Waco, TX Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax rate
- 7% of room consideration paid
- Minimum threshold
- Applies when room cost is $2.00/day or more
- Includes
- Short-term rentals and bed and breakfast homestays
- Exempt stays
- 30+ consecutive days = permanent resident, no tax
- Filing deadline
- Monthly report due the 20th
- Late penalty
- 5% plus 5% after 30 days, 10%/yr interest
Summary
Waco taxes hotel occupancy at 7 percent of the room charge whenever that charge is $2.00 or more per day, and the code's definition of 'hotel' expressly reaches short-term rental facilities and bed and breakfast homestays, not just traditional hotels and motels. Anyone occupying a room for 30 or more consecutive days counts as a permanent resident and owes no tax.
Hotel shall mean any building in which the public may, for a consideration, obtain sleeping accommodations. The term shall include, but not be limited to, hotels, motels, tourist homes, houses or courts, lodginghouses, inns, roominghouses, bed and breakfast homestay establishments, bed and breakfast inns, and short term rental facilities, but does not include hospitals, sanitariums or nursing homes... There is hereby levied a tax upon the occupant of any room or space furnished by any hotel where such costs of occupancy is at the rate of $2.00 or more per day, such tax to be equal to seven per cent of the consideration paid by the occupant of such room, space or facility to such hotel.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 88).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 00 or more per day. Sec. 24-96 defines 'hotel' broadly enough to include hotels, motels, tourist homes, houses or courts, lodginghouses, inns, roominghouses, bed and breakfast homestay establishments, bed and breakfast inns, and short term rental facilities, but excludes hospitals, sanitariums and nursing homes; an 'occupant' is anyone who pays for the right to use a room for less than 30 days, while a 'permanent resident' who has the right to occupy a room for 30 or more consecutive days is not subject to the tax at all.
Sec. 24-99 puts the collection duty on whoever owns, operates, manages or controls the hotel, and Sec. 24-100 requires that person to file a monthly report with the director of finance by the 20th of each month showing the prior month's room charges and tax collected, paying the tax at the same time the report is filed. Sec. 24-98 restricts how the revenue can be spent, largely on convention facilities, tourism advertising, the arts, and historic preservation near convention facilities, with at least one percent reserved for advertising and solicitation programs and no more than one percent usable for that specific purpose.
Violations & Fines
Failing to collect the tax, failing to file the monthly report, failing to remit the tax when due, or filing a false report is a misdemeanor under Sec. 24-102. On top of a criminal charge, a late filer forfeits five percent of the amount due as a penalty, another five percent after the first 30 days, and delinquent tax draws ten percent annual interest starting 60 days after the due date, with a $1.00 minimum penalty.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Waco's hotel occupancy tax rate?
Does Waco's hotel tax apply to Airbnb-style short-term rentals?
If I stay somewhere in Waco for a month, do I owe the hotel tax?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Waco
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