Rental Rules by City / Texas / Jamaica Beach

Jamaica Beach short-term rental rules & tax calculator

Galveston County, Texas · Verified against official sources Oct 24, 2026

📋 The Basics

Can I rent my place short-term here?: Yes, with a license or tax registration
Do I need a permit?: Yes, if you register with the city.
What taxes do I pay?: Total about 15%. Check your Airbnb payout report to see which ones Airbnb collects; you pay the rest yourself.

Your 3 steps to be legal

Register on the city MyGov portal.
Put your registration number and max occupancy in every listing.
Pay city HOT quarterly and Texas HOT.

⚠️ Biggest risk: Operating without a city registration number.

Words confusing? See the glossary. Details and official sources are below.

Tax calculator

Nightly rate ($) Nights Cleaning fee ($)

Rates used: Texas state hotel occupancy tax 6% + City of Jamaica Beach hotel occupancy tax 9% = 15%. Mandatory cleaning fees are included in the taxable total. 15% (6% Texas state HOT + 9% city HOT on nightly rate plus cleaning and pet fees). City HOT due quarterly.

What Airbnb collects: City HOT is based on gross receipts, not your payout; verify what Airbnb remits.

This is the general rule for Jamaica Beach. Does your address qualify?

The free info covers the city as a whole. Your property can still be different: zoning can change from one street to the next, and an HOA or condo ban can stop rentals even where the city allows them. The penalties Jamaica Beach lists are on the Jamaica Beach page.

Your $49 Compliance Check looks at your exact property:

Whether your exact address and zone allow short-term rentals
A check of HOA / condo rental restrictions to look for
Which permits and tax accounts you personally need
What you're missing right now
A personal report with clear next steps and official sources, by email
A refund if we report a rule in error (refund policy)

🔎 How we check: official city, county and state sources, a last-verified date on every page, and nothing guessed. Learn more

Check my address: $49

🔔 Stay notified: $4.99/month

Rules don't change every week, but they do change, and nobody emails you when they do. We'll alert you when city rules, tourist taxes, HOA-related laws, or Airbnb/Vrbo policies change in Jamaica Beach. Cancel anytime.

Stay notified

Need guest waivers and booking tools too? Click here for more info

Why use this instead of a web search?

Instead of scattered, sometimes outdated pages, you get the city, county and state rules on one page, with official sources linked, a last-checked date, and unconfirmed items marked "verify" instead of guessed. How we verify →

Advanced details (laws, fees, sources)

Rules

Registration	Every STR must register with the city (MyGov portal); illegal to operate without a registration number.
Listings	Every ad must show the city registration number and max occupancy.
Renewal	Annual operation fee and re-registration (reported $250, due by Jan 31: verify); registration ends on change of ownership.
Fines	Class C misdemeanor, up to $500 per offense per day.
Taxes	City HOT due the 20th after each quarter (Jan, Apr, Jul, Oct).

Items marked "Verify with the city" could not be confirmed from an official source; call the office listed before relying on them.

Sources

Free tools

Free "Is my rental legal?" checklist · Free tourist tax calculator

Rules can change

Jamaica Beach's rules, its tax rates and platform policies can change through a council vote, a new state law or a court ruling, often with little notice to hosts. We re-check this page monthly; subscribers get notified. Stay Compliant for $4.99/mo.

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Rules, tax rates and Airbnb/Vrbo policies can change without warning, and hosts who miss a change can be fined. Get alerts when your city, county or state changes, deadline reminders, a pending-bill watch list and a monthly host brief (even in quiet months: "we checked on [date]; no changes"). Compare plans.

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Not legal or tax advice. Last verified Oct 24, 2026. Rules and rates change: confirm with the official sources linked before you rent or file.