Hochatown STR License & Lodging Tax Guide

A Broken Bow-area address does not tell you which rules apply. Hochatown has no ZIP code of its own, so cabins inside the town limits use Broken Bow's 74728 like everywhere else nearby. What matters is the jurisdiction the property actually sits in: inside the Town of Hochatown, inside the City of Broken Bow, or in unincorporated McCurtain County.

Hochatown voted to incorporate in November 2022. Since then the Town has adopted its own short-term rental license and its own 4% lodging tax, which apply only inside its limits. If you are not sure where your parcel falls, ask the Town before you assume either way.

Inside Hochatown town limits, no dwelling may be rented, advertised, or offered as a short-term rental until the Town has issued a short-term rental license to the operator. The requirement comes from Ordinance No. 6, passed March 12, 2024.

Ordinance No. 6 is short. Beyond the license, it requires three things of every operator, and it sets out what happens when a complaint comes in.

People expect a quiet-hours rule and an occupancy cap. We did not find either. Ordinance No. 6 sets no numeric occupancy limit (the license application asks for your maximum occupancy and bedroom count, but the ordinance does not cap it), and it sets no STR-specific quiet hours.

The Town's general code still applies. Loud or unusual noise that annoys people of ordinary sensibilities is a nuisance, disturbing the peace with loud music or noise is prohibited, and letting trash accumulate into a littering nuisance is unlawful. Your own house rules, and your platform's, are usually stricter than that, and they are what keeps you out of the complaint process in the first place.

The Town levies a 4% lodging tax on lodging inside its limits, effective May 1, 2023. It is charged on the gross amount the guest pays, and the Town's FAQ is explicit that this includes every associated fee: cleaning, pet fees, concierge services, and so on. Management and cleaning costs are not deducted.

The operator collects the tax from the guest and is liable to the Town for it. Returns are due monthly, no later than the 15th of the month after the reporting period. Late returns carry a $15 late fee, plus 2% interest and a 10% penalty per month, with the penalty capped at 50%.

The Town's FAQ also says it has not received lodging tax payments from Airbnb, VRBO, or similar platforms, and that paying it remains the cabin owner's responsibility. Do not assume the platform has remitted it for you.

The Town files lodging tax through Granicus. It stopped working with the previous vendor, Avenu, effective October 1, 2024; the Town's STR page says that decision was the Town's. (Some older write-ups, including one of ours, attributed the switch to McCurtain County. It was the Town.)

Remittance runs through Granicus forms linked from the Town's STR page, with a bulk option for multiple properties and single-property options with and without exemptions. A paper return, payable to the Town of Hochatown, is also available. The Town's remittance form notes the tax is due to the Town, not to the Oklahoma Tax Commission. At the time we checked, the Town's STR page said its tax portal was being repaired and an improved one was expected.

The 4% town lodging tax is one of five taxes on a stay inside Hochatown. The Town's own breakdown puts the total at 16.25% inside town limits, against 9.25% in unincorporated McCurtain County. Figures you may see elsewhere, such as a single "14% Hochatown lodging tax", do not match the Town's documents.

Broken Bow is a separate city with separate rules. Its code sets a 5% occupancy charge on the room charge for furnished rooms in hotels and motels within the city, filed with the city clerk or treasurer by the 20th. The code defines a hotel by room count, and whether a single cabin falls under it is a question for the City, not one we can answer from the code.

Zoning matters more. Since February 2024 (Ordinance 428), Broken Bow permits short-term rentals only in areas zoned C-5 highway commercial and commercial recreation, with established hotels and motels grandfathered. If you are buying inside Broken Bow city limits to rent, check the zoning before anything else. We found no separate Broken Bow STR license in the code.

Lodging is subject to Oklahoma's 4.5% state sales tax, and the Oklahoma Tax Commission issues sales tax permits through OkTAP. The Commission also says marketplace facilitators that sell Oklahoma lodging may be required to collect and remit state and local taxes. We found no Oklahoma state STR license. Whether you personally need a sales tax permit depends on how your rental is booked, which is a question for the Tax Commission or your accountant.

If you change property managers, the Town wants to know. Its Change of Cabin Management Company form updates the management company on your STR license. You need your license number, there is no fee, and the Town emails an updated license certificate to the owner.