Unincorporated Charleston County, 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 zoning and rental type

Your zoning district decides which type you can apply for. Planned Development districts must specifically allow short-term rentals. Tents, RVs, boats, sheds, garages, accessory structures, and homes in dwelling groups can’t be rented.Source

Apply for the zoning permit

Send the application and fee, a restrictive covenants affidavit, and a site plan drawn to engineer’s scale with parking (1 space per permitted bedroom plus the home’s own parking). For an LHR, add the owner-occupied affidavit with proof the home is your legal voting address or the address on your ID. EHRs and CGHs also need site plan review, and EHRs need a special exception.Source

Charleston County Zoning and Planning →

Get a business license and building check

After the zoning permit, get a county business license before you advertise. Call Building Services (843-202-6930) about a building safety permit; using 5 or more bedrooms may bring building code requirements.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. File the county’s 2% accommodations fee with Charleston County Revenue Collections by the 20th of each month. Airbnb and VRBO remit it here, but you still report your gross receipts monthly.Source