Travis County, TX Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- State HOT
- Six percent
- Austin city HOT
- Nine percent
- Combined Austin
- About seventeen percent
- Stay threshold
- Under thirty days
Summary
Hotels and short-term rentals in Travis County collect a combined hotel occupancy tax of roughly fifteen percent, including six percent state and up to nine percent municipal in Austin, plus a venue tax for tourism and convention projects.
Sec. 156.052. RATE OF TAX. The rate of the tax imposed by this chapter is six percent of the price paid for a room in a hotel. Sec. 156.053. COLLECTION OF TAX. A person owning, operating, managing, or controlling a hotel shall collect for the state the tax that is imposed by this chapter and that is calculated on the amount paid for a room in the hotel.
Full Breakdown
Texas Tax Code Chapter 156 imposes a six percent state hotel occupancy tax on stays under thirty days. Austin layers a nine percent city HOT and a two percent venue project tax under Tax Code Chapter 351, bringing combined rates to about seventeen percent inside city limits. Unincorporated Travis County collects through state remittance only when it has not adopted a county HOT under Chapter 352. Operators register with the Texas Comptroller, file monthly returns, and keep records four years. Short-term rental platforms typically collect and remit on behalf of hosts.
Violations & Fines
Failing to register, collect, or remit hotel occupancy tax results in interest, penalty up to fifty percent of tax due, and Comptroller hearings; willful evasion can become a state jail felony for large amounts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do platforms collect tax automatically?
Are stays over thirty days exempt?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Travis County
Texas rules heatmap·Compare Travis County to another location·View the Texas hotels & lodging overview
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