Port Aransas short-term rental registration and hotel occupancy tax, explained

The city STR registration

Short-term rentals in Port Aransas are regulated under STR Ordinance No. 2022-02, Chapter 12. Owners register each property through the city's online system: create an account, receive an activation code, then register the property. The registration expires on December 31 each year and is not pro-rated, so a home registered in October still renews in January.

• An emergency contact must be on file for each property and reachable through the city's complaint hotline, with a response expected within 60 minutes.
• If a property management company operates the home, its details go on the registration.
• The city publishes a Tenant Information Sheet and trash guidance for guests; both belong in the house and the listing.
• The registration fee is set in the city's fee schedule (linked under Sources below).

Hotel occupancy tax: two rates, one due date

The tax applies to rooms, houses and condos rented for fewer than 30 consecutive days. The city return is filed through MuniRevs; the state return through the Texas Comptroller's Webfile. Both are monthly and both are due on the 20th of the month after the stay.

What Airbnb and VRBO remit, and what they do not

Airbnb and VRBO remit the 6% Texas state tax on their bookings under their own accounts, so those stays are left off the host's state return. Neither platform remits the 9% City of Port Aransas tax. The 9% is charged to the guest as a tax line on the booking, paid out with the reservation, and must be filed with the city every month by the host or the manager. On direct bookings the host collects both taxes and remits both.

That split is where self-managed homes most often go wrong: the state side looks handled, so the city side is assumed handled too. It is not.

What PAVC does for the homes it manages

• Keeps the city STR registration current and the emergency contact on file with the city.
• Configures both taxes on every channel so the guest is charged the right amount on Airbnb, VRBO and direct.
• Files the 9% city return through MuniRevs and the 6% state return through the Comptroller every month.
• Shows the tax collected and remitted on your itemized monthly statement. The 16% management fee is never charged on it.

If you self-manage: the monthly checklist

1. 1Confirm every stay under 30 nights was charged 15% (9% city + 6% state) on the rent and any taxable fees.
2. 2Pull the month's bookings by channel: Airbnb and VRBO stays for the city return only; direct stays for both returns.
3. 3File the city return in MuniRevs and pay by the 20th to keep the 1% on-time discount.
4. 4File the state return in Webfile and pay by the 20th.
5. 5Each December, renew the STR registration before it expires on the 31st.

Questions owners ask

Straight answers

Sources

• City of Port Aransas — Short Term Rental Registration — accessed September 11, 2026
• City of Port Aransas — Hotel Motel Tax — accessed September 11, 2026
• City of Port Aransas — Fee Schedule (September 2025) — accessed September 11, 2026