South Padre Island, TX short-term rental registration
South Padre Island has the densest stock of seasonal homes of any city in this silo, and a registration regime to match. Anyone advertising a house, condo, apartment or even a bedroom for less than thirty consecutive days has to register the unit with the city. Own several and you take out a permit number for each, and that number goes in every advertisement. The tax side is unusually transparent: the city publishes the split, eleven percent of city and county hotel occupancy tax alongside the state's six. Monthly reports are due whether or not the unit was rented.[3]
Every rule below links to the official source it comes from, verified September 20, 2026.
Can you rent short term in South Padre Island?
Register before you list
What you apply for: Short-term rental registration
- Seasonal homes
- 3,704
- Housing units
- 5,534
- Residents
- 2,891
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 ACS 5-year estimates
- City ruleRegistration required
- City feeNone published
- Tax on each stay17%
- Seasonal homes669 per 1,000
South Padre Island short-term rental permit
South Padre Island requires every owner advertising a residential unit for rent on a short-term basis — less than thirty consecutive days at one time — to register it with the city, and the registration covers houses, condos, apartments and single bedrooms alike. Owners with more than one property take out a permit number for each unit actively advertised, and that number has to be displayed in all advertisements under Article VII of the city code. A twenty-four-hour contact number with a one-hour response time is required. The tax side is unusually transparent for Texas: the city publishes both accounts you need, one for the 11% city and county hotel occupancy tax and a Texas taxpayer ID for the state's 6%, seventeen percent in all. The monthly hotel occupancy tax collection report is filed even in months when the unit was not rented, and a violation can be fined up to $500 for each offence, each day counting separately.[3]
What South Padre Island asks of you
Every owner advertising a residential unit for rent on a short-term basis, meaning less than thirty consecutive days at one time, has to register it with the city.[3]
The registration covers houses, condos, apartments and single bedrooms alike.[3]
Owners with more than one property take out a permit number for each unit actively advertised, and the number has to be displayed in all advertisements under Article VII of the city code.[4]
A twenty-four-hour contact number is required, with a one-hour response time.[4]
The owner or operator files a monthly hotel occupancy tax collection report even in months when the unit was not rented.[4]
A violation of the article can be fined up to $500 for each offence, and each day it continues counts as a separate offence.[4]
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]
What a guest pays on top of your nightly rate in South Padre Island
Each layer is set by a different authority, and not all of them are collected by the platform.
| Layer | Rate | Remitted to |
|---|---|---|
| Texas state hotel occupancy tax[1] | 6% | The state revenue department |
| City and county hotel occupancy tax[3] | 11% | The city |
| Total on a taxable stay | 17% |
The city registration steps name both accounts you need: a taxpayer account to pay the 11% city and county hotel occupancy tax, and a Texas taxpayer ID for the state's 6%. Seventeen percent in all.[3]
How short-term rental taxes work for US hostsWhat the census counts
How much of South Padre Island is already a second home
The Census Bureau counts 3,704 of South Padre Island's 5,534 homes as vacant for seasonal, recreational or occasional use — 669 out of every 1,000. That ranks South Padre Island 1st of the 13 Texas cities on this site for the share of its housing stock kept for part-year use.
- Rank in the state
- 1st of 13
- Share of housing
- 669 per 1,000
- Median home value
- $516,900
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 ACS 5-year estimates, tables B25004, B25001, B01003 and B25077.
Nearby and comparable
Where South Padre Island sits among its neighbors
Port Isabel, TX
Registration required
316 seasonal homes, 119 per 1,000 housing units.
Rules in Port IsabelPort Aransas, TX
Registration required
1,957 seasonal homes, 364 per 1,000 housing units.
Rules in Port AransasGranite Shoals, TX
Registration required
533 seasonal homes, 208 per 1,000 housing units.
Rules in Granite ShoalsRockport, TX
Registration required
1,361 seasonal homes, 189 per 1,000 housing units.
Rules in RockportFAQ
South Padre Island short-term rental questions
How much tax does a guest pay on South Padre Island?
Do I file a report in a month with no bookings?
What is the fine for renting without registering?
Sources
- Hotel Occupancy Tax, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, read on September 20, 2026
- Hotel Occupancy Tax Exemptions (publication 96-224), Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, read on September 20, 2026
- Hotel Occupancy Tax and short-term rentals: steps to register, City of South Padre Island, read on September 20, 2026
- Code of Ordinances, Article VII, Sec. 11-220, Short term rentals, City of South Padre Island, 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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