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Hotel And Lodging Tax In Texas 2026: TOT Rates By City
Texas caps combined hotel tax at 17%, and several major cities sit right at that ceiling. See 2026 HOT rates by city, the Brimer Bill voter-approval trigger, and where properties get compliance wrong.
August 28, 2026
7
min. read
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TL;DR
- Texas calls its version the Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT), and state law caps the combined state plus local rate at 17%.
- "Hotel tax," "lodging tax," "occupancy tax," "bed tax," and "HOT" all describe the same charge, but the combined rate depends entirely on which city and county apply.
- A 6% state tax applies everywhere; city, county, and venue-project layers stack on top up to the 17% statutory ceiling.
- Houston, Austin, and Fort Worth all sit right at that 17% ceiling, and even a small resort town like South Padre Island has reached it too.
- City councils can raise the base HOT by ordinance alone, except when a city is bonding against the increase for a venue project, which requires a public vote under Texas's "Brimer Bill."
- The 30-consecutive-day exemption only applies from day one with advance written notice; otherwise tax is owed until the 30-day mark is actually reached.
- Tourist cities often add a separate Tourism Public Improvement District assessment on top of HOT, roughly 1.25% to 2%.
How Texas's Hotel and Lodging Tax Works
Texas calls its hotel tax the Hotel Occupancy Tax, or HOT, at both the state and local level. A 6% state tax applies everywhere in Texas, and cities and counties can each add their own HOT on top, up to a combined statutory ceiling of 17%.
A city council can impose or raise its base HOT by ordinance alone, no election required. The one real voter-approval trigger is narrower: Texas's "Brimer Bill" mechanism requires a public vote when a city wants to raise HOT specifically to repay bonds for a venue project like a convention center, which is why Dallas and Fort Worth both held ballot measures for their most recent increases.
The tax applies to any room renting for $15 a day or more, and covers hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, tourist courts, and short-term residential rentals to non-permanent residents.
Tax Rates and Extra Fees
Because cities, counties, and venue districts each layer their own HOT on top of the 6% state rate, the combined total varies significantly by city. Here's where the major Texas markets stand as of 2026.
| City / county | Combined rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| City of Austin | 17% | 6% state, 7% city general HOT, 2% venue-project tax, and a 2% Tourism Public Improvement District assessment on qualifying downtown hotels; at the statutory ceiling |
| City of Houston | 17% | 6% state, 7% city, 2% Harris County, 2% Houston-Harris County Sports Authority; collected by Houston First Corporation, not the city Finance Department |
| City of Fort Worth | 17% | Raised from 15% via a May 2024 ballot measure to fund a $701 million convention center expansion |
| City of South Padre Island | 17% | A small resort town at the same ceiling as major metros |
| City of El Paso | 17.5% | 9% city HOT (7% base plus a 2% venue-district tax added in 2012), 6% state, 2.5% county |
| City of San Antonio | 16.75% | 6% state, 7% city, 2% convention center, 1.75% Bexar County; downtown hotels also pay a separate Tourism Public Improvement District assessment |
| City of Dallas | 15%, 17% for large downtown hotels | City portion rose from 5% to 7% via a November 2022 ballot measure to repay convention-center bonds |
| City of Corpus Christi | 15% | 9% city HOT filed monthly rather than quarterly; a separate 2% tourism assessment applies only to hotels with 40 or more rooms |
| State of Texas (baseline) | 6% | Applies everywhere; the floor every city and county rate stacks on top of |
Rates change after a city ordinance or, for venue-project financing, a public vote, so treat this table as a starting point and confirm the current published rate with the specific city before filing.
A district assessment on top of HOT doesn't follow one uniform model. Austin's Tourism Public Improvement District charges 2% of taxable room-night revenue, but only for hotels with 100 or more rooms. San Antonio's version charges 1.25%. Corpus Christi instead uses a flat city ordinance: a 2% assessment, but only for hotels with 40 or more rooms.
Collection and Remittance
The guest pays HOT, and the property remits it, but the filing cadence genuinely varies by jurisdiction. The state tax lets filers under $500,000 a year choose monthly or quarterly, though filers above $50,000 annually must use the state's electronic Webfile system. Locally, Corpus Christi requires monthly filing due the 20th of the following month, while Austin, Harris County, and Houston file quarterly, due the last day of the month after the quarter ends.
Exemptions From Texas's Hotel Tax
Texas's exemption for stays of 30 consecutive days or more has a practical wrinkle: the exemption only applies from day one if the guest gives the hotel written notice in advance of their intent to stay 30 or more days. Without that advance notice, tax is owed for the first 30 days and only waived once the 30-day mark is actually reached. Local city and county HOT follows the same 30-day definition as the state rule.
Common Mistakes Hotels Make With TOT Compliance
- Assuming Texas has a general voter-approval law. Most Texas cities can raise HOT by ordinance alone. The public votes in Dallas and Fort Worth happened because those increases were financing venue-project bonds under the Brimer Bill.
- Treating the 30-day exemption as automatic. Without written notice given in advance, a guest who ends up staying 30-plus days still owed tax for the earlier part of that stay.
- Missing that the district assessment isn't the same everywhere. Austin's TPID, San Antonio's TPID, and Corpus Christi's size-tiered assessment use different rates and different room-count thresholds.
- Assuming one filing cadence for the whole state. A Corpus Christi property files monthly, while Austin and Houston file quarterly.
- Not separating city, county, and venue-tax layers. A Houston property has four separate charges stacking to reach 17%, folding them into one line loses the audit trail.
- Not retraining front desk staff after a rate change. When a city council or a ballot measure changes the rate, staff quoting the old number creates disputes at checkout.
Where A PMS Fits Into TOT Compliance
None of the above is about software. It's about a Texas property tracking which of several separately imposed charges actually apply to it, and at what combined rate. Where a PMS actually helps is in keeping each of those layers configured as its own tax code, and pulling revenue reports by date range for whichever filing cadence applies. roommaster lets properties configure tax codes per rate, so an ordinance change or a new venue-district assessment is a configuration update once, not a manual recalculation on every folio.
See how roommaster simplifies multi-property tax reporting.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Does Texas have a statewide hotel tax rate?
Texas has a 6% state Hotel Occupancy Tax that applies everywhere, but cities and counties each add their own local HOT on top, up to a combined statutory ceiling of 17%.
2. What is Texas's hotel tax?
Texas's hotel tax is the Hotel Occupancy Tax, or HOT, a 6% state charge plus whatever local rate the specific city and county add.
3. What is Texas's lodging tax?
Lodging tax is the same charge as Texas's Hotel Occupancy Tax, just a different common name for it. It's set partly by the state and partly by the specific city or county.
4. Do Texas voters have to approve hotel tax increases?
Not usually. A city council can raise its base HOT by ordinance alone. A public vote is only required under the Brimer Bill mechanism, when financing the increase against bonds for a venue project.
5. What is the maximum combined hotel tax rate in Texas?
State law caps the combined state and local Hotel Occupancy Tax at 17%. Austin, Houston, Fort Worth, and South Padre Island all currently sit at that ceiling.
6. How does the 30-day long-stay exemption work in Texas?
Stays of 30 consecutive days or more are exempt, but only from day one if the guest gives the hotel written notice in advance. Without that notice, tax applies for the first 30 days.
7. Who is responsible for collecting and remitting Texas's hotel tax?
The property collects HOT from the guest and remits it on the schedule set by each taxing jurisdiction, which varies: Corpus Christi requires monthly filing, while Austin and Houston file quarterly.
