Nueces County, Texas
Corpus Christi, TX vacation rental requirements
Corpus Christi requires a $250 yearly short-term rental registration. Rentals that aren’t the owner’s home are capped at 15% of a block face, and single-family zones on Padre and Mustang islands don’t allow them. The application needs a floor plan showing sleeping areas, evacuation routes, and fire extinguishers. Airbnb collects the 6% state and 9% city hotel taxes.
Checked against official sources November 8, 2026Download checklist (PDF)Free. A printable version of this guide to tick off, with the official sources.
Operators without a permit have been cited ($500) and sent to municipal court. The city reports a 7% hotel tax to the Comptroller; Airbnb collects 9%, which likely includes a 2% venue tax.
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
Nueces 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
City of Corpus Christi, Texas
Check your zoning and block
If the rental is your primary residence (Type 1), it’s allowed anywhere except single-family zones on Padre and Mustang islands. If it isn’t (Type 2), it’s limited to 15% of the homes on the block face, first come, first served, and also not in single-family zones on the islands. Email the city to verify zoning.Source
Draw the floor plan
Sketch the floor plan showing the sleeping areas, the maximum number of guests, the evacuation route or routes, and where the fire extinguishers are.Source
Register online
Apply in the city’s MUNIRevs portal with the owners and agents, the floor plan, a 24-hour contact who can respond to complaints, and a sworn statement that you carry insurance and have the extinguishers inspected every year. Pay $250 and renew every January. Stays must be at least 12 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. Airbnb collects Corpus Christi’s 9% hotel tax. For direct bookings, register for hotel tax in the same MUNIRevs account and file with the city.Source
Fees
$250 a year
| Annual STR registration | $250 |
|---|
Inspection checklist
What the inspector looks for, from City of Corpus Christi, Texas’s published checklist.
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
- Short-Term Rentals (STR) · City of Corpus Christi Development Services
- Texas beach towns Airbnb market data (active homes) · AirROI
- City of Corpus Christi to tighten monitoring on short-term rentals · KIII-TV 3News
- Local Hotel Occupancy Tax Reporting 2025 · Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts (data.texas.gov)
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.