By: Blanco, Alvarado, Hinojosa of Nueces S.B. No. 1592
(In the Senate - Filed February 24, 2025; March 10, 2025,
read first time and referred to Committee on Economic Development;
April 7, 2025, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0; April 7, 2025,
sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1592 By: Schwertner
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the collection of state and local hotel occupancy taxes
and assessments related to hotels by an accommodations
intermediary.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 156, Tax Code, is amended
by adding Section 156.054 to read as follows:
Sec. 156.054. TAX COLLECTION BY ACCOMMODATIONS
INTERMEDIARY. (a) In this section:
(1) "Accommodations intermediary" means, subject to
Subsection (b), a person that:
(A) facilitates the rental of a room or space in a
hotel in this state to a person; and
(B) performs any of the following actions:
(i) collects from the person the amount
paid for the use or possession or for the right to the use or
possession of a room or space in the hotel; or
(ii) collects from either the person
renting the room or space in the hotel or the person owning,
operating, managing, or controlling the hotel a fee for the service
described by Paragraph (A).
(2) "Booking charge" means the amount paid by a person
for the use or possession or for the right to the use or possession
of a room or space in a hotel in this state and on which a hotel
occupancy tax is imposed. The term does not include the amount
charged by an accommodations intermediary for facilitating the
rental of the room or space in the hotel. The booking charge is
considered the price paid for a room or space in a hotel for
purposes of the imposition of a hotel occupancy tax when the rental
of the room or space is facilitated by an accommodations
intermediary.
(b) The term "accommodations intermediary" does not include
a person that facilitates the rental of a room or space in a hotel
solely on behalf of an affiliated person, including a franchisee,
operating under a shared hotel brand.
(c) For purposes of this section, a person facilitates the
rental of a room or space in a hotel in this state by providing a
physical or electronic medium through which a person other than the
owner or operator of the medium rents a room or space in the hotel.
(d) Notwithstanding Section 156.053 or any other law and
except as provided by this section:
(1) an accommodations intermediary:
(A) shall collect the appropriate amount of the
tax imposed under this chapter on each booking charge with respect
to a hotel located in this state;
(B) shall report and remit all taxes collected by
the accommodations intermediary under Paragraph (A) to the
comptroller in the manner required of a person owning, operating,
managing, or controlling a hotel under this chapter in accordance
with a schedule prescribed by the comptroller; and
(C) is considered to be the person owning,
operating, managing, or controlling the hotel for purposes of the
collection and enforcement of the tax imposed under this chapter on
a booking charge for a room or space in the hotel made through the
accommodations intermediary; and
(2) the hotel may not collect and is not liable for a
tax imposed by this chapter on a booking charge for a room or space
in the hotel made through the accommodations intermediary.
(e) The comptroller shall adopt a form an accommodations
intermediary must use to report the taxes collected by the
accommodations intermediary under this section and, if applicable,
Sections 351.0043 and 352.0042. The form must include information
necessary for the comptroller to comply with the requirements of
Sections 151.429(h), 351.1015, and 351.102 and Subchapter C,
Chapter 351.
(f) The form described by Subsection (e) may not require the
identification of a specific guest or the owner or operator of a
hotel, except as necessary for the comptroller to comply with the
requirements of Sections 151.429(h), 351.1015, and 351.102 and
Subchapter C, Chapter 351.
(g) The comptroller shall make available to an
accommodations intermediary:
(1) a map that demonstrates the boundaries of each
area designated as a project financing zone under Section 351.1015;
(2) the name, address, and boundaries of each hotel
project, qualified hotel project, and qualified hotel for which a
municipality or owner is entitled to a rebate, refund, or payment of
hotel occupancy taxes under Section 151.429(h) or 351.102 or
Subchapter C, Chapter 351, as well as any other information
necessary to identify the location of the hotel project, qualified
hotel project, or qualified hotel; and
(3) a list that:
(A) is maintained and continuously updated; and
(B) provides the rate of the hotel occupancy tax
imposed by the state under this chapter and the rate of the hotel
occupancy tax imposed by each municipality and other political
subdivision that imposes a hotel occupancy tax.
(h) The comptroller shall deposit and pay to the appropriate
municipality the hotel occupancy taxes remitted by an
accommodations intermediary that are attributable to booking
charges at a hotel located in a project financing zone or at a hotel
that is a hotel project, qualified hotel project, or qualified
hotel in accordance with Section 151.429(h), 351.1015, or 351.102
or Subchapter C, Chapter 351, and rules adopted by the comptroller
under those provisions.
(i) This section does not apply to an accommodations
intermediary that has entered into a written agreement with the
comptroller to collect and remit the tax imposed under this chapter
for the rental of a room or space in a hotel in this state
facilitated by the intermediary during the period the agreement is
in effect.
(j) Sections 111.0034, 111.0035, 111.0036, 111.006, and
111.025 apply to information provided or disclosed by an
accommodations intermediary under this chapter.
(k) The comptroller may adopt rules to implement and
administer this section.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 351, Tax Code, is amended
by adding Section 351.0043 to read as follows:
Sec. 351.0043. TAX COLLECTION BY ACCOMMODATIONS
INTERMEDIARY. (a) In this section, "accommodations intermediary"
and "booking charge" have the meanings assigned by Section 156.054.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 351.004 or any other law and
except as provided by this section:
(1) an accommodations intermediary:
(A) shall collect the appropriate amount of the
tax imposed under this chapter by a municipality in which a hotel is
located on each booking charge with respect to that hotel;
(B) shall report and remit all taxes collected by
the accommodations intermediary under Paragraph (A) to the
comptroller in accordance with a schedule prescribed by the
comptroller; and
(C) is considered to be the person owning,
operating, managing, or controlling the hotel for purposes of the
collection and enforcement of the tax imposed under this chapter on
a booking charge for a room or space in the hotel made through the
accommodations intermediary; and
(2) the hotel may not collect and is not liable for a
tax imposed by this chapter on a booking charge for a room or space
in the hotel made through the accommodations intermediary.
(c) An accommodations intermediary shall use the form
adopted by the comptroller under Section 156.054(e) to report the
taxes collected by the intermediary under this chapter.
(d) Subject to Section 156.054(h), the comptroller shall:
(1) deposit the taxes remitted to the comptroller
under this section in trust in the separate suspense account of the
municipality in which hotels with respect to which the taxes were
collected are located; and
(2) send to the municipal treasurer or to the person
who performs the office of the municipal treasurer payable to the
municipality the municipality's share of the taxes remitted to the
comptroller under this chapter at least 12 times during each state
fiscal year.
(e) A suspense account described by Subsection (d)(1) is
outside the treasury and the comptroller may make a payment from the
account without the necessity of an appropriation.
(f) Before sending any money to a municipality under
Subsection (d), the comptroller shall deduct and deposit to the
credit of the general revenue fund an amount equal to one percent of
the amount of the taxes collected from booking charges for hotels
located in the municipality under this section during the period
for which a distribution is made as the state's charge for services
provided by the state under this section.
(g) An accommodations intermediary that collects the tax
imposed by this chapter is subject to audit by the comptroller only
in regard to the accommodations intermediary's collection,
reporting, and remittance of the tax imposed by this chapter. The
accommodations intermediary is entitled to seek review and to
appeal a determination made by the comptroller in relation to the
collection of a tax imposed by this chapter:
(1) as provided by Chapter 111; and
(2) in the same manner provided for a tax imposed under
Chapter 151.
(h) Notwithstanding any other law, this section applies to
the collection, remittance, and distribution of taxes imposed by a
political subdivision that is authorized to impose a hotel
occupancy tax under a provision of the Special District Local Laws
Code or civil statutes in the same manner the section applies to a
municipality authorized to impose a hotel occupancy tax under this
chapter.
(i) This section does not apply to an accommodations
intermediary that has entered into an agreement with a municipality
or other political subdivision to collect and remit hotel occupancy
taxes for the rental of a room or space in a hotel in the
municipality or political subdivision that is facilitated by the
intermediary and provided written notice of the agreement to the
comptroller during the period the agreement is in effect.
(j) A municipality that adopts an ordinance imposing a tax
under this chapter in a year after the date on which the report
required under Section 351.009 is due may not impose the tax before
the 60th day after the date the municipality provides notice of the
rate of the tax to the comptroller.
(k) A political subdivision to which this section applies
under Subsection (h) that is not required to file with the
comptroller a report under Section 351.009 or a report that
contains substantially the same information shall annually report
to the comptroller the rate of the hotel occupancy tax imposed by
the political subdivision in the manner and on a date prescribed by
the comptroller. A political subdivision that adopts an ordinance,
order, or resolution imposing a hotel occupancy tax in a year after
the date on which the political subdivision is required to report
the rate of its hotel occupancy tax to the comptroller may not
impose the tax before the 60th day after the date the political
subdivision provides notice of the rate of the tax to the
comptroller.
(l) Notwithstanding any other law, an accommodations
intermediary that collects the tax imposed by this chapter at the
rate provided by the comptroller on the most recent list made
available under Section 156.054(g) may not be held liable for using
an incorrect tax rate when collecting and remitting the tax.
(m) Sections 111.0034, 111.0035, 111.0036, 111.006, and
111.025 apply to information provided or disclosed by an
accommodations intermediary under this chapter.
(n) The comptroller may adopt rules to implement and
administer this section.
SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 352, Tax Code, is amended
by adding Section 352.0042 to read as follows:
Sec. 352.0042. TAX COLLECTION BY ACCOMMODATIONS
INTERMEDIARY. (a) In this section, "accommodations intermediary"
and "booking charge" have the meanings assigned by Section 156.054.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 352.004 or any other law and
except as provided by this section:
(1) an accommodations intermediary:
(A) shall collect the appropriate amount of the
tax imposed under this chapter by a municipality in which a hotel is
located on each booking charge with respect to that hotel;
(B) shall report and remit all taxes collected by
the accommodations intermediary under Paragraph (A) to the
comptroller in accordance with a schedule prescribed by the
comptroller; and
(C) is considered to be the person owning,
operating, managing, or controlling the hotel for purposes of the
collection and enforcement of the tax imposed under this chapter on
a booking charge for a room or space in the hotel made through the
accommodations intermediary; and
(2) the hotel may not collect and is not liable for a
tax imposed by this chapter on a booking charge for a room or space
in the hotel made through the accommodations intermediary.
(c) An accommodations intermediary shall use the form
adopted by the comptroller under Section 156.054(e) to report the
taxes collected by the intermediary under this chapter.
(d) Subject to Section 156.054(h), the comptroller shall:
(1) deposit the taxes remitted to the comptroller
under this section in trust in the separate suspense account of the
county in which hotels with respect to which the taxes were
collected are located; and
(2) send to the county treasurer payable to the county
the county's share of the taxes remitted to the comptroller under
this chapter at least 12 times during each state fiscal year.
(e) A suspense account described by Subsection (d)(1) is
outside the treasury and the comptroller may make a payment from the
account without the necessity of an appropriation.
(f) Before sending any money to a county under Subsection
(d), the comptroller shall deduct and deposit to the credit of the
general revenue fund an amount equal to one percent of the amount of
the taxes collected from booking charges for hotels located in the
county under this section during the period for which a
distribution is made as the state's charge for services provided by
the state under this section.
(g) An accommodations intermediary that collects the tax
imposed by this chapter is subject to audit by the comptroller only
in regard to the accommodations intermediary's collection,
reporting, and remittance of the tax imposed by this chapter. The
accommodations intermediary is entitled to seek review and to
appeal a determination made by the comptroller in relation to the
collection of a tax imposed by this chapter:
(1) as provided by Chapter 111; and
(2) in the same manner provided for a tax imposed under
Chapter 151.
(h) Notwithstanding any other law, this section applies to
the collection, remittance, and distribution of taxes imposed by a
political subdivision that is authorized to impose a hotel
occupancy tax under a provision of the Special District Local Laws
Code or civil statutes in the same manner the section applies to a
county authorized to impose a hotel occupancy tax under this
chapter.
(i) This section does not apply to an accommodations
intermediary that has entered into an agreement with a county or
other political subdivision to collect and remit hotel occupancy
taxes for the rental of a room or space in a hotel in the county or
political subdivision that is facilitated by the intermediary and
provided written notice of the agreement to the comptroller during
the period the agreement is in effect.
(j) A county that adopts an order or resolution imposing a
tax under this chapter in a year after the date on which the report
required under Section 352.009 is due may not impose the tax before
the 60th day after the date the county provides notice of the rate
of the tax to the comptroller.
(k) A political subdivision to which this section applies
under Subsection (h) that is not required to file with the
comptroller a report under Section 352.009 or a report that
contains substantially the same information shall annually report
to the comptroller the rate of the hotel occupancy tax imposed by
the political subdivision in the manner and on a date prescribed by
the comptroller. A political subdivision that adopts an ordinance,
order, or resolution imposing a hotel occupancy tax in a year after
the date on which the political subdivision is required to report
the rate of its hotel occupancy tax to the comptroller may not
impose the tax before the 60th day after the date the political
subdivision provides notice of the rate of the tax to the
comptroller.
(l) Notwithstanding any other law, an accommodations
intermediary that collects the tax imposed by this chapter at the
rate provided by the comptroller on the most recent list made
available under Section 156.054(g) may not be held liable for using
an incorrect tax rate when collecting and remitting the tax.
(m) Sections 111.0034, 111.0035, 111.0036, 111.006, and
111.025 apply to information provided or disclosed by an
accommodations intermediary under this chapter.
(n) The comptroller may adopt rules to implement and
administer this section.
SECTION 4. Sections 334.253(a) and (b), Local Government
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Sections 351.002(c), 351.004, 351.0041, 351.0043,
351.005, and 351.006, Tax Code, govern the imposition, computation,
administration, collection, and remittance of a municipal tax
authorized under this subchapter except as inconsistent with this
subchapter.
(b) Sections 352.002(c), 352.004, 352.0041, 352.0042,
352.005, and 352.007, Tax Code, govern the imposition, computation,
administration, collection, and remittance of a county tax
authorized under this subchapter except as inconsistent with this
subchapter.
SECTION 5. Subchapter A, Chapter 372, Local Government
Code, is amended by adding Section 372.0185 to read as follows:
Sec. 372.0185. COLLECTION OF ASSESSMENT BY ACCOMMODATIONS
INTERMEDIARY. (a) In this section, "accommodations intermediary"
has the meaning assigned by Section 156.054, Tax Code.
(b) This section applies only to a public improvement
district established by the governing body of a municipality or
county under this subchapter that levies against a hotel an
assessment that:
(1) is imposed on a percentage of the consideration
paid for occupancy of a sleeping room in the hotel; and
(2) is collected in the same manner and in accordance
with the same procedures as a hotel occupancy tax imposed by the
municipality or county that established the district.
(c) The governing body of a municipality or county that
establishes a public improvement district described by Subsection
(b) may require an accommodations intermediary to collect an
assessment levied against a hotel in the district if:
(1) a hotel in the district enters into an agreement
with an accommodations intermediary to have the assessment
collected by the accommodations intermediary;
(2) the hotel provides to the accommodations
intermediary the rate of the assessment to be collected as well as
any other information necessary for the accommodations
intermediary to collect the assessment; and
(3) the hotel agrees to remit the assessment to the
governing body of the municipality or county, as applicable, that
established the district.
(d) Notwithstanding any other law, if the governing body of
a municipality or county requires an accommodations intermediary to
collect an assessment under this section, the accommodations
intermediary may not be held liable for collecting the assessment
in an incorrect amount.
SECTION 6. (a) Not later than December 1, 2025, each
municipality, county, or other political subdivision that imposes a
hotel occupancy tax shall provide notice of the rate of that tax to
the comptroller of public accounts in the manner prescribed by the
comptroller.
(b) This section takes effect September 1, 2025.
SECTION 7. Except as otherwise provided by this Act, this
Act takes effect June 1, 2026.
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