Rental Rules by City / New Jersey / Ocean City

Ocean City short-term rental rules & tax calculator

Cape May County, New Jersey · Verified against official sources Oct 24, 2026

📋 The Basics

Can I rent my place short-term here?: Yes, with a permit
Do I need a permit?: Yes. Register every rental unit with the City each year.
What taxes do I pay?: Total about 14.625%. Check your Airbnb payout report to see which ones Airbnb collects; you pay the rest yourself.

Your 3 steps to be legal

Pay the yearly registration ($175 per seasonal unit).
Send a certificate of liability insurance and alarm certification.
Submit the rental registration (renewals due June 30).

⚠️ Biggest risk: Renting without the yearly registration.

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

Tax calculator

Nightly rate ($) Nights Cleaning fee ($)

Rates used: NJ sales tax 6.625% + NJ state occupancy fee 5% + Ocean City municipal occupancy tax 3% = 14.625%. Mandatory cleaning fees are included in the taxable total. 14.625% on platform bookings (Airbnb, Vrbo). City 3% started Nov 1, 2025; realtor-booked rentals are exempt from the city tax.

What Airbnb collects: Under NJ law, platforms collect NJ taxes and the city occupancy tax on bookings they process.

This is the general rule for Ocean City. 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.

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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Rules don't change every week, but they do change, and nobody emails you when they do. We'll alert you when city rules, tourist taxes, HOA-related laws, or Airbnb/Vrbo policies change in Ocean City. Cancel anytime.

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Need guest waivers and booking tools too? Click here for more info

Why use this instead of a web search?

Instead of scattered, sometimes outdated pages, you get the city, county and state rules on one page, with official sources linked, a last-checked date, and unconfirmed items marked "verify" instead of guessed. How we verify →

Advanced details (laws, fees, sources)

Rules

Rental registration	Annual City rental registration is required for every rental unit, including seasonal STRs.
Requirements	Submit a certificate of liability insurance every year (NJ 40A:10A; minimum amount, reported as $500,000: verify) and, for 1-2 family dwellings, a smoke/CO alarm certification.
Fee	Seasonal short-term rental registration: $175 for one unit, $350 for two (City form). Renewals are invoiced each year for a June 30 due date.
Mercantile	Check whether a mercantile license applies to your rental.

Items marked "Verify with the city" could not be confirmed from an official source; call the office listed before relying on them.

Sources

Free tools

Free "Is my rental legal?" checklist · Free tourist tax calculator

Rules can change

Ocean City's rules, its tax rates and platform policies can change through a council vote, a new state law or a court ruling, often with little notice to hosts. We re-check this page monthly; subscribers get notified. Stay Compliant for $4.99/mo.

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Not legal or tax advice. Last verified Oct 24, 2026. Rules and rates change: confirm with the official sources linked before you rent or file.