Top TLDR:

The Austin hotel occupancy tax filing guide for Airbnb hosts covers a combined 17% HOT rate across state, city, and arts tiers — not all of which Airbnb remits automatically — along with monthly or quarterly filing requirements and penalties that escalate quickly on late payments. Many Austin hosts unknowingly underpay because they assume Airbnb handles everything. Audit what your platform actually remits versus what you legally owe, then set up your filing cadence before your next booking closes.

Collecting and remitting Hotel Occupancy Tax is one of the most frequently mishandled compliance obligations for Austin Airbnb hosts. The confusion usually comes from one source: platform remittance. Because Airbnb and Vrbo collect and forward some occupancy taxes on hosts' behalf in certain jurisdictions, many hosts assume the full obligation is covered. In Austin, that assumption can lead to underpayment — and underpayment leads to penalties, interest, and audits.

This guide breaks down every layer of the Austin Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) that applies to short-term rental hosts, clarifies exactly what Airbnb remits versus what remains the host's responsibility, walks through how and when to file, and explains what happens when something goes wrong. Understanding your HOT obligations isn't just a compliance requirement — it's a fundamental part of running a profitable, protected Austin STR.

If managing tax filings alongside licensing, renewals, and operations sounds like more than you want to handle solo, Sora Stays offers full-service Austin property management that includes financial reporting structured to make HOT filing straightforward.

What Is the Austin Hotel Occupancy Tax?

Hotel Occupancy Tax is a percentage-based tax levied on the price paid by guests for short-term accommodations. In Texas, it applies to any lodging rental of 30 days or fewer — which means every Airbnb, Vrbo, or direct booking at your Austin property is a taxable transaction.

The tax is not income tax. It's a pass-through obligation: you collect it from guests at the time of booking, hold it, and then remit it to the appropriate taxing authority on a recurring schedule. The guest bears the economic cost; you bear the administrative and legal responsibility for accurate collection and timely remittance.

This distinction matters because failing to remit HOT — even if you never explicitly charged the guest for it — does not reduce your liability. Texas and Austin authorities can assess the tax against hosts based on gross rental revenue, regardless of what appeared in the booking breakdown.

Austin's HOT Rate Structure: All Three Layers

Austin's combined Hotel Occupancy Tax rate is 17%. That number comes from three separate tax tiers that stack on top of each other, each administered by a different authority.

State Hotel Occupancy Tax — 6%The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts administers the state's 6% HOT. This applies to all taxable short-term rentals in Texas and is remitted directly to the state, not the city. Airbnb remits this on behalf of hosts in Texas under its agreement with the Comptroller.

City of Austin Hotel Occupancy Tax — 9%Austin's city-level HOT is 9% of gross rental revenue. The City of Austin administers this tax directly. Whether Airbnb remits this on your behalf depends on your specific platform agreement and account status — more on that below.

Austin Arts and Cultural HOT — 2%Austin levies an additional 2% HOT dedicated to arts and cultural programming. This brings the combined rate to 17% of the total accommodation price paid by guests. Like the city tax, remittance responsibility depends on how your platform agreement is structured.

Understanding that these three tiers exist — and are administered by different entities — is essential to knowing whether you have any residual filing obligations after platform remittance.

What Airbnb Actually Remits (and What It Doesn't)

This is where most Austin hosts get into trouble. Airbnb has tax collection agreements with a range of state and local governments, and it does remit some occupancy taxes automatically. But "some" is not "all," and the specific taxes covered depend on agreements that can change — and that vary by platform.

As of current practice, Airbnb remits the Texas state HOT (6%) on behalf of Austin hosts under its agreement with the Texas Comptroller. For the City of Austin's 9% and the 2% arts HOT, platform remittance is not universally guaranteed. Some hosts have seen these taxes collected and forwarded by Airbnb; others have not. The only reliable way to know what your platform is remitting on your behalf is to review your transaction history and payout statements in detail, cross-reference against the taxes broken out in guest receipts, and confirm directly with Airbnb's tax support team if anything is unclear.

Vrbo's remittance structure differs from Airbnb's. If you list on multiple platforms or take direct bookings, your tax obligations and remittance coverage may vary across each revenue stream.

The practical takeaway: never assume full remittance. Verify it. Underpayment discovered during an audit carries retroactive penalties that can significantly exceed what you would have paid by staying current. The Austin Airbnb host legal protection guide addresses HOT as part of the broader compliance framework every Austin host should have in place.

Calculating Your HOT Liability

Your HOT liability is based on gross rental revenue — the total amount paid by guests for accommodations, before any deductions for platform fees, cleaning fees (which may or may not be taxable depending on how they're itemized), or host expenses.

Cleaning fees present a nuance worth understanding. In Texas, cleaning fees that are separately stated and not included in the room rate may be exempt from HOT, but only if they are genuinely separate charges for a non-lodging service. If cleaning fees are bundled into a nightly rate or treated as part of the accommodation price, they are typically taxable. If you're unsure how your cleaning fee structure affects your HOT calculation, a Texas tax professional familiar with STR operations can clarify your specific situation.

Maintaining a clean record of gross revenue per booking — organized by platform, date, and tax collected — is the foundation of accurate HOT filing. Sora Stays provides transparent monthly owner reports and financial summaries for every Austin property it manages, which makes this record-keeping automatic rather than manual.

Filing Frequency: Monthly vs. Quarterly

Texas and the City of Austin both set filing frequency based on the volume of taxable revenue your property generates.

For the state HOT, hosts whose tax liability is less than $500 per month may file quarterly. Those with higher liability file monthly. For the city HOT, Austin follows a similar threshold-based schedule. Filing periods close at the end of each month or quarter, with returns due shortly after — typically the 20th of the following month.

The filing cadence you're assigned when you first register with each taxing authority is not always final. If your revenue increases significantly — through better pricing strategy, more bookings, or adding a second property — your filing frequency may need to be updated. High-volume operators who miss the shift to monthly filing can inadvertently file late, triggering penalties even when they intended to comply.

How to Register and File

State HOT filing is handled through the Texas Comptroller's online portal, eSystems. Hosts need to register for a Sales and Use Tax permit (which also covers HOT) and file returns on the assigned schedule. If Airbnb is remitting the state HOT on your behalf, you may still need to report the activity — confirm with the Comptroller's office whether a zero-dollar return is required during periods of full platform remittance.

City of Austin HOT filing is managed through Austin's financial services department. You'll need to register as a short-term rental operator with the city and file on the city's schedule. Austin offers online filing through its tax portal, and paper returns are also accepted.

Keep copies of every filed return, every payment confirmation, and every platform remittance statement that documents what Airbnb or Vrbo paid on your behalf. In the event of an audit, this documentation is your evidence of compliance.

Penalties for Late or Inaccurate Filing

Texas takes occupancy tax non-compliance seriously, and the penalty structure reflects that.

For late payment of state HOT, a 5% penalty applies to amounts up to 30 days overdue. After 30 days, the penalty increases to 10%. Interest accrues on top of penalties for extended non-payment. If the Comptroller determines that failure to pay was fraudulent or willful, a 50% fraud penalty can be assessed.

Austin's city penalties follow a similar structure. The longer a liability goes unaddressed, the more expensive it becomes — and the city can and does audit STR operators, particularly those who have STR licenses on file but no corresponding HOT registration.

Voluntary disclosure — coming forward to address past underpayment before an audit — typically results in reduced penalties compared to what's assessed through enforcement. If you've been operating without filing HOT, the best course of action is to get compliant proactively. A tax professional familiar with Texas HOT can help you calculate back liability and structure a disclosure if needed.

HOT and Your STR License: How They're Connected

Your STR license and your HOT registration are separate but linked. The City of Austin issues STR licenses through its Development Services Department and administers HOT through its financial services office. Having one without the other is a red flag in both directions — an active license with no HOT registration suggests revenue is going unreported.

When Austin audits STR operators, it often cross-references license records against HOT filings. Hosts who are licensed but not registered for city HOT are easy to identify. Starting your HOT registration at the same time you apply for your STR license is the cleanest approach, and it's part of the onboarding process for hosts working with a professional management company.

For a full walkthrough of the Austin STR license application process — including timing, required documents, and common mistakes — see the Austin short-term rental license application walkthrough.

Building a Tax-Ready Operating System

The hosts who handle HOT cleanly aren't doing anything complicated. They've built simple, consistent habits into their operations: recording gross revenue per booking as it comes in, reconciling platform remittance statements monthly, filing returns on schedule, and maintaining documentation that can support an audit if one ever arrives.

For self-managing hosts, this means setting up a basic spreadsheet or accounting tool that tracks revenue and tax by booking source, and scheduling filing deadlines in advance just like you would a license renewal. For hosts working with a professional management team, the financial reporting infrastructure is already in place.

Sora Stays' full-service short-term rental management includes the kind of organized financial reporting that keeps HOT filing straightforward — monthly owner summaries, platform revenue breakdowns, and clear records by booking period. Paired with Austin neighborhood insights and dynamic pricing support, it's the operating foundation that keeps your property both profitable and protected.

If you're ready to simplify your Austin STR operations — from tax compliance to guest experience — reach out to Sora Stays for a free consultation.

Bottom TLDR:

‍The Austin hotel occupancy tax filing guide for Airbnb hosts clarifies that the combined 17% HOT rate spans three separate tiers — state, city, and arts — and that Airbnb's automatic remittance does not reliably cover all three, leaving many hosts with unmet city-level filing obligations. Late or incomplete HOT filing triggers escalating penalties starting at 5% and rising to 10% after 30 days, with interest added on top. Verify your platform's remittance history, register with both the Texas Comptroller and the City of Austin, and build a monthly reconciliation habit to stay ahead of every filing deadline.

Sora Stays is a full-service Airbnb property management company serving Austin, Texas and surrounding areas including East Austin, Zilker, Tarrytown, Westlake Hills, Lake Travis, and the Texas Hill Country. Contact us at info@sorastays.com or call (281) 800-8293.

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