There is hereby granted, beginning with the tax year 2025, an exemption from taxation in the amount of $60,000.00 of the appraised value of the residential homestead of persons 65 years of age or older and of the residential homestead of disabled persons. The qualifications, conditions, and limitations governing the availability and applicability of the exemption granted by this section shall be those contained in section 11.13 and other applicable provisions of the Texas Tax Code.
(Ordinance 5399, sec. 1, adopted 9/7/99; Ordinance 5442, sec. 1, adopted 2/15/00; Ordinance 7150, sec. 1, adopted 6/16/20; Ordinance 7583 adopted 4/15/2025)
(A) 
Authority and imposition of tax.
Pursuant to the authority found in Texas Occupations Code, section 2001.503, there is hereby imposed a tax at the rate of one percent (1%) of the taxable gross receipts on the conduct of bingo games within the City.
(B) 
Terms defined.
The terms, “taxable gross receipts” and “bingo games,” shall be defined for this section as they are defined in Texas Occupations Code, chapter 2001.
(A) 
Whenever any accounts for delinquent property taxes owed to the City are given to an attorney for collection, the City shall be entitled to, and may collect, an additional penalty of twenty percent (20%) of the delinquent taxes, penalty, and interest due on each delinquent property at the time of collection, either before or after suit or foreclosure sale, as provided by sections 33.07 and 33.11 of the Texas Tax Code.
(B) 
Whenever taxes that become delinquent on or after June 1 under sections 26.07(f), 25.15(e), 31.03, 31.031, 31.032, or 31.04 of the Texas Tax Code, are given to an attorney for collection, the City shall be entitled to and may collect an additional penalty of twenty percent (20%) of the delinquent taxes, penalty, and interest due on each delinquent property at the time of collection, either before or after suit or foreclosure sale, to defray costs of collection as provided by section 33.08 of the Texas Tax Code.
(C) 
In addition to the collection expenses provided for in subsections (A) and (B) above, whenever a delinquent tax suit is filed, the City shall be entitled to recover reasonable expenses, subject to the approval of the court, that are incurred by the City in determining the name, identity, and location of necessary parties and in procuring necessary legal descriptions of the property on which a delinquent tax is due, as provided by section 33.48(a)(1) through (4) of the Texas Tax Code.
(Ordinance 6073, sec. 1, adopted 11/21/06)
(A) 
All tangible personal property which may be exempted from taxation under a law adopted under subdivision (2) of subsection (d) of article VIII, section 1 of the Texas Constitution, shall remain subject to taxation by the City, notwithstanding the adoption of such law.
(B) 
All tangible personal property consisting of goods, wares, merchandise, or ores, other than oil, gas, and other petroleum products, exempted from taxation under a law adopted under subsection (f) of article VIII, section 1 of the Texas Constitution, shall remain subject to taxation by the City, on one hundred percent (100%) of the appraised value of such property, notwithstanding the adoption of such law.
(C) 
The City elects to exempt from ad valorem taxation the tangible personal property described in article VIII, section 1-j, subsection (a), of the Texas Constitution and section 11.251 of the Texas Property Tax Code, beginning in the tax year 2002.
(D) 
Taxes imposed on tangible personal property that becomes delinquent on or after February 1 of a year incur an additional penalty on the 60th day after the date the taxes become delinquent.
(E) 
The City Council hereby determines that “goods in transit” as defined in article VIII, section 1-n of the Texas Constitution and section 11.253 of the Texas Tax Code, and not otherwise exempt from ad valorem taxation under any other law, are and shall remain subject to taxation by the City.
(Ordinance 4169, sec. 1, adopted 12/8/87; Ordinance 4385, sec. 1, adopted 12/5/89; Ordinance 5575, sec. 3, adopted 6/19/01; Ordinance 6073, sec. 2, adopted 11/21/06; Ordinance 6186, sec. 2, adopted 12/11/07; Ordinance 6504, sec. 1, adopted 11/15/11)
(A) 
A tax is hereby authorized on all telecommunications services sold within the City. For purposes of this section, the sale of telecommunications services is consummated at the location of the telephone or other telecommunications device from which the call or other communication originates. If the point of origin cannot be determined, the sale is consummated at the address to which the call or other communication is billed.
(B) 
The application of the exemption provided for in article 1066c, section 4B(a), VATCS [section 321.210 Texas Tax Code] is hereby repealed by the City, as authorized by section 4(B)(b) thereof.
(C) 
The rate of tax imposed by this section shall be the same as the rate imposed by the City, for all other local sales and use taxes as authorized by the legislature of the state.
(D) 
This section shall become effective as of October 1, 1987.
(Ordinance 4100, sec. 1, adopted 5/19/87)
There is hereby granted, beginning in the tax year 2025, an exemption from taxation of a percentage of the appraised value of a residence homestead in the amount of 11%. The qualifications, conditions, and limitations governing the availability and applicability of the exemption granted by this section shall be those contained in section 11.13 and other applicable provisions of the Texas Tax Code.
(Ordinance 5739, sec. 1, adopted 6/17/03; Ordinance 6010 adopted 6/6/07; Ordinance 6137, sec. 1, adopted 6/19/07; Ordinance 6237, sec. 1, adopted 6/17/08; Ordinance 7150, sec. 2, adopted 6/16/20; Ordinance 7583 adopted 4/15/2025)
As used in this article, the following words, terms, and phrases are defined as follows:
Consideration.
The price of or value received for the right to use all or a portion of a hotel, but does not include the cost of any food served or personal services rendered to the occupant not related to cleaning and readying the room or space for occupancy, and does not include any tax assessed by any other governmental agency for occupancy of the room or space.
Hotel.
Any building, complex of buildings, trailer, or any other facility in which the public may, for a consideration, obtain sleeping accommodations. The term includes hotels, motels, tourist homes, houses or courts, lodging houses, cabins, inns, rooming houses, trailer houses, trailer motels, dormitories where bed space is rented, apartments not occupied by permanent residents, short-term rentals, and all other facilities where rooms or sleeping facilities or space are furnished for consideration. The term “hotel” does not include hospitals, sanitariums, nursing homes, jails, prisons or detention centers, dormitories or housing facilities of the type described in Section 156.001(2) of the Texas Tax Code or an oilfield portable unit, as defined by Section 152.001 of the Texas Tax Code. The term “hotel” does not include a residence or portion of a residence rented to a member of the resident’s family.
Monthly period.
The regular calendar months of the year.
Occupancy.
The use or possession of, or the exclusive right to the use or possession, of a sleeping space, room, or facility in a hotel.
Occupant.
Any person who has paid consideration for the exclusive right to use a sleeping space, room, or facility in a hotel.
Permanent resident.
Any occupant who has occupied or has paid for the exclusive right to occupy a particular sleeping space, room, or facility in a hotel for at least thirty consecutive days so long as there is no interruption of payment for the period.
Residential property.
A property zoned AG, SF-E, SF-10, SF-7, SF-5, SFA, 2F or MF under the Garland Development Code and on which is located a building used for residential purposes.
Short-term rental.
The rental of all or part of a residential property to a person who is not a permanent resident.
Tax.
The hotel occupancy tax levied in this article pursuant to Chapter 351 of the Texas Tax Code.
(Ordinance 7054, sec. 1, adopted 5/7/19)
(A) 
A tax upon the cost of or consideration paid by a person who, under a lease, concession, permit, right of access, license, contract, or agreement, has the use or possession or the right to the use or possession of a room that is in a hotel is hereby levied at the rate of seven percent of the total price to include all goods and services provided by the hotel which are not ordinarily subject to sales tax.
(B) 
The following are exceptions to the tax:
(1) 
There is no tax on the cost of or consideration paid for occupancy of a hotel sleeping space, room, or facility priced at less than $2.00 per day.
(2) 
The cost of or consideration paid for a hotel space, room, or facility not ordinarily used for sleeping, such as a conference space or a meeting room, is not subject to this tax.
(3) 
The cost of or consideration paid for a sleeping space, room, or facility occupied by a permanent resident is not subject to this tax.
(4) 
A person described in section 156.101, section 156.103(a), or section 156.103(d) of the Texas Tax Code is exempt from the payment of the tax imposed under this article.
(5) 
A state governmental entity described in section 156.103(b) or a person described in section 156.103(c) of the Texas Tax Code shall pay the tax imposed by this article, but the state governmental entity is entitled to a refund of the tax paid.
(Ordinance 4125, sec. 1, adopted 9/1/87; Ordinance 7054, sec. 1, adopted 5/7/19)
(A) 
Every person owning, operating, managing, or controlling any hotel shall collect the tax imposed under this article and pay same to the City together with the report required in this article.
(B) 
The tax shall be reported and submitted to the City not later than ten days from the last day of March, June, September, and December of each year, on forms provided by the City.
(C) 
Each person required to collect the tax must make records relating to the tax available for inspection by the City. The City shall, upon reasonable notice, have access to books and records necessary to determine the correctness of a report filed under this article or the amount of taxes due under this article. The City shall have authority to require additional information to determine the correctness of a report filed under this article or the amount of taxes due under this article.
(D) 
If a person who is liable for the payment of a tax under this article is the owner of the hotel and sells the hotel, the successor to the sale or the seller’s assignee shall withhold an amount of the purchase price sufficient to pay the tax due until the seller provides a receipt from the City showing that the amount has been paid or a certificate showing that no tax is due.
(1) 
The purchaser of a hotel who fails to withhold an amount of the purchase price as required by this subsection is liable for the amount required to be withheld to the extent of the value of the purchase price.
(2) 
The purchaser of a hotel may request that the City issue a certificate stating that no tax is due or issue a statement of the amount required to be paid before a certificate may be issued. The City shall issue the certificate or statement not later than sixty days after receiving the request. If the City fails to issue the certificate or statement within the time period, the purchaser is released from the obligation to withhold the purchase price or pay the amount due (but not from the obligation to pay any tax that may be due).
(Ordinance 7054, sec. 1, adopted 5/7/19)
The tax collector shall have the power to make any rules and regulations necessary to effectively collect the tax, penalty or interest levied herein. The tax collector is authorized to issue rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the full intent and purpose of this article concerning the information required on reports, the collection reporting periods, audits, the retention of records, the forcible seizure of records for auditing purposes, as allowed by law.
(Ordinance 7054, sec. 1, adopted 5/7/19)
(A) 
A person commits an offense if a person:
(1) 
Fails to collect the tax imposed by this article;
(2) 
Fails to file a report as required by this article;
(3) 
Fails to pay the tax when payment is due;
(4) 
Files a false report; or
(5) 
Fails to comply with this article when purchasing a hotel.
(B) 
An offense committed under subsection (A) of this section is punishable by a fine not to exceed $500.00 for each offense. Each day that a violation is permitted to exist shall constitute a separate offense.
(C) 
In addition to any criminal penalties imposed under subsection (B), a person shall pay fifteen percent of the tax due as a penalty if the person fails to pay the tax or file the report as required by this article by the due date. Delinquent taxes shall accrue interest at the rate of ten percent per annum beginning sixty days from the date the tax was due.
(Ordinance 7054, sec. 1, adopted 5/7/19)
(A) 
The City Attorney or other attorney authorized by the City may bring suit against a person who is required to collect the tax imposed by this article and who has failed file a tax report or pay the tax when due. The City may collect the tax not paid or enjoin the person from operating a hotel in the City until the tax is paid or the report is filed, as applicable, as provided by the court’s order. In addition to any amount of any tax owed under this article, the person is liable to the City for:
(1) 
Reasonable attorney’s fees;
(2) 
The cost of an audit conducted under subsection (B), as determined by the City using a reasonable rate, but only if the tax has been delinquent for at least two complete municipal fiscal quarters at the time the audit is conducted;
(3) 
A penalty equal to fifteen percent of the total amount of the tax owed; and
(4) 
Interest on the delinquent taxes at the rate of ten percent per annum.
(B) 
If a person is required to file a tax report under this article does not file the report as required by this article, the City Attorney or other attorney authorized by the City may determine the amount of tax due under this article by:
(1) 
Conducting an audit of each hotel in relation to which the person did not file the report as required by this article; or
(2) 
Using the tax report filed for the appropriate reporting period under Section 156.151 of the Texas Tax Code in relation to that hotel.
(C) 
If the person did not file a tax report under Section 156.151 of the Texas Tax Code for that reporting period in relation to that hotel, the City Attorney or other attorney authorized by the City may estimate the amount of tax due by using the tax reports in relation to that hotel filed during the previous calendar year under this article or Section 156.151 of the Texas Tax Code. An estimate made under this subsection is prima facie evidence of the amount of the tax due for that period in relation to that hotel.
(D) 
The authority to conduct an audit under this section is in addition to any other audit authority provided by State law, charter, or ordinance.
(E) 
The remedies provided by this section are in addition to other available remedies.
(Ordinance 7054, sec. 1, adopted 5/7/19)
Nothing contained in this article shall be construed as authorizing the use of any property in a manner contrary to any provision of this Code of Ordinances, the Garland Development Code, or other law. A premises may constitute a hotel for purposes of taxation under this article even though the premises are not zoned for hotel uses under the Garland Development Code. Similarly, a hotel for taxation purposes may be regulated as a lodging establishment, a single family rental unit or as a multifamily dwelling under the provisions of Chapter 32 of this Code of Ordinances, as appropriate to the actual land use and notwithstanding the use of the term “hotel” in this article. A building designed, intended, and zoned as a hotel for purposes of the Garland Development Code may not be converted into a multifamily use merely by renting some or all of the sleeping rooms to “permanent residents” as that term is used in this article unless the premises are appropriately zoned and are licensed as a multifamily dwelling.
(Ordinance 7054, sec. 1, adopted 5/7/19)