, and often meet with you or your representative to narrow the issues and discuss settlement.

Stage 2: Department Determination

If the protest is not resolved by agreement, the Department issues a written Department Determination explaining its decision and your right to a hearing. By statute, the Department generally must issue the determination within one year after the protest is filed, though it can ask the Administrative Law Court for up to six more months.

Stage 3: Contested case at the Administrative Law Court

If you disagree with the determination, you can request a contested case hearing at the South Carolina Administrative Law Court within 30 days after the determination was sent. The Administrative Law Court is a separate court, not part of SCDOR, and an administrative law judge decides the case after hearing the evidence. Its decision can be appealed to the South Carolina Court of Appeals.

SCDOR decisions you can appeal

• Proposed assessments after an audit. Income tax, sales and use tax, withholding, corporate tax, and other state taxes.
• Refund denials. A written denial of all or part of a refund claim is treated like a proposed assessment and can be protested the same way.
• License denials, suspensions, and revocations. Retail, alcohol, and other SCDOR-issued licenses, which have their own 90-day protest rule.
• Residency determinations. Disputes over whether you were a South Carolina resident and owed tax on all your income.
• Assessments based on an IRS change. State tax proposed after the IRS adjusted your federal return.
• Penalties. Late filing, late payment, and other state penalties, including requests to waive them for reasonable cause.

Property valued by SCDOR, such as manufacturing and utility property, has a similar protest process. Property valued by a county assessor follows the county’s own appeal process.

SCDOR appeal deadlines

• Protest of a proposed assessment or refund denial. 90 days from the date of the proposed assessment or division decision. Ask for any extension in writing before the 90 days end.
• License protest. 90 days from the denial or the proposed suspension, cancellation, or revocation.
• Department Determination. Generally due within one year after the protest is filed, with up to six more months if the Administrative Law Court allows it.
• Administrative Law Court. 30 days after the Department Determination was sent. If you do nothing, the tax is assessed and payment is demanded.
• Assessment period. SCDOR generally has three years from the date a return was filed to propose more tax. Filing a protest extends that period while the appeal is pending.

These are general rules, and exceptions apply. The deadline that controls is the one on your own notice. The statutes are in the South Carolina Revenue Procedures Act.

How we handle an SCDOR appeal, step by step

1. Confirm the deadline. We identify the notice, the date it was issued, and the tax periods and amounts involved.
2. File a power of attorney. With SCDOR Form SC2848 on file, the Department contacts us instead of you.
3. Review the audit file. We review the auditor’s workpapers and the legal basis for each adjustment before anything is filed.
4. Prepare the written protest. We state each item you disagree with, the facts, and the South Carolina law that supports your position.
5. Work toward agreement with the Department. We meet with the Department’s appeals staff, agree on the facts that are not in dispute, and discuss settlement where it makes sense.
6. Review the Department Determination. If the case does not resolve, we check the determination and advise you on whether to go to the Administrative Law Court.
7. Represent you at the Administrative Law Court. We file the request for a contested case hearing, handle discovery and motions, and present the case to the administrative law judge.

What a strong SCDOR protest includes

South Carolina law sets out what a protest must contain. A strong protest:

• Identifies the taxpayer, the notice, the tax type, and each tax period
• Lists each adjustment you disagree with and the amount in dispute
• States the facts that support your position and attaches the records that prove them
• Cites the South Carolina statutes, regulations, and court decisions you rely on
• Raises penalty waiver arguments, such as reasonable cause, separately from the tax issues

For proposed assessments under $2,500, legal authority is generally not required in the protest, with some exceptions. Even so, a complete protest at the start usually leads to a faster and more focused review.

SCDOR appeals and your federal taxes

Many South Carolina disputes start with a federal one. South Carolina income tax begins with federal taxable income, so an IRS audit change usually leads to a state assessment, and a successful IRS appeal can change what you owe South Carolina. When a case involves both, we coordinate the federal and state appeals so the positions match and the deadlines line up.

Attorney experience

The firm is led by attorney Daniel P. Knudsen, who has represented taxpayers in tax controversies for more than 10 years. Before entering private practice, Daniel represented taxpayers before the IRS at a Low Income Taxpayer Clinic funded through the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service grant program, and had two employment experiences in the Executive Division of another state’s department of revenue. That experience means a working knowledge of how state audits, protests, and appeals move through a revenue department and which deadlines matter at each stage.

Daniel holds an LL.M. in Taxation and certificates in International Taxation and State and Local Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center, and completed the Tax Litigation Training Program, a professional certificate program, at Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. Every SCDOR appeal is handled by an attorney from the protest through final resolution.

SCDOR appeals help throughout South Carolina

Our office is in Spartanburg, and we represent SCDOR appeals clients throughout South Carolina, including Greenville, Columbia, Charleston, North Charleston, Mount Pleasant, and Rock Hill. SCDOR headquarters and the Administrative Law Court are both in Columbia. Most protest work happens by mail, phone, and secure video, so you do not need to live near Spartanburg.

SCDOR appeals questions

Do I have to pay the tax before I appeal to SCDOR?

No. SCDOR generally cannot finalize the assessment while a timely protest is pending, so you can protest without paying first. Interest keeps running on any amount that is finally owed, so in some cases paying part of the tax to stop interest makes sense.

What happens if I miss the 90-day protest deadline?

The proposed assessment generally becomes final and SCDOR can begin collection. Depending on the facts, you may be able to pay the tax and file a refund claim, which has its own protest rights. Ask for an extension before the 90 days end if you need more time.

Is the Administrative Law Court part of SCDOR?

No. The South Carolina Administrative Law Court is an independent court in the executive branch. An administrative law judge hears the evidence and decides the case, and SCDOR is a party, just as you are.

Is there a simpler process for smaller cases?

Yes. When no more than $10,000 in tax and penalties is in dispute, you can generally designate the case as a small claims case when requesting a hearing at the Administrative Law Court. The decision is final and cannot be appealed, so the choice should be made carefully.

Can I appeal an SCDOR decision after an IRS audit?

Yes. A state assessment based on a federal change can be protested like any other proposed assessment. If the federal change itself is wrong, the better route is often to appeal it with the IRS and then report the final federal result to South Carolina.

Can I handle an SCDOR protest myself?

Yes. But the protest frames the whole case, and the record built at the Department carries into the Administrative Law Court. An attorney can prepare the protest, deal with the Department, and keep the court option open.

Related tax controversy services

• IRS Appeals
• IRS audit defense
• SCDOR audits
• SC Administrative Law Court tax cases
• SCDOR collections, liens, and wage garnishment
• South Carolina residency audits

Talk to a South Carolina SCDOR appeals attorney

If you received an SCDOR Notice of Proposed Assessment, a refund denial, or a Department Determination, call (803) 753-7376 or request a consultation. Tell us the type of notice, the tax periods involved, and the date on the notice. Please don’t include confidential details in the contact form. Submitting it does not create an attorney-client relationship.

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South Carolina Tax Law Firm PA is a private law firm and is not affiliated with the South Carolina Department of Revenue, the South Carolina Administrative Law Court, the IRS, or any government agency. Attorney responsible for this content: Daniel P. Knudsen, 405 S. Pine St., Suite F, Spartanburg, SC 29302. This page provides general information, not legal advice. Every case depends on its own facts, and no particular outcome can be promised.

Reviewed by Daniel P. Knudsen, attorney, October 2026.