Charleston (city), SC vacation rental requirements

Get a retail license for direct bookings

If you take bookings yourself, you need a SCDOR retail license for each rental property and must file and pay electronically through MyDORWAY. If you rent only through a property manager or an online travel company that takes the payment, they remit the state tax and you don’t need a license. Rent no more than one week a quarter and you can file once a year instead.Source

MyDORWAY →

Know what the platform collects

Airbnb collects the 5% sales tax, 2% accommodations tax, and the local sales taxes the state collects, on its bookings. It also collects some county and city accommodations taxes, but only in the places it lists. Everything else is yours to file.Source

Register for local taxes

Many counties and cities charge their own accommodations tax (up to 3%), a hospitality tax, or a beach preservation fee. They collect these directly, so you register with the county or city even if a platform pays your state tax.Source

Check your property tax rate

A home that is your legal residence keeps the 4% assessment ratio only if it is rented out 72 days or less a year. Rent it more and it is taxed as a 6% rental property. Ask your county assessor.Source

Then your county and city

Business licenses, rental permits, and zoning are where South Carolina towns differ most. Pick your area.

Open a county accommodations account

Apply online with Charleston County Revenue Collections for a local accommodations tax account. The county collects its own 2% fee and the town fees for eight towns. Monthly returns are due the 20th; small accounts can file quarterly or yearly.Source

County accommodations tax application →

Check what your platform pays

Charleston County says VRBO remits the county and city accommodations fees everywhere in the county, and Airbnb only in unincorporated areas, Charleston, North Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Folly Beach, and Isle of Palms. Even when a platform pays, you must still report your monthly gross receipts to the county.Source

Then your city or area

Permits, owner-occupancy rules, and caps differ in every town. Pick your area.

Check your category and parking

Find whether your address is in Category 1, 2, or 3, or in the ST Overlay. Each residential permit needs one extra off-street parking space on top of the two the zoning code requires per dwelling (tandem is allowed). Make sure no HOA rule or recorded covenant bans rentals.Source

Apply for the STR permit

Submit a notarized application through the city’s Citizen Services portal or at the Permit Center (2 George St). Include a scaled site plan with parking, scaled floor plans marking the guest rooms and your own rooms, photos, your driver’s license, and proof of the 4% legal residence ratio (the Charleston County Assessor’s Short Term Rental Certificate, or a Berkeley County Assessor letter).Source

Charleston STR permit information →

Wait out the posting, then pass the fire review

The city posts your property for 15 days, then allows 5 business days for appeals. The Fire Marshal then reviews your self-survey and smoke alarm records and inspects the unit.Source

Get your business license

Send the business license application to Revenue Collections (843-724-3711) when you apply. The permit won’t move past zoning review until they have it. Renew the license by February 1 each year and the permit each year by its issue date.Source

Register for state and local taxes

The state-collected tax on stays here is 10% (state sales and accommodations tax plus local sales taxes). Airbnb collects it on its bookings; for direct bookings, get a SCDOR retail license and file through MyDORWAY. Charleston County collects the 2% county fee and the city’s 2% fee together; Airbnb remits both on its bookings, but you still report monthly to the county. In the Berkeley County part (Daniel Island, Cainhoy) the city lists 12% in all.Source