Brunswick County, NC Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)

Under Brunswick County Code § 2-8-91(a), adopted by S.L. 1997, C. 364, § 1, the Board of Commissioners may levy a room occupancy tax of one percent of gross receipts from the rental of private residences and cottages in the unincorporated county that are exempt from state sales tax under G.S. 105-164.4(a)(3) solely because they are rented for less than fifteen days, the code's working definition of a short-term rental. The tax is in addition to any state or local sales tax and does not apply to nonprofit charitable, educational or religious lodging, or to any accommodation already subject to a municipal room occupancy tax of 6%, which covers most of the county's incorporated beach towns.

The tax is levied, administered and collected under G.S. 153A-155, the state's uniform county occupancy tax statute, and its penalties for late filing or nonpayment apply directly. Brunswick County remits net proceeds monthly to the Brunswick Tourism Development Authority, a ten-member public authority created under § 2-8-92, with five members appointed by the Board of Commissioners and five appointed jointly by the South Brunswick Islands and Southport-Oak Island chambers of commerce. No more than 10% of remitted funds may go to the Authority's own administrative costs; "net proceeds" is gross receipts minus the county's collection costs, capped at 3% of gross proceeds. Because Leland, Southport, Oak Island, Shallotte, Holden Beach, Ocean Isle Beach, Sunset Beach, Calabash and Boiling Spring Lakes each administer their own municipal code, this county tax applies only to rentals in the unincorporated county; a cottage inside Oak Island or Sunset Beach town limits is governed by that town's own occupancy tax section, not § 2-8-91.