LicensedRental

North Carolina county rules

Dare County, NC vacation rental rules and taxes

Dare County is North Carolina’s largest vacation rental market, with more than 4,000 Airbnb listings from Duck to Hatteras village. Every stay pays 6.75% sales tax plus the county’s 6% occupancy tax. We found no town rental permits, but several beach towns cap house size, septic capacity, or guests and set trash rules for rentals.

Checked against official sources November 6, 2026
Market
About 4,300 Airbnb listings
Kill Devil Hills 1,224, Nags Head 904, Kitty Hawk 444, Duck 285, Manteo 182, Southern Shores 168, and about 1,040 in the Hatteras Island villages (AirROI).Source
Sales tax
6.75%
State 4.75% + county 2%, on stays under 90 days.Source
Occupancy tax
6% countywide
3% occupancy + 1% tourism development + 2% beach nourishment. Filed with the Dare County Tax Department by the 20th.Source
Town rules
Size, septic, and trash limits
Nags Head, Duck, Kitty Hawk, and Southern Shores limit house size or overnight occupancy through zoning. We found no town that requires a rental permit.

The 6% occupancy tax is the same in every town and in the unincorporated villages. Hosts who take direct bookings file it with the county, not the town.

What to do

  1. Then your town or area

    Zoning rules for short-term rentals are set by each town, and by the county outside town limits. Pick your area.

Towns

Full guide

Duck

Duck caps house size and septic capacity by lot size, which limits how many guests a rental can sleep. We found no rental permit in the town code. Stays pay 6.75% sales tax plus Dare County’s 6% occupancy tax.

Full guide

Kill Devil Hills

Kill Devil Hills is the biggest rental town on the Outer Banks. We found no short-term rental permit or zoning rule in its code, but every home needs trash containers sized to its bedrooms. Stays pay 6.75% sales tax plus Dare County’s 6% occupancy tax.

Full guide

Kitty Hawk

Kitty Hawk limits single-family homes to 6,000 square feet and septic capacity for 14 overnight guests, and requires at least two garbage cans at rentals. We found no rental permit. Stays pay 6.75% sales tax plus Dare County’s 6% occupancy tax.

Full guide

Manteo

We found no short-term rental zoning rules in Manteo’s code. Stays owe 6.75% sales tax + 6% occupancy tax; Airbnb collects these on its bookings.

Full guide

Nags Head

Nags Head allows short-term rentals in every zoning district, as a whole house or up to two rooms in a home you live in. It caps large houses at 5,000 square feet and requires a trash cart for every two bedrooms. The town dropped its rental registration from the code in 2023. Stays pay 6.75% sales tax plus Dare County’s 6% occupancy tax.

Full guide

Southern Shores

Southern Shores limits vacation cottages in its residential districts to 14 overnight occupants, both in advertising and in septic capacity, and sets minimum trash and recycling cans for rentals. We found no rental permit. Stays pay 6.75% sales tax plus Dare County’s 6% occupancy tax.

Full guide

Unincorporated Dare County

Outside the towns, including the Hatteras Island villages and Colington, we found no short-term rental rules in Dare County’s zoning ordinance. Stays pay 6.75% sales tax plus the county’s 6% occupancy tax.

Sources

A plain-language summary to help you prepare, not legal advice. Rules and fees change; confirm with the office before you apply. Spot something out of date? Email hello@licensedrental.com.