The Oswald Group at eXp Realty
Yes. Isle of Palms has no cap on short-term rental licenses, no waitlist and no owner-occupancy rule. Every owner who rents needs a city short-term rental license, and the city limits how many guests and cars a rental can take.
Voters turned down a cap in 2023, so the island is still open to investors. This page covers the license and its fee, the guest and vehicle limits, the 14 percent in taxes on every stay, and what to check on an address before you make an offer.
By Jeremiah Oswald, a Realtor, short-term rental expert and investor with The Oswald Group at eXp Realty, working across the Lowcountry. Rules checked against the City of Isle of Palms rental licenses page on 9 November 2026.
The license
The city requires one for every owner who rents a house, condo or apartment on the island, for any length of stay. These are the terms that come with it.
$450 for the first $2,000 of gross rental income, plus $4.60 for each additional $1,000, based on the previous calendar year. Pay by April 30 to avoid late fees.
A rental revenue affidavit, end-of-year revenue statements from every property manager and booking site, and a fire safety acknowledgment form.
A phone number answered 24 hours a day, and a representative who can be on site within one hour.
Single-family homes are rented in their entirety, not by the room.
The city's written notice has to be posted where guests can see it and kept in the unit at all times.
Breaking the rules is a misdemeanor, with a fine of up to $500 or up to 30 days, and each day counts separately. Five or more founded complaints in a calendar year can cost the license.
Source: the City of Isle of Palms rental licenses page, checked on 9 November 2026.
Guests and cars
The limits scale with bedrooms, which sets a ceiling on what a bigger house can earn.
| Limit | Rule | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Overnight guests | 2 per bedroom + 2 | Up to 12, not counting children under 2. A four-bedroom home sleeps 10, and a fifth bedroom takes it to the maximum of 12. |
| Guests at one time | Twice overnight | Or 40 people including children, whichever is less |
| Cars, 11 PM to 9 AM | 1 per bedroom | Or 1 for every 2.5 overnight guests, whichever is greater, with a minimum of 2. A four-bedroom home gets 4. |
| Parking permits | 4 a year | $15 each, for the resident parking district from 9 AM to 6 PM |
The city calls two per bedroom plus two the typical limit, so confirm the occupancy on the current license for the specific house.
Taxes
On stays of 30 days or less, owners collect and send in 14 percent. Stays of 31 to 90 days still carry the state's 10 percent. Owners can have an agent handle it, but the city says the property owner is ultimately responsible.
| Tax | Rate | Paid to |
|---|---|---|
| State sales tax | 5% | SC Department of Revenue |
| State accommodations tax | 2% | SC Department of Revenue |
| County sales taxes | 3% | SC Department of Revenue: local option, transportation and school, 1% each |
| County accommodations tax | 2% | Charleston County |
| City accommodations tax | 1% | Charleston County, for the City of Isle of Palms |
| Beach preservation fee | 1% | Charleston County, for the City of Isle of Palms |
| Total | 14% | On stays of 30 days or less |
Compared
Three nearby towns, three very different sets of rules.
| Rule | Isle of Palms | North Charleston | Hanahan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cap on rentals | None | 60 permits per council district, and 4 of the 10 districts are full | None listed by the city |
| What you need | City STR license | Short-term rental permit and a business license | City business license |
| Most overnight guests | 12 | 8 | None listed by the city |
North Charleston and Hanahan as checked on 4 November 2026. More on the North Charleston and Hanahan pages.
Before you make an offer
Run them in order. The first two tell you what the house has really earned and what it is allowed to earn.
The license fee is set by the previous year's gross rental income, so the seller's revenue affidavit is a real record of what the house earned.
Two per bedroom plus two, up to 12. Price the house on the guests it can legally host, not on how many beds fit.
Overnight vehicles are limited by bedrooms too. Make sure the lot and driveway work for the number of cars your guests will bring.
Where there is an HOA or condo regime, its rules can ban or limit rentals even where the city allows them.
Run the numbers as a short-term rental and as a long-term rental, with the license fee and the 14 percent in them. Isle of Palms has no cap today, but a cap went to a public vote in 2023, and residents raised short-term rentals again at a council town hall in November 2026. The full method is on the Charleston STR property analysis page.
More for investors
For properties you can act on now, the Airbnb Investment Hot Sheet lists current Lowcountry investment properties with projected cash flow, return and tax benefits for each. The rules for nearby towns are on the North Charleston and Hanahan pages, and how permits compare in Mount Pleasant, the City of Charleston and the rest of the area is on the how to buy a short-term rental in Charleston page. Loan options are on the financing page. For how we work with short-term rental investors, start at the Charleston short-term rental investment specialist page.
We will tell you how many guests and cars it can take, what it costs to license and tax, and what it can earn as a short-term or long-term rental.
Book a ConsultationThe Oswald Group at eXp Realty. Rules on this page were checked against the City of Isle of Palms rental licenses page on 9 November 2026. This page is investment insight, not tax or legal advice. Short-term rental rules change often, so confirm them with the city for the specific address before you invest. Revenue projections are estimates and are not guaranteed. Equal Housing Opportunity.