Myrtle Beach, SC Short-Term Rental Checklist (Free, Printable)

📋 The Basics

Can I rent my place short-term here?: Only in some areas
Do I need a permit?: You need a city business license for any rental; zoning decides if short stays are allowed.
What taxes do I pay?: Total about 10%. Check your Airbnb payout report to see which ones Airbnb collects; you pay the rest yourself.

Your 3 steps to be legal

Check your zoning with the city.
Get a city business license.
File city hospitality and accommodations reports by the 20th.

⚠️ Biggest risk: 5% penalty for each month your license renewal is late.

Words confusing? See the glossary. Details and official sources are below.

This is the general rule for Myrtle Beach. Does your address qualify?

The free info covers the city as a whole. Your property can still be different: zoning can change from one street to the next, and an HOA or condo ban can stop rentals even where the city allows them. The penalties Myrtle Beach lists are on the Myrtle Beach page.

Your $49 Compliance Check looks at your exact property:

Whether your exact address and zone allow short-term rentals
A check of HOA / condo rental restrictions to look for
Which permits and tax accounts you personally need
What you're missing right now
A personal report with clear next steps and official sources, by email
A refund if we report a rule in error (refund policy)

🔎 How we check: official city, county and state sources, a last-verified date on every page, and nothing guessed. Learn more

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Permit / license / registration

Business license: A City business license is required for ALL rental properties, short- and long-term (ordinance effective June 1, 2015). Renewals due April 30; 5% penalty per month late.
Filing: City hospitality fee and accommodations tax reports are due the 20th after each period, even with zero sales; do not send these to SCDOR.

Zoning, where allowed & definitions

Short-term definition: Stays under 90 consecutive days are transient for hospitality fee and accommodations tax.
Zoning: Whether short-term rentals are allowed at your address depends on zoning: verify with the city's Planning/Zoning department.

Night limits, minimum stays & occupancy

Not listed on our page: Verify with the city/county before renting.

Fees, penalties & pending changes

Not listed on our page: Verify with the city/county before renting.

Taxes & who collects them

Register / account for SC state sales tax (5%)
Register / account for SC state accommodations tax (2%)
Register / account for City local accommodations tax (0.5%)
Register / account for City hospitality fee (1%)
Register / account for Horry County hospitality fee (1.5%)
What Airbnb collects: What Airbnb collects here: verify on Airbnb's local tax help pages and in your payout reports; you remain responsible for any tax it does not collect.
Vrbo and direct bookings: check which taxes Vrbo collects in your area; for direct bookings you collect and remit all of them yourself.

Total rate: 10%. City rates effective July 1, 2021 (0.5% local accommodations tax + 1% hospitality fee); Horry County collects its 1.5% hospitality fee inside the city. Horry County local option sales taxes not included: verify with SCDOR. Calculate.

HOA / condo check

Read your declaration, bylaws and rules for rental bans, minimum terms, caps and approval requirements.
Get any association sign-off or approval letter your city or association requires.
See our HOA & condo guide.

Insurance

Confirm your homeowner/condo policy covers short-term rental use, or add a short-term rental policy. Platform host protection is not a substitute for insurance.
Ask your association whether it requires specific liability coverage.

Deadlines

Renew city/county permits or registrations on their schedule (often annually): confirm the date with the office that issued it.
File state and local lodging tax returns on the schedule your tax office assigns.

Official sources

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Is my Myrtle Beach rental legal? Checklist