Frequently Asked Questions

A hotel … lodging facility … owner, operator, or manager must collect hotel occupancy taxes from its guests. For the purposes of the tax, a hotel is considered to be any building in which members of the public rent sleeping accommodations. County hotel occupancy taxes apply to sleeping rooms costing $2 or more per day.

The tax covers hotels, motels, and bed and breakfasts, as well as condominiums, apartments, and houses rented for less than 30 consecutive days. Hotel occupancy tax does not apply to hospitals, sanitariums, nursing homes, student dormitories operated by colleges and universities, or condominiums, apartments, and houses leased for more than 30 consecutive days.

Beginning January 1, 2007, the County hotel occupancy tax became effective in all areas of Gillespie County which are outside the City of Fredericksburg and its extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ). The collection of this occupancy tax was authorized by House Bill 214, which was approved by the State Legislature in 2005. The authorization was updated by the 82nd Legislative Regular Session with HB1234 in 2011.

On August 14, 2006, the Gillespie County Commissioners Court by resolution (PDF) approved implementation of the local occupancy tax to be effective January 1, 2007.

Lodging operators and reservation services are requested to provide contact information to the Gillespie County Treasurers Office. This can be done by completing a Lodging Operator or Reservation Service Information form and submitting it to the Treasurer's Office.

The hotel occupancy tax rate in Gillespie County is 13% … 6% is assessed by the State of Texas and due and payable to the State … 7% is assessed by the County and due and payable to the County for any establishment not in the City of Fredericksburg or the City's ETJ (extra-territorial jurisdiction). For those establishments in the City or its ETJ, the City assesses 7% which is due and payable to the City of Fredericksburg.

Payments for County hotel occupancy tax should be mailed to:

Gillespie County Treasurer
101 W Main St.
Mail Unit #5
Fredericksburg, TX 78624-3700

You also have the option of making payments by credit card, via online payment (visit the Payments page), or telephone, or in person at the County Treasurer's Office.

The County does not mail out quarterly notices to all hotel occupancy tax responders. If you would like to be included in a quarterly email reminder for HOT payments with the current form attached, please send your request to the County Treasurer by email.

Find the forms and additional information here:

• Remittance Form with Instructions, Version 2025 (PDF)
• Registration Form to Submit Contact Information (PDF)
• County Resolution (PDF)
• State Comptroller website

Pursuant to the Texas Tax Code, the funds generated from this tax may only be used for very limited purposes related to the tourism industry in Gillespie County.

For further information and assistance, you may contact the State Comptroller's Office. You may call a hotel tax specialist toll-free at 800-252-1385.

Each year, the County accepts grant applications for the allocation of the County Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) funds from organizations and entities who feel they qualify for such funding. The purpose of the HOT funding is to assist and support qualified events/projects/programs in promoting tourism to Gillespie County, which increases business for our local overnight accommodation venues.

The grant process usually begins early in the year with allocations approved and distributed by the end of March. Notices of the process will be published in the local newspaper, the County website, and various County offices.