Charleston County, SC Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)
Key Facts
- State tax rate
- 7% of gross rental proceeds
- Guest-charge tax
- 5% (room service, movies, phone, laundry)
- Owner-occupied exemption
- Under 6 rooms, used as abode
- Long-term exemption
- Stays of 90+ continuous days
- Administered by
- SC Department of Revenue
- Local share remitted back
- 2% quarterly, per Sec. 12-36-2630
Summary
South Carolina imposes a 7 percent state sales tax on gross proceeds from renting rooms, campground spaces, RV spaces or lodging to transients, including a private residence in unincorporated Charleston County rented short-term. A 5 percent tax also applies to add-on guest charges like room service or in-room movies. Stays of 90 or more continuous days and small owner-occupied rentals are exempt.
(A) A sales tax equal to seven percent is imposed on the gross proceeds derived from the rental or charges for any rooms, campground spaces, lodgings, or sleeping accommodations furnished to transients by any hotel, inn, tourist court, tourist camp, motel, campground, residence, or any place in which rooms, lodgings, or sleeping accommodations are furnished to transients for a consideration. This tax does not apply: (1) where the facilities consist of less than six sleeping rooms, contained on the same premises, which is used as the individual's place of abode; or (2) to gross proceeds from rental income wholly excluded from the gross income of the taxpayer pursuant to Internal Revenue Code Section 280A(g) as that code is defined in Section 12-6-40(A). The gross proceeds derived from the lease or rental of sleeping accommodations supplied to the same person for a period of ninety continuous days are not considered proceeds from transients. (B) A sales tax of five percent is imposed on additional guest charges at any place where rooms, lodgings, or accommodations are furnished to transients for a consideration, unless otherwise taxed under this chapter.
Full Breakdown
C. Code § 12-36-920(A) taxes the gross proceeds of any short-term rental at 7 percent, defining a taxable rental broadly enough to cover a hotel, motel, campground, or "any place in which rooms, lodgings, or sleeping accommodations are furnished to transients for consideration," which the South Carolina Department of Revenue applies to Airbnb-style rentals of houses and condos in unincorporated Charleston County. Two exemptions narrow that reach: a rental is not taxed if the property has fewer than six sleeping rooms on the same premises and is used as the owner's own place of abode, and rental income wholly excluded from gross income under Internal Revenue Code Section 280A(g) is also excluded.
A stay stops being "transient" after 90 continuous days to the same renter, so long-term leases owe no accommodations tax. Section 12-36-920(B) layers a separate 5 percent tax on "additional guest charges," a defined list limited to room service, laundering and dry cleaning, in-room movies, telephone service, and meeting room rentals, when those charges are not already taxed elsewhere in the chapter. Under Sec. 12-36-2630, the 7 percent rate is composed of a 4 percent general state tax, a 1 percent tax with a senior exclusion, and a 2 percent local accommodations tax that the department remits quarterly back to Charleston County.
Hosts who own or manage rental units in more than one South Carolina county must report gross proceeds separately for each one on their sales tax return. This state tax stacks with, and is separate from, the county's own 2 percent local accommodations fee under Sec. 13-62 of the county code.
Violations & Fines
Failure to collect or remit the 7 percent state accommodations tax is a sales tax violation enforced by the South Carolina Department of Revenue, which can assess back tax, penalties, and interest against a short-term rental host or manager for underreported gross proceeds. Owners of rental units in multiple counties who lump proceeds together instead of reporting each county separately are also out of compliance with Sec. 12-36-920(D)'s reporting requirement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do short-term rental hosts in Charleston County pay the state accommodations tax?
Are cleaning fees or extra charges taxed too?
Who collects this tax, the state or the county?
Does this replace Charleston County's local accommodations fee?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Charleston County
How Charleston County compares: Cities with the Highest Short-Term Rental Taxes·Compare Charleston County to another location·View the South Carolina short-term rentals overview
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