Anderson County, SC Tax Map: TMS Lookup, Parcels, and Appeals

The Anderson County SC tax map is available online through the county’s free Property Viewer at propertyviewer.andersoncountysc.org, where you can look up any parcel by its Tax Map Number (TMS), the owner’s name, or the street address.¹ The Assessor’s Office Mapping Department maintains the map in ArcGIS, and paper copies are available on request.

Finding Your TMS Number

Every parcel in Anderson County has a Tax Map Number, usually called a TMS. It’s a string of at least ten digits split into four parts: a three-digit map, a two-digit sub-map, a two-digit block, and a three-digit lot. The format is set by state regulation, so it looks the same in every South Carolina county.²

You’ll find your TMS on your recorded deed, your annual property tax bill, or a prior year’s tax receipt. If you don’t have it, the online viewer will let you search by owner name or physical address instead.¹

Using the Property Viewer

Before the viewer opens, you have to accept a disclaimer. The county states plainly that the map is not a land survey, cannot be used to prepare legal descriptions, and that “Anderson County disclaim any and all responsibility for errors which may be disclosed by an accurate land survey.”³ Treat the boundary lines on screen as approximate. Buyers and neighbors who rely on GIS lines for fence placement or lot-size decisions can get burned, which is exactly what the disclaimer is warning about.

Once you’re in, enter a TMS, an owner name, or a street address. The viewer draws the parcel over an aerial photo and gives you tools to measure distances on screen for rough frontage or setback estimates.

What a Parcel Record Shows

Clicking a parcel pulls up the tax record tied to it:

TMS number
Physical address
Property description
Deed reference by book and page, matching the recorded document at the Register of Deeds
Recent sale prices

The viewer also has toggleable layers you can turn on to see zoning, school district boundaries, flood zones, and topography over the parcel map. Flood zone is worth checking before you buy or build, because a designation you didn’t notice can drive insurance costs and restrict what you can put on the lot.

The record reflects what the Assessor’s Office has on file, and recent transactions can lag. Splits, combinations, and ownership updates take effect the tax year after they’re processed.¹

Why the Map Affects Your Tax Bill

Anderson County’s tax map is the foundation of the assessment. Acreage, location, and characteristics recorded on the map feed into the appraised value used to calculate what you owe. South Carolina law makes the county assessor the sole official responsible for valuing real property and for keeping assessment ratios uniform across the county.⁴

South Carolina applies different assessment ratios by use:

Owner-occupied primary residence: 4% of fair market value
Second homes, rental property, and most commercial real estate: 6%
Manufacturing property: 10.5%

Your bill is the assessed value (fair market value times the ratio) multiplied by the local millage rate. If the map shows wrong acreage, the wrong land classification, or a boundary that pulls in part of your neighbor’s lot, your assessment will be off every year until it gets corrected.

Getting a Paper Copy

For closings, loan files, or legal proceedings, you can request a printed map from the Anderson County Assessor’s Office at 401 E. River Street, Anderson, SC 29624, by phone at (864) 260-4028, or by email at Assessor@andersoncountysc.org. Mail requests are accepted. Fees vary by print size, and staff can pull historical revisions or specific parcel records during business hours.¹

Correcting a Map Error

Errors do turn up. A boundary drawn from an old deed that a newer survey contradicts, acreage rounded the wrong way, a split that never made it into the record. The Mapping Department updates the map and tax record when a new deed or plat is recorded at the Register of Deeds, and the change takes effect the following tax year.¹

If you think your boundaries or acreage are wrong on the map, contact the Mapping Department at (864) 260-4028 or Assessor@andersoncountysc.org. Bring a recent recorded survey if you have one. A licensed survey carries legal weight over GIS data, and the county’s own disclaimer acknowledges the map is not a substitute for one. If the Mapping Department can’t resolve it, the next step is an attorney letter requesting the correction with the survey attached. Disputes involving a county line can be more involved, because those boundaries may be set by state action rather than by individual surveys.

Appealing the Assessment

If the value on your tax record looks too high, whether from a map error, an outdated appraisal, or a change in the property’s condition, you can appeal. South Carolina law gives you 90 days from the date the assessor mails your assessment notice to file a written objection. In years you don’t get a notice, you can appeal at any time, but the filing date decides which tax year applies: appeals filed before the first penalty date of January 15 apply to that tax year; appeals filed on or after January 15 apply to the next.⁵

File the appeal in writing with the Assessor’s Office at 401 E. River Street, Anderson, SC 29624, by fax at (864) 260-4099, or by email at assessor@andersoncountysc.org. Use a separate form for each parcel and attach supporting documentation: comparable sales, a recent appraisal, photos showing the property’s condition. Late, incomplete, unsigned, or unsupported applications won’t be processed. While the appeal is pending, you can ask in writing that the assessment be reduced to no less than 80% of the disputed amount until the matter is resolved, but that request has to be submitted before December 31 of the tax year in question.⁶

1
Anderson County South Carolina. Assessor and Real Property
2
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Regulations Chapter 117 – Section 117-1740.2 Cadastral Maps and Parcel Identifiers
3
Anderson County, South Carolina. Anderson County Geographic Information Systems Online Mapping
4
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 12-37-90 – Assessors to Be Full Time; Responsibilities and Duties
5
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 12-60-2510 – Property Tax Assessment, Objection and Appeal
6
Anderson County South Carolina. Anderson County Appeal Form