Every year, I’m pleased to see that awareness of a South Carolina tax credit that helps people with high home insurance bills is increasing.

And every year around tax time, I write about the Excess Insurance Premium Tax Credit to help increase awareness, because it’s fair to assume that thousands of people who could benefit still don’t know it exists.

The credit will reduce the amount of money owed in South Carolina income tax, dollar for dollar, up to $1,250. If the cost of insuring your primary residence exceeds 5 percent of your federal adjusted gross income (from your federal tax return), then you qualify.

As tax rules go, that’s about as simple as it gets.

For people living near the coast — the land of soaring insurance bills — even those with relatively high incomes might qualify because coverage is so costly. Homeowners insurance and any additional policies for hurricanes (such as “wind pool” premiums) and flood insurance count when calculating the credit.

Read the full article by clicking the link below: