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Hotel And Lodging Tax In Charleston 2026: TOT Rate And Rules
Charleston stacks a city accommodations tax collected by the county, a 90-day exemption threshold, and strict short-term rental zoning on top of the standard South Carolina lodging tax stack.
August 28, 2026
7
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TL;DR
- Charleston hotels, motels, and short-term rentals collect a combined 14% tax: 5% state sales tax, 2% state accommodations tax, 2% Charleston County accommodations tax, 2% City of Charleston accommodations tax, and three 1% Charleston County surtaxes (local option, transportation, and education).
- "Hotel tax," "lodging tax," "occupancy tax," "bed tax," and "accommodations tax" all describe the same 14% charge on a Charleston stay.
- Charleston's own 2% city accommodations tax is not paid to the city directly: it is collected and remitted through Charleston County's Revenue Collections Division.
- Stays of 90 continuous days or more to the same guest are exempt starting on day 91, a longer threshold than the 30 days used in most other states.
- Charleston's short-term rental ordinance requires owner-occupancy, verified through South Carolina's 4% owner-occupied property tax assessment, and restricts eligibility further by historic zoning category on the peninsula.
- Failing to collect and remit the local accommodations tax carries a state-law civil penalty of $500 to $2,000 for each seven-day rental period.
- Charleston's separate 2% Hospitality Tax applies only to prepared food and beverage sales, not to room revenue, so it is not part of the lodging tax stack.
How Charleston's Hotel and Lodging Tax Works
Charleston stacks a state accommodations tax, a Charleston County accommodations tax, a separate City of Charleston accommodations tax, and three county-level sales surtaxes on every short-term stay, for a combined 14% rate that funds tourism, transportation, and schools.
South Carolina's accommodations tax is authorized under Title 12 of the South Carolina Code, which lets the state, counties, and municipalities each levy their own accommodations tax on top of the general sales tax. Unusually for a city tax, Charleston's own 2% accommodations tax is not paid to the city directly: state law routes it through Charleston County's Revenue Collections Division, which remits the city's share back to Charleston after collection.
The combined rate applies to hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, inns, and short-term rentals of fewer than 90 continuous days. It does not apply to Charleston's separate 2% local Hospitality Tax, which is a different charge on prepared food and beverage sales at restaurants and bars, not on room revenue.
Tax Rates and Extra Fees
A guest booking a room or a short-term rental within the Charleston city limits and Charleston County pays seven stacked components. Properties that fall in the small slice of Charleston sitting in Berkeley County instead pay a 12% combined rate, since Berkeley County's local add-ons differ from Charleston County's.
| Tax component | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| South Carolina state sales tax | 5% | n/a |
| South Carolina state accommodations tax | 2% | n/a |
| Charleston County accommodations tax | 2% | n/a |
| City of Charleston accommodations tax | 2% | Collected by Charleston County and remitted to the city, not paid to the city directly |
| Charleston County local option sales tax | 1% | n/a |
| Charleston County transportation tax | 1% | n/a |
| Charleston County education capital improvement tax | 1% | n/a |
| Combined rate | 14% | Berkeley County portion of Charleston totals 12% instead, due to different county add-ons |
The three county-level surtaxes, the local option sales tax, the transportation tax, and the education capital improvement tax, are voter-approved, referendum-based add-ons rather than lodging-specific charges. They apply to most retail sales in Charleston County, lodging included, and are separate line items from the two accommodations taxes even though all five appear together on a guest's final bill.
Charleston's municipal accommodations tax revenue is required by state law to fund tourism-related expenses, and the city runs a public grant process each year for organizations seeking a share of it, distinct from how the county allocates its own accommodations tax collections.
Collection and Remittance
The guest pays the tax as part of the room charge, but the property owner or operator is legally responsible for collecting it and remitting it, even when a property manager handles day-to-day bookings. Charleston requires operators to remit the local accommodations tax to Charleston County's Revenue Collections Division rather than to the city, and hotel-tax returns are generally due monthly.
Online marketplaces do not uniformly remit Charleston's local accommodations tax. Some platforms remit only the state's 7% share and leave the county and city portions to the host, so an owner listing on multiple platforms needs to confirm, platform by platform, which taxes are actually being collected on their behalf before assuming the guest's total already covers everything owed.
South Carolina law backs this up with a real penalty: an operator who fails to collect and remit the required local accommodations tax faces a civil penalty of $500 to $2,000 for each seven-day period the property was rented without proper tax collection, on top of the unpaid tax itself.
Exemptions From Charleston's Hotel Tax
Charleston follows South Carolina's statewide accommodations tax exemption: a rental supplied to the same guest for 90 continuous days becomes exempt starting on day 91, a notably longer threshold than the 30-day cutoff used in most other states. The operator still needs to keep records showing the stay was continuous and to the same renter to support the exemption if questioned.
Charleston's short-term rental ordinance layers a separate eligibility rule on top of the tax exemption: a property that isn't the owner's full-time residence, as determined by South Carolina's 4% owner-occupied property tax assessment classification, generally cannot be licensed as a short-term rental in the city at all, regardless of how long or short the stays are.
Common Mistakes Hotels Make With TOT Compliance
- Remitting the city's 2% accommodations tax to the wrong office. Charleston's municipal accommodations tax is collected through Charleston County's Revenue Collections Division, not the city's own finance department, and sending it to the wrong agency delays proper credit.
- Using the 30-day exemption threshold from another state. South Carolina's exemption kicks in only after 90 continuous days to the same guest, not 30, so a property applying a 30-day rule under-collects tax on stays between one and three months.
- Confusing the 2% Hospitality Tax with the 2% accommodations tax. Charleston hotels with an on-site restaurant owe both taxes, but on different revenue: the Hospitality Tax applies to food and beverage sales, while the accommodations tax applies to room revenue, and the two cannot be netted against each other.
- Assuming a booking platform remitted every local tax. Some marketplaces remit only South Carolina's 7% state-level share and skip the county and city portions, leaving the host liable for the difference plus the per-week civil penalty for unremitted local tax.
- Operating an unlicensed short-term rental in a restricted peninsula zone. Charleston's ordinance limits eligibility by zoning category, historic designation, and owner-occupancy, so accommodations tax registration alone does not make a listing legal if the property itself doesn't qualify for a permit.
- Not retraining staff after a county referendum changes a surtax. Charleston County's transportation and education taxes are periodically renewed or adjusted by voter referendum, and a front desk still quoting an old combined rate under-collects on every booking until someone updates the system.
Where A PMS Fits Into TOT Compliance
None of this is about software fixing tax law, but a PMS does remove the two places Charleston properties most often slip: tracking seven separate tax components that route to two different collecting agencies, and telling a guest the real total before they book. roommaster lets a property configure each tax component separately, so the city's accommodations tax, the county's accommodations tax, and the three county surtaxes can each be reported on their own line rather than blended into one guess, and its booking engine shows the full, tax-inclusive price upfront. Revenue reports by date range also make it easier to reconcile what was collected against what a monthly filing to Charleston County actually requires.
See how roommaster simplifies multi-property tax reporting.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Does Charleston have its own hotel tax rate?
Yes. The City of Charleston charges its own 2% accommodations tax on top of South Carolina's 7% state-level accommodations tax and Charleston County's own accommodations and sales surtaxes, for a combined 14% rate within Charleston County.
2. What is Charleston's hotel tax?
Charleston's hotel tax is the combined 14% charge on hotel, motel, bed and breakfast, and short-term rental stays under 90 days, made up of state, county, and city accommodations taxes plus three Charleston County sales surtaxes.
3. What is Charleston's lodging tax?
Charleston's lodging tax is the same charge as its hotel tax. "Hotel tax," "lodging tax," "occupancy tax," "bed tax," and "accommodations tax" all refer to the identical 14% combined levy on a Charleston stay, not separate charges.
4. How long must a guest stay to be exempt from Charleston's hotel tax?
A guest must stay 90 continuous days with the same renter for the stay to become exempt from South Carolina's accommodations tax, starting on day 91. This is longer than the 30-day threshold many other states use.
5. Does Charleston require hotels to disclose all fees upfront?
South Carolina and Charleston have not passed their own mandatory fee disclosure law, but a federal rule from the Federal Trade Commission, effective May 2025, already requires hotels nationwide, including in Charleston, to show resort fees and other mandatory charges in the advertised price.
6. Who is responsible for filing Charleston's hotel tax?
The property owner or operator is responsible for collecting and remitting the tax, even if a property manager or booking platform handles bookings. Charleston's own 2% accommodations tax is remitted through Charleston County's Revenue Collections Division rather than filed directly with the city.
7. Can any short-term rental in Charleston collect the accommodations tax and operate legally?
No. Charleston's short-term rental ordinance limits eligibility by zoning category and, on much of the peninsula, by historic designation and building age, and generally requires the operator to occupy the home full-time under South Carolina's owner-occupied property tax classification. Collecting the accommodations tax does not make an otherwise ineligible property legal to rent short-term.
