STR owners have historically been responsible for collecting and paying Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) directly to the city of San Antonio. Operators were required to collect a 9% city HOT and a 1.75% Bexar County HOT from guests. Monthly HOT reports are to be filed, even if no rentals occurred during that period.

There has been an agreement between the city of San Antonio and some participating platforms like Airbnb, VRBO, and HomeAway to allow these platforms to collect and pay the city HOT directly to the city. However, STR owners are still responsible for paying the Bexar County HOT and filing the monthly report. The date that this change is set to occur keeps delaying, but as of now, the transition is to begin March 10th, 2025.

In an email from the Development Services Department,

"Here is a quick update on the revised Short Term Rental ordinance approved by City Council on June 13, 2024. There will be a change in reporting/remitting the Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) depending on which online platforms you use to rent your property.

Starting March 10, 2025

If your short-term rental is advertised through a platform that remits HOT directly to the State of Texas (Airbnb, VRBO, or HomeAway), the platform will begin paying the City HOT on behalf of the operators. However, all operators will be required to:

Continue to file reports and pay Bexar County HOT through Avenu.
File City HOT reports through Avenu and pay any taxes not collected and remitted by these two platforms. If your short-term rental is not rented through Airbnb, VRBO, or HomeAway, the operator must continue to report and pay monthly City and County HOT to the City through Avenu.

Regardless of whether the online platform remits the City HOT directly for you or not, all operators are required to file a monthly tax report through Avenu for City and County.

The table below further summarizes this new timeline of the operator's responsibility to report and pay HOT for the upcoming months:

IF YOUR

IN JANUARY

IN FEBRUARY

IN MARCH

Platform Remits State HOT

Operators must Report & Pay December City & County HOT through Avenu

Operators must Report & Pay January City & County HOT through Avenu

1. Operators must Report February City & County HOT through Avenu**

This means you have to file the full amount and list deductions for the account(s) the platform(s) paid to the City, and

2. Operators must Pay County HOT through Avenu

Platform Does not Remit State HOT

Operators must Report & Pay December City & County HOT through Avenu

Operators must Report & Pay January City & County HOT through Avenu

Operators must Report & Pay February City & County HOT through Avenu

**Platforms that collect Texas State HOT will Pay City HOT directly to City**

An updated FAQ summarizing this update to the HOT compliance timeline and more is available on our SASpeakUp site. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the City’s Finance Department at https://avenuinsights.service-now.com/csp."