Accommodations tax and business licenses,
county by county.

The short answer

Accommodations tax is a tax on rent from short stays. A short stay is under 90 days in Horry County and under 30 days in Georgetown County. A lease of 90 days or more owes none of it. The guest pays the tax. Whoever takes the payment collects it and sends it in. South Carolina charges 7 percent. Your county or city adds 1 to 3 percent on top. Every rental also needs a business license, short-term or long-term, priced on gross rent.

Which rentals owe accommodations tax?

Only rentals with short stays. The tax is charged on the rent for each stay that is shorter than the county limit. The limit is 90 days in Horry County and 30 days in Georgetown County.

A long-term lease owes none of these taxes. A vacation rental owes all of them. A furnished rental with monthly tenants owes them in Georgetown County only if the stay is under 30 days.

The guest pays the tax. It is added to the bill. You, or the platform that takes the payment, collect it and send it to the state, the county, or the city. Each has its own office.

What does South Carolina charge?

The state charges 7 percent on the rent from every short stay. That is 5 percent sales tax plus 2 percent accommodations tax. The sales tax rate on rent is 5 percent, not the 6 percent charged in stores.

There is one exemption, set by the state revenue department. It applies if you live in the property, it has six bedrooms or fewer, and you do not use Airbnb, VRBO or a rental agency. Almost every investor uses a platform, so almost no investor qualifies.

What does your county or city add?

What taxes you owe and how much they add up to depends on your county. Below is a chart of the taxes for each area for short-term rentals.

Horry County publishes its rates on its treasurer page. Georgetown County publishes its rate on its finance page. Georgetown County also has a 2 percent hospitality tax. That one is on food and drink, not on rent. Do not add it to your rent estimate.

Georgetown County lets small owners file less often. If you collect under $25 a month in tax, you file once a year.

When does a stay stop being taxable?

At 90 days in Horry County and at 30 days in Georgetown County. That single difference is the most common mistake we see people make when they are investing from out of state because they mix up the counties.

An example. A guest books 45 nights in a Murrells Inlet condo in Georgetown County. The stay is over 30 days, so the county tax stops. The stay is under 90 days, so the 7 percent state tax still applies. The same booking in Surfside Beach is under both limits and owes everything.

This page is about the tax on rent. A different rule decides how your rental income is taxed. That rule also uses the length of stays, but it uses a seven-day average. If you rent by the night, read our short-term rental tax treatment page next. It tells you whether your rental losses can reduce the tax on your other income.

Your own stays in the unit are a third count. That one is on our 14-day rule page. Our seasonal worker page covers long leases that owe none of the tax on this page.

What taxes does Airbnb pay for you?

A booking platform collects some of this but not all of it. The rest is your obligation.

If Airbnb or VRBO take the payment, they are responsible for the taxes on that booking. If you take the payment, you are responsible for the taxes. That is the rule set by the state revenue department.

Airbnb sends in the state taxes, the Horry County hospitality fee, and the Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach and Surfside city taxes. It sends in nothing for Pawleys Island or Georgetown County. Direct bookings, repeat guests who pay you outside the platform, and second listing sites are yours to file.

If a property manager takes your bookings, get it in writing that they send in the tax. Ask which offices they send it to. The property owes the tax even when someone else collected the money.

Do you need a business license?

Yes. Every rental needs one, short-term or long-term. The fee is based on gross rent, not on profit. An owner who lost money for the year still owes it. Myrtle Beach requires one of all owners of rental property. Surfside treats every real estate rental as a business.

Georgetown County does not require a business license in its unincorporated areas or in Pawleys Island. Rentals there file a different form each year, below.

Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach publish their renewal dates and penalties. Horry County publishes the county requirement for anyone outside city limits. North Myrtle Beach mails renewals in mid-March.

Georgetown County has a yearly furniture tax instead. If you rent a furnished home there, you file a personal property return with the state each year and pay a small tax on the furniture. It is a tax on the contents, not on the building. Georgetown County says so on its own page. The form goes to the state, so ask your CPA whether a Horry County unit owes it too.

What should you check before you buy?

Four things. All four can be checked before you write an offer. We check them for you.

Two other taxes are separate from this page. Renting your own legal residence more than a set number of days a year costs you the 4 percent property tax rate. The count is on our Horry County property taxes page. Depreciation is on our cost segregation page.

Common questions

Grand Strand accommodations tax FAQ

Does a long-term rental owe accommodations tax?

No. A lease of 90 days or more owes no accommodations tax and no hospitality fee. In Georgetown County the county tax stops at 30 days. A long-term rental still needs a business license.

Does Airbnb pay the accommodations tax for me?

Partly. Airbnb sends in the state taxes, the Horry County hospitality fee, and the Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach and Surfside city taxes. It sends in nothing for Pawleys Island or Georgetown County. Bookings you take directly are yours to file.

How long does a guest have to stay before the tax stops?

90 continuous days for the state tax, the Horry County hospitality fee and Conway. 30 continuous days in Georgetown County.

What happens if I miss the business license renewal?

Myrtle Beach charges 5 percent of the license fee for each month or part of a month. North Myrtle Beach starts at 5 percent and adds 5 percent every month after.

Is the license fee based on my profit?

No. It is based on gross rent. An owner who lost money for the year still owes it.

Sources: SC Department of Revenue, accommodations, Horry County hospitality fee, Georgetown County accommodations tax, City of Myrtle Beach business license, North Myrtle Beach business license. Rates read September 3, 2026. Local rates change. Confirm with the office before you file. Educational only, not tax advice.

Know what an address owes before you offer.

We will tell you which county the parcel is in, what it files, and on what schedule.