How to Fill Out Form 12-302: Texas Hotel Occupancy Tax Exemption Certificate

Form 12-302 is the Texas Hotel Occupancy Tax Exemption Certificate. To fill out Form 12-302, download the current version from the Texas Comptroller, enter the hotel’s name and address, your organization’s name and address, the dates of the stay and the name of each guest, check the box for your exemption category, and sign and date the form. You hand it to the hotel at check-in along with any ID or documentation your category requires. The form does not go to the Comptroller.¹

Check Your Exemption Category Before You Start

The form has one box that decides everything: which exemption you’re claiming. Picking the wrong one is the fastest way to get turned down at the front desk or flagged in a later audit.

Three groups pay no state or local hotel tax at all: U.S. government employees and military personnel traveling on official business (with a valid government ID); designated Texas state officials who carry a hotel tax exemption photo ID from their agency or the Comptroller; and employees of certain special-purpose nonprofits the Comptroller lists, such as electric cooperatives, housing authorities, and telephone cooperatives.²

Employees and representatives of nonprofit religious, charitable, or educational organizations traveling on official business are exempt from the 6 percent state hotel tax but still owe local hotel taxes. A private or independent college qualifies as “educational” only if it fits the definitions in Section 61.003 of the Texas Education Code.³

Two common misreadings: most rank-and-file Texas state employees are not exempt and must pay the tax upfront (their agency can seek a refund later).⁴ And third-party contractors working on a government contract or spending federal grant money do not qualify, even when the underlying project is government work.

Filling in the Form, Field by Field

Form 12-302 is a single page. Download the current version from the Comptroller’s forms page before every trip so you’re not working from a stale copy.⁵

Name and address of hotel. The full legal name and street address of the property where you’re staying.
Name and address of exempt organization. The organization or government agency claiming the exemption, with its complete street address. This is the entity that qualifies, not necessarily your personal address.
Dates of stay. Your specific check-in and check-out dates. Don’t leave this open-ended.
Name of person(s) staying. Every guest occupying the room under the exemption.
Exemption category. Check exactly one of the three boxes: “Governmental entity” for U.S. government, State of Texas, or a political subdivision; “Religious, charitable or educational organization” for a 501(c)(3); or “Other,” which requires a written explanation on the form.¹
Signature, title, and date. An authorized person signs, prints their title within the organization, and dates the form.

The form does not require a Comptroller-issued registration number to be valid, so organizations without one can still use it.¹ Even so, front desks often ask for backup. For a 501(c)(3), bring a copy of the IRS determination letter; for a government traveler, your official ID. Having the documentation on hand avoids a stalled check-in.

Payment and ID Rules That Go With the Form

A completed form isn’t the whole exemption. How the room gets paid for and what ID you show matter too, and the rules split by category.

Federal employees should pay with a government-issued credit card or check and present a valid government ID at check-in. Employees of a qualifying nonprofit may pay for their room with personal funds and still claim the exemption, as long as the stay is official organizational business. A representative who is not an employee of the nonprofit must pay with the organization’s own funds: its check, its credit card, or a direct billing arrangement.² This catches volunteer board members and guest speakers who book on a personal card assuming the exemption still applies. It does not.

Giving the Form to the Hotel

The certificate goes to the hotel at registration, not to the Comptroller.¹ Every person claiming a hotel tax exemption other than a permanent resident must give the hotel Form 12-302 along with proof of exempt status.²

Most hotels expect a physical, printed copy. Some accept a digital PDF, but confirm that ahead of time. Arriving late at night to discover the front desk wants paper is a problem with no clean fix at that hour.

Keep a copy for yourself. If the exemption is questioned later during a Comptroller audit of the hotel, your duplicate is the proof you submitted the form.

Short-Term Rentals and Non-Traditional Lodging

Texas defines “hotel” broadly. It covers traditional hotels, motels, inns, rooming houses, bed and breakfasts, tourist courts, and short-term rentals such as vacation homes and Airbnb-type properties, as long as the guest isn’t a permanent resident. Hospitals, nursing homes, and college dorms used for educational purposes are excluded.⁶

The exemption applies in principle to short-term rentals, but the practical problem is that a private host or platform may not know how to process Form 12-302. Contact the host or property manager before arrival to confirm they can accept it and adjust the tax on your bill.

Stays of 30 Days or More Skip the Form

If you occupy a room for 30 or more consecutive days without any interruption in payment, you’re a permanent resident under the statute and owe no hotel occupancy tax at all. Form 12-302 isn’t needed. The hotel’s own records serve as proof, and the exemption applies to anyone, regardless of organizational affiliation.²

Timing matters. If you give the hotel written notice at the start of your stay that you plan to remain at least 30 consecutive days, the exemption starts on the date of that notice, provided you actually stay the full 30 days. Without written notice, you pay the tax for the first 30 days and become exempt only after that. Any break in payment voids the exemption and restarts the clock.²

If You Already Paid the Tax

Presenting Form 12-302 at check-in is much simpler than getting money back afterward, but a refund is possible if you qualified and paid anyway. Texas state agencies can request a refund of the state hotel tax each fiscal year quarter, covering amounts the agency paid to a hotel directly or reimbursed to employees. The deadline is two years after the end of the fiscal year in which the travel occurred.⁷

Local hotel taxes are a separate matter. Refunds of city or county hotel taxes require a claim filed directly with each municipality or county that imposed the tax, and each jurisdiction has its own form and timeline.⁷

Penalties for a False Certificate

The signature line is not a formality. Issuing an exemption certificate to a hotel knowing it will be used in a way that doesn’t qualify is a criminal offense under Texas law, ranging from a Class C misdemeanor up to a second-degree felony depending on the circumstances.¹ Your signature certifies that the information is accurate and the stay genuinely qualifies. Sign the form only when it does.

Keep your copy of every submitted certificate for at least four years. Organizational auditors and expense-report reviews can surface questions long after the trip.²

1
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Texas Hotel Occupancy Tax Exemption Certificate
2
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Hotel Occupancy Tax Exemptions
3
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Section 156.102 – Exception–Religious, Charitable, or Educational Organization
4
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Reminder – State Employees Not Exempt from Hotel Occupancy Tax
5
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Texas Hotel Occupancy Tax Forms
6
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code TAX 156.001 – Definitions
7
Legal Information Institute. 34 Texas Admin Code 3.163 – Refund of Hotel Occupancy Tax