Airbnb rentals in Texas will begin collecting and remitting 6% hotel occupancy tax on May 1. In an agreement reached between the home-sharing company and the state, cities will now collect the same HOT tax from home rentals as they do from hotel rooms, the Houston Chronicle reports.
Airbnb has about 26,000 hosts in Texas. The average host earns $4,800 annually in home-sharing revenue.
Airbnb renters will see the tax on their bill starting next month. The home-sharing company will remit the taxes to the state.
This agreement allows communities to rightfully benefit from the economic impact of Airbnb, said Laura Spanjian, Airbnb public policy manager for Texas.
At Bisnow’s Austin State of the Market event in April, Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau president and CEO Tom Noonan said protecting the state’s HOT tax is imperative to the CVB’s budget. Noonan also said the state needed to implement a statewide plan for home rentals.
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