Identify the government that controls your property
Write down the parcel number, incorporated municipality, zoning district, proposed stay length and owner-residence plan. A Charleston or Myrtle Beach mailing address can describe property outside that city. Ask the city or county zoning office for a written classification of the actual use, including any accessory dwelling, condominium or nonconforming approval.
Charleston’s resident-host model, Myrtle Beach’s visitor-accommodation zoning and Hilton Head’s permit system require different purchase checks. The local directory also includes Columbia and Greenville; their pages retain separate review dates.
Charleston resident host
Legal-residence evidence → geographic category → parking and safety review → permit and business license.
Myrtle Beach investment property
Visitor-accommodation zoning and any overlay → approved use or documented nonconformity → business and tax accounts.
Hilton Head adds its own STR permit file. These paths describe due diligence, not guaranteed approval; private covenants and lending or insurance conditions remain separate.
Source: Charleston categories.
Charleston: residence, building history and parking change eligibility
Residential STRs require the owner’s primary residence and the county’s 4% legal-residence assessment status. That is an assessment classification, not a 4% annual property-tax bill. The city’s residential definition covers one to 29 consecutive days and no more than four adults, age 18 or older.
Source: Charleston residential eligibility FAQ (PDF).
Source: Charleston zoning definitions.
Category 1 · Old and Historic District
The STR structure must be individually listed on the National Register. Being inside a historic district alone is insufficient. One STR unit per property and an additional off-street parking space are required.
Category 2 · other eligible peninsula areas
The building must be at least 50 years old. The one-unit and additional-parking conditions also apply.
Category 3 · off the peninsula
The category still requires the additional parking space. It does not turn every non-peninsula investment home into an eligible residential STR.
Commercial STRs use specified commercial districts inside the STR overlay and do not require the residential 4% classification or primary residence. Nine units is the lot maximum under this route; ten or more requires the separate accommodations-use approval.
Source: Current geographic and commercial-category criteria.
Prepare a site plan, floor plans, residence evidence and applicable historic/age documentation. The city’s fee FAQ lists $200 zoning/application review plus separate fire, plan-review and business-license charges. Obtain the current itemized invoice; the older guide is not a guaranteed all-in startup quote.
Myrtle Beach: establish visitor-accommodation use before a revenue plan
Use the city’s visitor-accommodation zoning map to identify candidate districts, then obtain the parcel’s current zoning determination. The map does not establish a particular building’s lawful use, occupancy, parking or private restrictions.
The codified Short Term Rental Conversion Overlay adds a separate issue east of Kings Highway: qualifying buildings with more than two units constructed or used as visitor accommodations cannot simply become rentals of 90 continuous days or longer. An exception preserves certain already licensed long-term units while the license is maintained. Do not assume a longer lease is an available fallback for an oceanfront acquisition.
Source: City zoning map for visitor accommodations (PDF).
Source: Codified Article 18 overlay restrictions.
Confirm the approved use, any legacy exception, business license and hospitality account with the city. The city portal handles business-license and hospitality accounts; payment through that portal does not substitute for zoning permission.
Hilton Head: do not use the old fee or parking guidance as current approval
The town’s permit portal distinguishes stays under 30 days for STR permitting from the under-90-day business-license/accommodations framework. Its FAQ requires both a permit and business license, and says a permit cannot transfer to a different owner or property. A buyer needs a new permit determination.
The portal FAQ still labels its flat $250 fee as the 2023 amount. We could not verify the final current fee schedule through the town’s migrating public pages, so that is not a 2026 quote. Request the current per-bedroom or other adopted charge, renewal date and late fee from STR staff before budgeting.
Source: Town’s permit portal FAQ, including the expressly historical fee.
The town’s June 20, 2026 bulletin confirms an updated ordinance effective May 1, 2026: vacation-rental owners need written town approval before expanding driveways or adding guest parking. Do not add spaces to satisfy a proposed guest count without that approval. Ask for the current occupancy, site-plan and complaint-response conditions attached to your permit.
Source: Town bulletin confirming the enacted May 2026 parking rule.
Reconcile state tax, local levies and the actual collector
SCDOR applies 5% sales tax plus 2% accommodations tax to taxable sleeping accommodations under 90 consecutive days, plus applicable state-administered local sales taxes. Separately administered city/county accommodations levies can also apply. Use the municipality-specific SCDOR chart and the local revenue office; there is no single statewide all-in guest rate.
Source: SCDOR accommodations tax, exemption and municipal-rate resources.
The state’s 2025 manual assigns liability to the accommodation seller, which may be the owner, broker, listing service or online company handling the rental. Obtain platform reports identifying the tax, jurisdiction, taxable base and remittance. For direct bookings, establish the responsible account and collect the applicable taxes yourself or through the contracted agent. A payout deduction labeled “tax” does not prove every local levy was paid.
The manual also distinguishes a limited license exception from a tax exemption: furnishing accommodations for one week or less in a calendar quarter can avoid the retail-license requirement while leaving annual tax remittance due April 15. A separate less-than-15-day annual rental exemption requires qualifying residential personal use. Do not treat either as a general permission to host tax-free.
Source: SCDOR manual, Chapter 11: liable person, local levies and limited exceptions.
- Assumed fully taxable accommodation charge
- $1,000
- State component · $1,000 × 7%
- $70
- Illustrative separate local levy · assumed 3%
- $30
- These two components · $70 + $30
- $100
The 3% is a scenario input, not a rate quote for any city. If the platform documents only $70, the $30 local component still needs a collector and filing route. Other applicable taxes and differently taxed guest services are excluded; verify the actual fee base before using this example.
Source: State components.
Make renewal and a future sale part of the approval file
Charleston requires annual permit renewal by the original issuance date. Its FAQ allows a documented legal nonconforming bed-and-breakfast use to continue through a change-of-ownership application; that limited provision is not a transferable permit for every residential STR. Ask zoning to identify the buyer’s precise route and the current business-license cycle.
Source: Charleston current annual permit-renewal notice.
Source: Charleston nonconforming-use and ownership distinction.
Keep the signed permit conditions, tax reports, safety inspection, guest/parking plan and renewal reminders together. On sale, compare the new owner’s residence and operating model with the seller’s approval. Do not accept “it has always been on Airbnb” as evidence of transferable permission.
Questions to settle before accepting the first reservation
Can I use a 30-day minimum to avoid all regulation?
No single minimum solves every layer. Hilton Head’s permit and tax definitions differ, and Myrtle Beach’s conversion overlay can constrain a longer-term alternative. Ask the relevant office about the exact proposed contract.
Does the platform’s tax collection cover a direct repeat guest?
Keep that booking in the direct channel unless a documented intermediary actually handles it. Establish its tax and payment route before charging the guest.
What remains unresolved in this review?
Hilton Head’s final current permit fee and renewal schedule need issuer confirmation because public pages still carry historical guidance. Parcel eligibility, private covenants and tax exemptions require the actual property file.
Build a parcel, collector and renewal file
Use the original worksheet to record the local approval path, distinguish a historical fee from a current invoice, and assign every tax component to a collector before you list.
Open the printable South Carolina worksheetFree, with no account or email. Open it, then print or save as PDF. This is a manual worksheet; it does not submit your information, calculate automatically or determine legal eligibility.
Local guides and next steps
City pages below retain their own source dates. This state review covers the selected jurisdictions discussed above; it does not reapprove every city entry.
Once the use is permitted, compare a longer-term rental scenario with the single-family rental calculator. Supply documented rent and expenses; its long-term model does not forecast vacation bookings. Return to the state-law directory to compare another jurisdiction.
Published by RentalCalcs. Primary sources are linked beside the relevant claims. General information, not an address-specific legal or tax determination. Report a correction.