Pawleys Island, South Carolina Airbnb Rules & Investment Guide (2026)

Confirm the governing jurisdiction before applying any rental rule or tax rate.

• The Town describes itself as the incorporated barrier island; many properties marketed with a Pawleys Island address are outside Town limits.
• Confirm the parcel on the Town zoning map and Georgetown County GIS rather than relying on a postal address or listing label.
• Ask the Town to confirm incorporation status when a parcel lies near the mainland or a boundary.
• Underwrite Town and unincorporated County properties as separate regulatory cases.

Verify that the proposed stay pattern and property use are lawful for the exact parcel.

• Review the Town zoning map, zoning ordinance, and any permit history tied to the property.
• Obtain written guidance from the Town Administrator or Town Clerk/Planner before relying on a seller or agent representation.
• For a parcel outside Town limits, use Georgetown County planning and zoning resources instead of Town rules.
• Review deed restrictions, condominium documents, and association rules because private limits can be stricter than local law.

Set up the correct local accounts only after the jurisdiction and operator are confirmed.

• The Town accommodations-tax page directs taxable accommodation revenue to monthly local reporting.
• The Town’s comprehensive plan states that, as of its 2023 review, it had no general business-license requirement for most industries; confirm that status before opening.
• Properties outside the Town may face Georgetown County business-license and accommodations-tax processes.
• Keep written agency guidance, account numbers, filing confirmations, and renewal dates in the property file.

Map every tax obligation by jurisdiction, booking channel, and collection party.

• The Town local reporting form applies a 3% accommodations tax to gross accommodations sales.
• Town returns are reported monthly and become delinquent after the twentieth day of the following month.
• South Carolina Revenue applies a 7% state sales and accommodations tax to lodging, with possible additional local taxes.
• Document which taxes a platform collects and remit any remaining operator-collected amounts directly.

Treat barrier-island access, storms, flooding, and evacuation as operating constraints.

• Check the FEMA Flood Map Service Center and parcel-specific elevation, flood-zone, and insurance information.
• Review Georgetown County emergency-management hurricane and evacuation guidance with local guests and managers.
• Confirm smoke and carbon-monoxide alarms, extinguishers, egress, occupancy, and parking against current requirements.
• Maintain written storm closure, guest communication, refund, and property-inspection procedures.

Match insurance and management coverage to transient occupancy and coastal exposure.

• Obtain a policy or endorsement that expressly covers short-term rental use, wind, flood, liability, and loss of income where available.
• Compare deductibles, exclusions, named-storm provisions, replacement-cost assumptions, and vacancy limitations.
• Give local managers written authority and response standards for guest, maintenance, and storm events.
• Do not treat platform protection as a substitute for property and commercial liability insurance.

Build compliance duties into each booking channel and operating workflow.

• Reconcile platform tax collection reports to Town, County, and State returns for every filing period.
• Disclose occupancy, parking, noise, access, waste, and emergency instructions before arrival.
• Keep guest identity, payment, incident, and tax records according to current legal and platform requirements.
• Use direct-booking terms, payment controls, and privacy practices appropriate to the operator’s business.

Confirm requirements with the agency responsible for the exact parcel.

• Town administration lists the Town Administrator and Town Clerk/Planner at 843-237-1698.
• Use the Town forms page for current accommodations-tax forms, due dates, and permit materials.
• Use Georgetown County planning, business-license, finance, and emergency-management resources for unincorporated parcels.
• Recheck agency pages, forms, contacts, and fees immediately before filing because procedures can change.

Underwrite the acquisition from verified property inputs, not market-wide projections.

• Use the actual purchase price, financing terms, taxes, insurance quotes, association costs, utilities, management, cleaning, maintenance, and reserves.
• Stress-test storm downtime, wind and flood deductibles, repair delays, tax changes, and booking-channel concentration.
• Validate legal bedroom count, sleeping capacity, parking, access, septic or utility constraints, and renovation scope.
• Require the deal to work under conservative nightly-rate and occupied-night assumptions before making an offer.

Complete parcel, regulatory, tax, safety, and financial diligence before closing.

• Confirm Town or unincorporated County jurisdiction and retain the supporting map or agency response.
• Obtain written zoning and lawful-use guidance plus all association and title restrictions.
• Price local and state taxes, coastal insurance, wind and flood exposure, management, maintenance, and capital reserves.
• Make the offer and closing conditions reflect unresolved permits, use restrictions, inspections, insurance, and financing.