Editor: Shannon Cottongame
July 21, 2021
Hill County officials are reminding those who rent rooms or homes to guests that they are required to collect state hotel occupancy taxes.
Hotel owners, operators or managers must collect state hotel occupancy tax from their guests who rent a room or space in a hotel costing $15 or more each day.
The tax applies not only to hotels and motels, but also to bed and breakfasts, condominiums, apartments and houses.
Local hotel taxes apply to sleeping rooms costing $2 or more each day. The local county occupancy tax is three percent for Hill County and is due quarterly.
The Hill County percentage applies to all authorized entities outside of the city jurisdictions.
With the numerous sporting, lake and entertainment events around the county, many homeowners rent their homes or rooms in their homes to people attending these events.
Those leasing their houses must collect hotel occupancy tax from their customers in the same way a hotel or motel collects the tax from its guests.
Property management companies, online travel companies and other third-party rental companies can be directed to collect the tax for you to ensure compliance.
Those owners collecting state hotel/motel tax must also assess their responsibility for collecting Hill County local tax.
For more information, visit http://www.co.hill.tx.us/page/hill.County.Information, https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/TX/htm/TX.352.htm, and https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/hotel/.
The Lakelander 