Florence, 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.

Register for the county accommodations tax

Florence County’s local accommodations tax applies to rooms and residences rented to transients (stays under 30 days) in the county. File with the Florence County Finance Department by the 20th, using a separate coupon for each rental. The county’s guide doesn’t state the rate; ask Finance (843-665-3013).Source

Then your city or area

The City of Florence has its own zoning rules and rental registry. Pick your area.

Check your zoning

In residential districts you need a special exception from the Board of Zoning Appeals: file the application with the $100 fee, and the board decides after a public hearing. In commercial and mixed-use districts (CR, CA, CG, CBD, AC, DS) short-term rentals are permitted.Source

Meet the owner-occupancy rules (residential zones)

The owner must live there full-time, vote and hold a driver’s license at the address, and have the 4% homeowner assessment. You may rent no more than 2 bedrooms, with no separate kitchen, and you or your designee must be there at check-in. Keep a guest registry with names, addresses, phone numbers, party size, vehicles and dates.Source

Register the rental and get a business license

The city code requires a rental permit ($25 per application) before you rent a residential unit, names a responsible local representative, and says the business-license exemption in that article doesn’t apply to short-term rentals. Ask Licensing & Permitting (843-665-3173) how to register.Source

Florence business licenses →

Register for state and local taxes

The state-collected tax on stays here is 9% (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. Florence County charges a local accommodations tax, filed with the county Finance Department; ask whether it applies inside the city. The city’s 2% hospitality fee covers food and drink, not lodging.Source