Charleston hotel guests pay roughly 14% combined accommodations tax: 6% SC sales, 2% SC accommodations tax, plus city and Charleston County local accommodations levies funding tourism and infrastructure.
Charleston accommodations are subject to a layered tax stack: 6% South Carolina sales tax under SC §12-36, 2% South Carolina accommodations tax under SC §12-36-920, plus local accommodations and hospitality fees imposed by Charleston Code Chapter 36 and Charleston County. The combined effective rate on hotel rooms is approximately 14%. Operators including hotels, bed-and-breakfasts, and short-term rentals must register with SCDOR, collect the tax, and remit monthly. Revenue funds the Charleston Visitor Center, tourism promotion, beach renourishment, and historic-district infrastructure.
Failure to collect or remit accommodations tax results in penalties, interest, and potential business license revocation; willful evasion is a misdemeanor under SC tax law.
Charleston, SC
Charleston cannot require hotels to pay above the federal $7.25 minimum wage. SC §6-1-130 (2002) preempts local minimum wage laws, leaving hotel pay to marke...
Charleston, SC
Charleston STR operators must collect and remit a 2% Local Accommodations Tax and the state's 7% Accommodations Tax. A city business license fee also applies...
See how Charleston's transient occupancy tax rules stack up against other locations.
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