Airbnb will begin collecting and remitting the Hotel Occupancy Tax (7 percent) on behalf of its Kyle host community on Dec. 1, the company announced today. The tax agreement joins Kyle with several other Texas cities and the state in fully benefiting from people visiting via home sharing and short-term rentals.
Airbnb hosts in Kyle continue to enjoy growth in supplemental income - with nearly 65 percent year-over-year growth in host income. This summer alone, Kyle-area hosts made more than $240,000 between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Collecting and remitting hotel taxes is complicated. The rules were designed for traditional hospitality providers and large hotel corporations with teams of lawyers and accountants. For this reason, Airbnb has partnered with more than 400 local governments throughtout the U.S. to collect taxes.
“This agreement will unlock new revenue for the city of Kyle, as similar agreements have for the state and cities such as Houston, Corpus Christi, Plano and Conroe,” said Laura Spanjian, senior policy director for Airbnb. “We are glad to be a local partner - driving economic impact for hosts and helping to support the city’s tourism and arts communities.”
State law mandates that Hotel Occupancy Taxes be dedicated to supporting local tourism marketing and the Kyle arts community.
In its tax collection on behalf of Texas, the company announced that it delivered more than $24 million in tax revenue on behalf of its Texas hosts, up from $15.3 million the previous year.
