SECTION 3.163. Refund of Hotel Occupancy Tax

(a) State agency. A state agency is an agency, institution, board, or commission of the State of Texas other than an institution of higher education as defined in Education Code, §61.003.

(b) Refunds. A state agency may request a refund for each fiscal year quarter for the state hotel tax paid directly to a hotel or the amount of state hotel tax for which the agency reimbursed a state employee on a state travel voucher. A state agency that uses the Uniform Statewide Accounting System (USAS) will receive its state hotel tax refund by way of USAS. A state agency must directly contact the applicable city or county to apply for a refund of municipal or county hotel tax for which the agency reimbursed a state employee.

(c) Time limitation. A state agency may apply for a refund of state hotel tax no later than two years after the end of the fiscal year in which the travel occurred as provided by Government Code, Chapter 403, Subchapter E. A state agency may apply for a refund of municipal or county hotel occupancy tax for each calendar quarter according to the local city or county ordinance. In the absence of a local ordinance, the same time limitation that applies to the refund of state hotel tax will apply to municipal and county taxes.

(d) Documentation required.

(1) Documentation must be maintained to substantiate the claim, including a copy of the hotel folio, billing statement, invoice, or other document, that contains the following information:

(A) name of the hotel;

(B) location address of hotel;

(C) name of city where hotel is located;

(D) name of county where hotel is located;

(E) date(s) of lodging;

(F) amount of state, municipal, and county hotel tax paid separately stated;

(G) method of payment (travel voucher reimbursement, state credit card, state purchase order, direct billing, other); and

(H) name of employee, if tax reimbursed on travel voucher.

(2) A municipality or county may, by local ordinance, require additional documentation or require documentation be submitted with a claim for refund of local tax.

(e) Separate refund claim required. A separate refund claim form must be filed with each municipality or county.

(f) Form. Each claim for refund for state hotel occupancy tax must be filed on a form furnished by the comptroller. The municipal and county hotel occupancy tax refund claim form, herein adopted by reference, must be substantially in the form set out as follows. Copies of the certificate are available for inspection at the office of the Texas Register or may be obtained from the Comptroller of Public Accounts, P.O. Box 13528, Austin, Texas 78711-3528. Copies may also be requested by calling 512-463-4600 or our toll-free number 1-800-252-1385.

Source Note: The provisions of this §3.163 adopted to be effective December 6, 1996, 21 TexReg 11494; amended to be effective October 17, 2001, 26 TexReg 8191; amended to be effective February 25, 2010, 35 TexReg 1467