Dallas County's 7% Hotel Occupancy Tax under Texas Tax Code Chapter 352 applies only to lodging in unincorporated Dallas County. City hotels in Dallas, Irving, Garland, and other municipalities pay city HOT (typically 7%) plus 6% state HOT instead, never the county portion under Tax Code 352.002.
Texas Tax Code Chapter 352 authorizes counties to levy a Hotel Occupancy Tax up to 7%, but Tax Code 352.002 expressly blocks county HOT collection inside any incorporated city that imposes its own HOT. As a result, Dallas County's 7% county HOT applies almost entirely to a handful of hotels, motels, and short-term rentals in unincorporated Dallas County. Operators register with the Dallas County Auditor under Commissioners Court rules, file monthly returns, and remit the 7% on rooms costing $2 or more per night. Permanent guests staying 30 or more consecutive days are exempt under Tax Code 156.101. Revenues fund tourism promotion and convention facilities under Tax Code 352.1015. State HOT continues at 6% statewide.
Operators of unincorporated lodging that fail to register, file monthly returns, or remit county HOT face Tax Code 352.105 penalties: 5% late, rising to 10% after 30 days, plus interest. Willful nonpayment is a misdemeanor supporting county tax liens.
See how Cedar Hill's transient occupancy tax rules stack up against other locations.
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