|Business
Hopkins County Commissioners unanimously voted to start collecting the state-required hotel/motel tax from short-term rental property guests in Hopkins County.
A previous Hopkins County Commissioners Court approved the tax back in 2011, and it went into effect in 2012.
The tax applies to rooms booked in hotels and motels, as well as to properties booked via Vrbo, Airbnb and other vacation rental websites. County Auditor Shannah Aulsbrook said that, in the course of doing audits, she and her staff discovered that the required tax was only being collected from commercial rental property guests.
“We have a lot of Airbnbs and short-term rentals in Hopkins County,” Aulsbroook told the commissioners. “The law states that they [owners] shall collect the tax. It’s not optional. We sent letters out to let ev- erybody know you’re supposed to collect the tax.”
Aulsbrook said she sent out 28 letters and had received responses from the majority of the recipients.
“They just weren’t aware, and they will start collecting the tax,” she explained. “We did have some that had already been collecting the tax from 2017 to now. And then we had several that just… didn’t know about the tax. So, I believe we’ve caught most of them. They all are aware that they’re supposed to start collecting the tax. My suggestion is that they just start collecting it now and pay it in to the county.”
Aulsbrook’s staff determined this through online research — namely, looking up Hopkins County properties listed on booking sites and tracking down the owners. There is no official register of these types of properties. Right now, neither Hopkins County nor the City of Sulphur Springs has any type of official list of short-term rentals within either entity’s borders.
Airbnb does have an article in its Help Center that lists the taxes a host MAY be required to collect. Both the Airbnb and VRBO websites list information clearly explaining the tax collection requirements for hosts, and they also offer hosts the option to allow the website to collect taxes during bookings. Both websites also clearly state that it is incumbent upon the host to determine if they are required to collect any applicable taxes from guests, and to pay those taxes to the appropriate entities.
“Whether or not we automatically collect occupancy taxes, it doesn’t change which taxes are due or the total payout you receive as a Host,” Airbnb’s website reads. “You’ll continue to receive your payout minus the applicable Airbnb service fees. Automatic collection and payment simply makes tax collection easier for everyone.”
If the property owner does not pay the tax, then the guest is required to pay it, Aulsbrook explained.
She recommended that, going forward, Hopkins County should start collecting the tax going forward, but not to pursue collection attempts prior to April 9, 2024.
Aulsbrook also explained to the court that, if the taxes have been collected from guests, the property owner is responsible for paying the county. She said the property owners that she spoke with told her they had not been collecting the hotel/motel tax because they were not aware of it, and would contact their upcoming bookings to be sure they were aware as well.
“It is a tax to be paid by the guest,” Aulsbrook said.
Precinct 1 Commissioner Mickey Barker suggested that the County enact an ordinance requiring short-term rental property owners to register with the county “so we know who is actually a bed and breakfast, or an Airbnb.”
County Judge Robert Newsom made a motion that collection of hotel / motel taxes from shortterm rental property guests should be enforced beginning Tuesday, April 9. Pct. 2 Commissioner Greg Anglin seconded it, and the motion passed unanimously