Frequently Asked Questions

A permit fee is due when you apply for the STR permit. Permits must be renewed annually.
Short-Term rental permits 1st year: $200 – includes initial inspection fee 
Short-Term rental permit renewals: $100
Killeen’s STR permit fee is waived for applications received by May 31, 2024.

Yes. Payment of Hotel Occupancy Tax is required when operating a short-term rental. You must file taxes monthly, even if it is a zero return.

• Texas Comptroller collects the 6% for State tax
• Bell County collect the 2% for the County tax https://www.bellcountytx.com/county_government/commissioners_court/hotel_occupancy_tax.php

Yes. All short-term rentals must be inspected prior to issuance of a permit or renewal of a permit to ensure the rental follows minimum health and safety requirements for use and occupancy.

An owner who desires to use its premise as a short-term rental, must have a valid, active short-term rental permit from the city prior to using, allowing the use of, or advertising the use of the premise as a short-term rental.

Failure to obtain permit is a violation of the City of Killeen Code Ordinances (operating without a license) and may result in enforcement action, including citations and fines.

You must maintain at least five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000.00) in liability insurance, which must include personal injury liability, for the duration of your permit. You must provide proof of insurance for each STR property. Your permit will not be issued until you provide proof of insurance. The City may choose to deny your permit application if you do not provide proof of insurance.

There are many good reasons why local government leaders are focused on finding ways to manage the rapid growth of short-term rental properties in their communities. To name a few:
• Increased tourist traffic from short-term renters has the potential to slowly transform peaceful residential communities into “communities of transients” where people are less interested in investing in one another’s lives, be it in the form of informal friend groups or church, school, and other community-based organizations.
• Short-term renters may not always know (or follow) local rules, resulting in public safety risks, noise issues, trash, and parking problems for nearby residents.
• So-called “party houses,” i.e. homes that are continuously rented to larger groups of people with the intent to party, can severely impact neighbors and drive down nearby home values.
• Conversion of residential units into short-term rentals can result in less availability of affordable housing options and higher rents for long-term renters in the community.
• Local service jobs can be jeopardized as unfair competition from unregulated and untaxed short-term rentals reduces demand for local bed & breakfasts, hotels, and motels.
• Towns often lose out on tax revenue (most often referred to as Transient Occupancy Tax / Hotel Tax / Bed Tax or Transaction Privilege Tax) as most short-term landlords fail to remit those taxes even if it is required by law.2
• Lack of proper regulation or limited enforcement of existing ordinances may cause tension or hostility between short-term landlords and their neighbors.
• The existence of “pseudo hotels” in residential neighborhoods (often in violation of local zoning ordinances, etc.) may lead to disillusionment with local government officials who may be perceived as ineffective in protecting the interests of local tax-paying citizens. Source from Granicus.

If an issue relates to noise ordinance violations or criminal activity, we encourage you to contact Killeen police non-emergency line at (254)501-8830 or 911 if the situation is an emergency. If the issue relates to code enforcement issue, contact Code Enforcement at (254)501-7608.

• The owner's legal name, date of birth, contact number, both physical and mailing addresses, and email address.
• If the short-term rental is to be operated or managed by someone other than the owner, the name, date of birth, contact number, both physical and mailing addresses, and email address for a responsible party with day-to-day authority and/or control over the short-term rental.
• The signatures of the owner and other responsible party, if any, agreeing and acknowledging that they are jointly responsible for the compliance by the occupant and any guests with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations pertaining to the use and occupancy of the short-term rental, and for any unreasonable noise, disturbances or disorderly conduct by the occupant and/or guests while utilizing or while on the property of the short-term rental
• Payment of the fee established by the City Council.
• If any information required changes, a responsible party shall promptly advise the City & Avenu.
• Short-term rentals are not a grandfathered use. All short- term rentals in the City must have a permit to operate.
• A short-term rental permit expires the last day of the month you received your permit each year.

Yes. Short-term rental is any residential property rented wholly or partly for a fee for a period not longer than 29 consecutive days. If you are renting out both sides of a duplex as separate rentals, you must have an Avenu account number and permit for each side. The same is true if you are renting separate rooms in one property as individually available listings.

Convention and Visitors Bureaus typically use hotel occupancy tax revenue to fund various tourism-related initiatives, including marketing campaigns to promote the destination, supporting convention and event planning, improving tourist attractions, enhancing infrastructure like public facilities, and sometimes funding arts and cultural programs that attract visitors. The specific usage can vary depending on local regulations.

If you’ve ever neglected to pay city taxes you collected for your short-term rental, you are required to pay back taxes to the City of Killeen, whether they stem from a decade ago, fifteen years ago, or just a few months back. Starting from May 1, 2024, Hotel Occupancy Tax is due for all STR rentals since May 1, 2024, whether or not you collected the tax from the renter. For every month since May 2024, if your property was listed or rented, you must file a Hotel Occupancy Tax return.

The City is waiving penalty and interest for STR Property Owners filing back to October 2023 if the taxes are filed and paid by May 31st. Note: this applies to filing taxes you collected back to October 2023. If you did not collect Hotel Occupancy Tax for rentals between Oct 2023 and April 2024, you do not have to file a return. If you DID collect the tax, you MUST remit it to the City. The online filing system automatically calculates penalties and interest. To get the penalty/interest waiver, file on paper and remit to Avenu. You can download forms from Avenu’s website. There are no penalties on zero returns, whether filed online or on paper.

Hotel Occupancy Tax is due by the last day of the month following the end of the filing period. For example, May taxes are due by June 30th.

Yes. You must file a tax return every month. If you don’t have any rentals for a particular month, you should file a zero return.

Any amount you collect from the renter is taxable EXCEPT a security deposit and a platform fee retained by the platform, such as Airbnb, Vrbo, Flipkey, etc. This means the room rate, cleaning fee, pet fee, etc., are all taxable.

TAX: Yes. The tax form allows exemptions for stays by Permanent Residents, Diplomatic Personnel with Tax Exemption Card, Federal or State Employees traveling on official business, Federal or State Military personnel traveling on official business. You must retain written proof of exemption status.

PERMIT: No. There are no exemptions to having a permit if the property is available for rent for less than 30 consecutive days. If you register for your permit in May 2024, the permit fee ($200) is waived.

Yes. You must apply for your permit by May 31st. You can continue to rent while your permit application is in review, pending inspection.

No. At this time, the City has not implemented any zoning or saturation limits on STRs.

Toll Free Phone: (866) 240-3665 or Email: supportmuni@avenuinsights.com.

https://texaslodging.com/ 800-856-4328. You may contact Garrett Coppedge (presenter) directly at 512-474-2996.

Yes. With each permit application you must submit proof of insurance for the property, with a minimum coverage of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000.00) in liability insurance, which must include personal injury liability. The insurance must be active for the full term of the permit. If you did not include insurance proof with your permit application, Avenu will follow-up to request the required documentation. Your permit will not be issued until you provide proof of insurance. The City may choose to deny your permit application if you do not provide proof of insurance.