Hotel Occupancy Tax FAQs

On April 1, 2019, HomeAway will begin collecting and remitting Texas state hotel occupancy taxes on behalf of all Partners for all bookings on HomeAway websites from that date forward. Partners will no longer be responsible for collecting such taxes on HomeAway rentals and will not have an option to opt-out of collection by HomeAway.

Partners should not report their HomeAway rental receipts to the Comptroller on the Texas Hotel Occupancy Tax Report (form 12-100), either in Item 4 “Total Dollar Amount of Receipts” or Item 5 “Total Taxable Receipts” for HomeAway rentals on or after April 1, 2019. HomeAway will report rental receipts and remit state hotel occupancy taxes to the Comptroller for its Partners’ rentals.

Yes. Partners who collected state hotel occupancy taxes on HomeAway short-term rentals booked prior to April 1, 2019, regardless of the dates of stay, are responsible for remitting and reporting those taxes to the Comptroller. Partners are not responsible for reporting taxes on short-term rentals made through HomeAway after April 1, 2019. Partners who did not collect state hotel occupancy taxes on HomeAway short-term rentals booked prior to April 1, 2019, are responsible for collecting and remitting state hotel occupancy taxes on those rentals for any periods prior to April 1, 2019, and reporting those rentals to the Comptroller.

Many cities and certain counties and special purpose districts impose a local hotel occupancy tax. Partners may be responsible for local hotel occupancy taxes imposed by taxing jurisdictions where their short-term rentals are located for both HomeAway rentals and non-HomeAway rentals. If Partners have further questions regarding local taxes, they should contact their local jurisdictions for more information.

The collection and remittance of Texas state hotel occupancy tax is required for all short-term rentals (unless an exemption applies). Although HomeAway is handling the tax for bookings on its site, Partners are still required to collect and remit the tax for bookings made on non-HomeAway rentals.

Yes. Partners may close their state hotel occupancy tax account if, after April 1, 2019, they offer all of their short-term rentals through HomeAway. Partners who do not close their accounts must file reports showing zero receipts or be subject to a $50 non-filer penalty. Partners are responsible for reporting local hotel occupancy tax on HomeAway rentals that are located in a city, county, or special purpose district that imposes a hotel occupancy tax.

No. HomeAway considers all rentals of 29 days or less to be taxable. If an additional exemption applies, HomeAway will refund the traveler directly, and will maintain necessary documentation to support the exemption.

Partners are not liable for state hotel occupancy taxes collected by HomeAway after April 1, 2019. Instead, HomeAway is responsible for state hotel occupancy taxes collected after April 1, 2019.

In the event of an audit, Partners can view detailed information about their earnings any time by downloading the Payments Report located in their HomeAway account. The state hotel occupancy taxes collected are listed in the 'Stay Tax We Remit' column in the report, and the state hotel occupancy taxes also appear as a line item on all traveler receipts.

Partners can click the download icon to export the reports to a comma-separated values (CSV) file for a defined period of time, based on the Partner payout date. This is useful in the event a Partner needs to provide proof to an auditor that state hotel occupancy taxes were collected on their HomeAway bookings. If an auditor has any questions regarding the information in the CSV file, they should contact HomeAway directly, since HomeAway is assuming the responsibility of collecting and remitting state hotel occupancy taxes on rentals booked through HomeAway.

When HomeAway is audited for these transactions, they will be required to prove that they collected and remitted tax on Partners’ rentals.

Partners can view detailed information about their HomeAway bookings any time from HomeAway through their Payments Report, including the gross amount Partners charged the traveler for the stay, and the amount of taxes HomeAway collected and remitted. The Comptroller does not maintain information on individual Partners.

Yes, Partners are responsible for state hotel occupancy taxes on bookings/reservations made prior to April 1, 2019, regardless of when the traveler actually occupies the short-term rental.

No. HomeAway will not report any personally identifiable information regarding the Partners or Travelers on its Texas Hotel Occupancy Tax Report to the Comptroller. HomeAway will only be reporting total receipts and total taxable receipts for each city and county.

No. The person required to file a Texas Hotel Occupancy Tax Report may deduct one percent of the amount of the tax due as shown on the report as reimbursement for the cost of collecting the tax. Beginning April 1, 2019, for HomeAway rentals, HomeAway is required to collect state hotel occupancy taxes and is required to file a Texas Hotel Occupancy Tax Report. Therefore, Partners may not take the timely filing discount. Partners may continue to take the timely filing discount on non-HomeAway rentals.