Hotel and short-term rental operators in Fort Worth must register with Fort Worth Finance and the Texas Comptroller, collect the city's 9 percent Hotel Occupancy Tax plus the 6 percent state HOT, file periodic returns, retain records for four years, and prepare for revenue audits.
Fort Worth's 9 percent HOT under Texas Tax Code Chapter 351 funds convention-center operations, Visit Fort Worth tourism marketing, arts, and historic preservation. Operators register with the city's Finance Department, collect both state and local HOT, and file monthly returns electronically. They must keep guest folios, exemption certificates, and payment records for at least four years. The Texas Comptroller audits state HOT; Fort Worth audits city HOT. Federal-government and qualifying nonprofit bookings are exempt with documentation, as are stays of 30 or more consecutive days. Marketplace platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo often collect and remit, but hosts retain ultimate responsibility for compliance and filings.
Operating without HOT registration, underreporting receipts, missing monthly filings, holding collected HOT instead of remitting, or failing to keep four years of records triggers penalties, interest, audits, and possible criminal referrals.
See how Fort Worth's transient occupancy tax rules stack up against other locations.
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