Mount Pleasant, SC Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)

Section 156.519(C) sets the STR permit application fee at a non-refundable $250 for an owner-occupied rental and $500 for a whole-house rental or an accessory dwelling unit STR, and notes the fees are set by Town Council and subject to change. Beyond that base fee, renewal runs on a strict calendar: current operators must file and pay between November 15 and December 15 each year under § 156.519(A)(2)(a), and an STR that operated illegally the prior year is assessed an additional $500 penalty fee on top of the standard permit fees under § 156.519(A)(2)(b).

Transferring a permit to a surviving joint tenant after an operator's death carries its own non-refundable $100 review fee under § 156.519(A)(3)(d). Every STR operator must also obtain and annually renew a town business license under Chapter 110, and that license is issued only after the STR permit itself is approved (§ 156.519(D)(1)-(2)). Section 156.519(E) makes clear the permit fee is separate from tax liability: STR operators remain subject to local, county, and state property, sales, use, and accommodations taxes, and are liable for paying them as state law and the town code require.