Airbnb has generated $449 million in tourism taxes for communities in Texas
Key Takeaways
- Airbnb has collected and remitted approximately $449 million in tourism taxes to communities across Texas, including nearly $105 million in 2024 alone.
- In total, Airbnb has collected and remitted $13.5 billion in tourism taxes on behalf of our global host community.
Key Takeaways
- Airbnb has collected and remitted approximately $449 million in tourism taxes to communities across Texas, including nearly $105 million in 2024 alone.
- In total, Airbnb has collected and remitted $13.5 billion in tourism taxes on behalf of our global host community.
Airbnb hosts play a vital role in boosting local economies across Texas, welcoming millions of guests, helping big cities and small communities benefit from big events, and dispersing travel outside of traditional tourism hubs. Critically, hosts and the guests they welcome support communities by generating an influx of tourism taxes for local governments at a time when many major Texas cities are facing budget shortfalls.
Since 2017, Airbnb has collected and remitted approximately $449 million in tourism taxes on behalf of hosts in Texas to communities across the state, including nearly $105 million in 2024 alone. These tax dollars help fund critical services like police, infrastructure, and libraries—or to promote more tourism and tourism spending through destination marketing organizations.
Airbnb’s tax contributions aren’t limited to Texas. In total, Airbnb has collected and remitted $13.5 billion in tourism taxes on behalf of our global host community. And in 2024, hosts in the US generated approximately $2.4 billion in these taxes.
Championing legislation to streamline tourism taxes in Texas
Since 2014, Airbnb has advocated for solutions that allow short-term rental platforms to collect and remit tourism taxes on behalf of hosts—initially through Voluntary Collection Agreements (VCAs) and more recently by working with lawmakers on centralized tax collection laws. In Texas, for example, Airbnb is supporting SB 1592 and HB 2433, which require short-term rental platforms to remit state and local tourism taxes that guests pay as part of their stay to the state government. The state government then distributes the revenue to local governments.
Not only do centralized tax collection laws ensure all short-term platforms collect and remit tourism taxes on behalf of hosts, they also simplify the collection process for cities, towns, and counties that charge local tourism taxes, such as hotel occupancy taxes or accommodation taxes. The Tax Foundation published a report on the benefits of centralized tourism tax administration for businesses, taxpayers, and governments.
Governments also tend to see more revenue when they implement statewide rules that allow short-term rental platforms to collect and remit local taxes on behalf of hosts. For example, after Tennessee adopted a centralized collection system in 2021, the state has seen an increase of approximately 360 percent1 in the amount of tourism taxes collected.
The economic benefits of travel generated through Airbnb offers vital fiscal support for communities in Texas. That’s why Airbnb continues to champion streamlined tax collection, which helps maximize the full economic potential of hosting and travel for the state.