Aransas County, TX

Rockport, TX short-term rental registration

Rockport came to registration late and set a hard date. Ordinance 1928 established the rules for registering and using privately owned dwellings as short-term rentals, and gave the properties already operating until 1 December 2024 to be on the register; anything new has to register before it opens. The city runs the process through an outside portal rather than its own counter. The tax side was settled earlier and stated plainly: the 7% hotel occupancy tax covers lets made through an agency, VRBO, Airbnb or anyone else.[3]

Every rule below links to the official source it comes from, verified September 20, 2026.

Can you rent short term in Rockport?

Register before you list

What you apply for: Short-term rental registration, Ordinance 1928

Seasonal homes
1,361
Housing units
7,197
Residents
10,683

U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 ACS 5-year estimates

  • City ruleRegistration required
  • City feeNone published
  • Tax on each stay13%
  • Seasonal homes189 per 1,000

Rockport short-term rental registration

Rockport requires short-term rentals to be registered with the city under Ordinance 1928, which established the regulations for the registration and use of privately owned dwellings as short-term rentals. Properties already operating had to be registered by 1 December 2024, and a new short-term rental must register before it starts operating. Registration is made through the city's online short-term rental portal, hosted by an outside provider, and the Building Department administers it. On the tax side, the city's hotel occupancy tax is 7% of the consideration paid for the use of a hotel room, and the ordinance is explicit that short-term rentals booked through an agency, VRBO, Airbnb or other organisations fall inside that definition. The money raised is restricted: the city states that hotel occupancy tax funds are used on activities that directly enhance and promote tourism, and not on general governmental expenses unrelated to increasing tourism.[3]

What Rockport asks of you

  • Ordinance 1928 established regulations for the registration and use of privately owned dwellings as short-term rentals.[3]

  • Properties already operating had to be registered by 1 December 2024, and a new short-term rental must register before it starts operating.[3]

  • Registration is made through the city's online short-term rental portal, hosted by an outside provider, and administered by the Building Department.[3]

  • The city's hotel occupancy tax is 7% of the consideration paid for the use of a hotel room, and the ordinance names short-term rentals booked through an agency, VRBO, Airbnb and other organisations inside that definition.[4]

  • Revenue from the tax is restricted to activities that directly enhance and promote tourism, and may not fund general governmental expenses unrelated to increasing tourism.[4]

Apply on the Rockport site

What Texas asks wherever you host

These rules apply at this address whatever the city decides.

  • Texas issues no state short-term rental licence. The statewide obligation is the hotel occupancy tax, and the Comptroller applies it to houses, condominiums and apartments as well as hotels.[1]

  • The state rate is 6 percent on a room costing $15 or more each day. Local hotel taxes reach further down, to sleeping rooms costing $2 or more each day, and the local taxing authority collects them itself.[1]

  • A guest who stays thirty or more consecutive days without interruption becomes a permanent resident and is exempt. Written notice of that intention makes the exemption run from the notice date; any interruption voids it.[2]

All Texas short-term rental laws

What a guest pays on top of your nightly rate in Rockport

Each layer is set by a different authority, and not all of them are collected by the platform.

Short-term rental tax layers in Rockport
LayerRateRemitted to
Texas state hotel occupancy tax[1]6%The state revenue department
Rockport hotel occupancy tax[4]7%The city
Total on a taxable stay13%

Thirteen percent in all, and the city says so in the ordinance itself rather than leaving hosts to infer it: the 7% applies to lets made through an agency, VRBO or Airbnb exactly as to a hotel room.[4]

How short-term rental taxes work for US hosts

What the census counts

How much of Rockport is already a second home

The Census Bureau counts 1,361 of Rockport's 7,197 homes as vacant for seasonal, recreational or occasional use — 189 out of every 1,000. That ranks Rockport 4th of the 13 Texas cities on this site for the share of its housing stock kept for part-year use.

Rank in the state
4th of 13
Share of housing
189 per 1,000
Median home value
$320,500

U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 ACS 5-year estimates, tables B25004, B25001, B01003 and B25077.

Nearby and comparable

Where Rockport sits among its neighbors

Granite Shoals, TX

Registration required

533 seasonal homes, 208 per 1,000 housing units.

Rules in Granite Shoals

Galveston, TX

Registration required

5,711 seasonal homes, 160 per 1,000 housing units.

Rules in Galveston

Port Aransas, TX

Registration required

1,957 seasonal homes, 364 per 1,000 housing units.

Rules in Port Aransas

Port Isabel, TX

Registration required

316 seasonal homes, 119 per 1,000 housing units.

Rules in Port Isabel
The state hubEvery Texas city on this site, in one tableState law, the tax stack and every city we cover in Texas, with what each one asks of a host.Open the Texas hub

FAQ

Rockport short-term rental questions

When did Rockport start registering short-term rentals?

Ordinance 1928 set 1 December 2024 as the deadline for properties already operating. A rental starting after that registers before it opens.[3]

Does Airbnb income carry the Rockport hotel tax?

Yes. The 7% city hotel occupancy tax explicitly covers short-term rentals through an agency, VRBO, Airbnb and other organisations, on top of the state's 6%.[4]

What is the tax spent on?

Activities that directly enhance and promote tourism. The city states it is not used for general purposes or governmental expenses unrelated to increasing tourism.[4]
Read nextHow to start an AirbnbThe six steps in order, starting with the permit check.Read the guide

Sources

  1. Hotel Occupancy Tax, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, read on September 20, 2026
  2. Hotel Occupancy Tax Exemptions (publication 96-224), Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, read on September 20, 2026
  3. Short-Term Rentals, Ordinance 1928 and registration portal, City of Rockport, read on September 20, 2026
  4. Hotel Motel Tax, City of Rockport, read on September 20, 2026

This page is not legal advice. It summarizes the official sources listed on this page as they read on September 20, 2026. Rules can change after that date, so check with the issuing office before you apply or publish a listing.

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