Dino Marcaccio
President
Former Texas Comptroller State Tax Auditor

Hotel Occupancy Tax is uniquely different from other tax type in Texas. Many of the rules and regulations that Texas taxpayers are familiar with because of Sales Tax do not apply to the Hotel Occupancy Tax.

If the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts has issued your hotel a Notification of Audit and you’re unsure of the Texas Comptroller’s best practices and procedures regarding your hotel, please call us at 1-888-TX-AUDIT for a free no-cost consultation with a former Texas Comptroller State Tax Auditor.

If you are unsure of any of the following questions, call immediately to schedule a no cost consultation with a former Texas Comptroller Hotel Tax Auditor to answer your questions.

• Why is it important if you have recently remodeled your hotel?
• Are you aware of the Hotel Tax regulations regarding reward points program?
• Do you know a Sales Tax audit can be generated while being audited for Hotel Tax, even if you don’t have Sales Tax taxable sales?
• Do you know which ancillary items to charge Sales Tax or Hotel tax and the difference between them?
• Do you know how important extra charges, such as cleaning fees and parking fees, are to Airbnb?
• Are you aware of the Sales Tax regulations regarding extended stays?

Why choose Texas Tax Group to manage your Hotel Occupancy Sales Tax Audit?

Texas Tax Group has successfully conducted hundreds of Hotel Occupancy Tax audits and is familiar with the common errors that lead to State tax liabilities. If you allow Texas Tax Group to help you with your audit, a trained State Tax Consultant who is a former Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts State Tax Auditor, or a trained Transaction Tax Expert, will apply the Texas Tax Group Proprietary Audit Defense Plan to your audit. The Audit Defense Plan is a comprehensive set of steps our consultants take to ensure we identify all tax exposure and potential overpayments of sales tax before meeting with the auditor. The plan starts with a thorough PRE-AUDIT of your records to identify potential Sales and Use Tax exposure. The Texas Tax Group will save your company potential undue tax assessments, recover potential overpayments of sales and use tax by applying the Audit Defense Plan.

Due to possible errors in our client’s records or lack of experience by the Comptroller auditor, undue/unfair tax liabilities can be resolved with our comprehensive Audit Plan, which includes a Pre-Audit. Texas Tax Group has the knowledge and experience you need to navigate the complexities of a Hotel Tax Audit.

Are you aware of the intricacies of the Hotel Tax audit process?

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts has issued your hotel business a notification of audit. This notification usually means that a state tax auditor has thoroughly researched your hotel, possibly stayed there, and feels your hotel owes the State unpaid Hotel Tax and/or Sales Tax. This research is why they scheduled your audit, and the Texas Comptroller is now sending an auditor out to your business to review your records to identify potential unpaid Hotel tax.

Texas Tax Group can identify potential errors in your records and exemption, before the auditor views your records, during the Pre-Audit phase of our Audit Defense Plan. This gives us enough time to address and resolve these errors before inviting the auditor into our offices to present your records to them.

Are you familiar with the Hotel Tax Out-of-State exemptions in reference to colleges, schools, and recruiters?

Most hotel staff will accept exemption certificates from anyone presenting a valid certificate. For most hotels this is the standard way of doing business, but the Texas Comptroller changed the rules for hotel owners. Validating all of your certificates before the entrance conference is a must to avoid undue tax liabilities, and a trained Texas Tax Group consultant can identify these potential errors during the Pre-Audit phase of our Audit Management Procedures. Resolving these issues before your entrance conference can save your company tens of thousands of dollars in tax liability, including penalties and interest.

Has your guest been approved by the State of Texas Comptroller for Hotel Tax exemptions?

Texas Comptroller regulations require hotel owners to solicit approval for certain entities that provide exemption certificates while staying at their establishment. Most hotel owners are unaware that the Texas Comptroller provides a website to check if your client has previously been approved or denied for tax exemption in the State of Texas. Our consultant will train your staff on the regulations and best practices per Texas Comptroller policy to avoid these types of potential errors.

Have you accepted a Hotel Tax exemption from a church that potentially would not be exempt?

Its common knowledge that churches, schools, and hospitals are exempt from paying Sales and Use Tax. The potential issue here is some hotel owner may grandfather that rule into the Hotel Tax. Unfortunately, the same rules do not apply to hotel owners as do other Texas business owners, which is why it is critical to hire Texas Tax Group immediately after you receive your notification of audit to identify these potential issues and resolve them before the auditor becomes aware of them.

Do you know why your guest can be exempt from Sales Tax and Franchise Tax but not from Hotel Sales Tax?

Texas tax code is complex with many nuances that require a trained professional familiar with the tax code pertaining to their audit type to navigate it successfully. A common situation we see at Texas Tax Group is that many hotel owners start working with the State Tax Auditor on their own thinking they have all of the required records needed for the audit, and once the auditor reviews the records either denies them or marks them incomplete and issues a notification of tax due. Once a taxpayer has started the audit, it is very difficult for TTG to resolve the same issues that we could have resolved before the entrance conference being conducted, thus leaving the hotel owner with a substantial tax bill with penalties and interest.

Why is the reconciliation of your accounting records such a big deal?

Reconciliation of operating income to net cash provided from operating activities is required as part of the cash flow statement and is essential for all businesses, especially for Hotel Tax, because of the numerous opportunities for error. Texas Tax Group can help you identify and resolve any issues affecting your Hotel Tax audit.

Dino Marcaccio, President (ex-Texas Comptroller Auditor, 16 Years)
TEXAS TAX GROUP, INC.
9950 Westpark Drive, Ste 430
Houston, Texas 77063
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Direct-Mobile-Text-Fax: 832-413-5339