Cameron County, Texas
South Padre Island, TX vacation rental requirements
South Padre Island requires a yearly short-term rental license ($125) with the number on every ad, a 24/7 local contact who responds within an hour, and a smoke detector in every sleeping room. Since 2026, three citations in a year can cost you the license. Stays owe 17% in hotel taxes; Airbnb collects only the 6% state share, so owners file the city and county taxes monthly.
Checked against official sources November 8, 2026Download checklist (PDF)Free. A printable version of this guide to tick off, with the official sources.
The city lists its own hotel tax as 8.5% plus 2%; the Comptroller’s 2025 data show 9% plus 2%. City violations can bring fines up to $2,000 a day. The license fee comes from a tax-service summary; confirm it with the city.
Your licensing checklist
In order: the state, the county, then the town.
State of Texas
Know who pays the hotel tax
Airbnb collects and pays the 6% state hotel tax on its bookings. If guests pay you directly or through a site that doesn’t collect, register with the Comptroller and file the state tax yourself.Source
Register for local hotel tax
Your city (and in some places your county) charges its own hotel tax, filed with that city or county, not the state. Airbnb pays it only in the places on its list; everywhere else you register and file it yourself, even for Airbnb bookings.Source
Check your city’s rules
Many Texas cities require a short-term rental permit or registration, and some require an inspection, a local contact, or posted rules. Outside city limits there’s usually no permit, but deed restrictions and HOA rules often limit rentals. Pick your area for the local rules.Source
Cameron County, Texas
Then pick your city
Texas counties can’t zone, so rental permits and the local hotel tax are set by each city. Pick your city, or the unincorporated page if you’re outside city limits.Source
File the county hotel tax
Register your rental in the Localgov portal (choose Cameron County, Texas) and file the county return by the 20th of each month, even with no rentals. Late returns owe a 5% penalty after 30 days.Source
City of South Padre Island, Texas
Open your tax accounts
Open a city hotel tax account for the 10.5% city tax, get a Texas taxpayer ID for the 6% state tax (unless every booking goes through Airbnb or VRBO), and register with Cameron County for its 0.5%.Source
Get the short-term rental license
Apply for the city’s yearly short-term rental license ($125), name a local contact who can respond to the city within an hour at any time, and put the license number in every ad.Source
Set up the rental
Put a smoke detector in every sleeping room, post the contact and license number at the property, and give guests the city’s standards of conduct, including parking and quiet hours.Source
Hotel taxes on each stay
Stays of 29 nights or less owe the 6% state hotel tax, which Airbnb collects on its bookings. If guests pay you directly, file it with the Texas Comptroller. South Padre Island’s 10.5% city tax and Cameron County’s 0.5% aren’t collected by Airbnb. File city returns monthly, even with no rentals; the city says reports go through Deckard from October 1.Source
Fees
$125 a year
| Annual STR license | $125 |
|---|
Inspection checklist
What the inspector looks for, from City of South Padre Island, Texas’s published checklist.
- Smoke detectorsIn every sleeping room.Source
House rules for guests
Sources
- Hotel Occupancy Tax FAQs: Airbnb · Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
- Occupancy tax collection and remittance by Airbnb in Texas · Airbnb
- County zoning authority (Local Government Code ch. 231) · Texas Legislature
- Cameron County Hotel Tax Information (HOT) · Cameron County
- Hotel Occupancy Tax · City of South Padre Island
- South Padre Island short-term rental operators face consequences for multiple legal violations (February 2026) · Avalara MyLodgeTax
- Texas beach towns Airbnb market data (active homes) · AirROI
- Short-term rental ordinances · City of South Padre Island
- SPI rental owners face license crackdown (February 19, 2026) · Port Isabel-South Padre Press
A plain-language summary to help you prepare, not legal advice. Rules and fees change; confirm with the office before you apply. Spot something out of date? Email hello@licensedrental.com.