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Hotel And Lodging Tax In California 2026: TOT Rates By City
California sets no statewide hotel tax. See 2026 hotel tax and lodging tax (TOT) rates by city, who pays and collects it, exemptions, and where hotels get compliance wrong.
August 26, 2026
6
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TL;DR
- California has no state-level hotel tax: every city and county sets its own TOT rate under Revenue and Taxation Code Section 7280.
- “Hotel tax,” “lodging tax,” “bed tax,” “room tax,” and “TOT” all refer to the same charge, just different local naming.
- Rates typically fall between 8% and 15.5%, with Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego among the highest.
- TOT applies to hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, campgrounds, RV parks, and short-term rentals like Airbnb and Vrbo, on stays of 30 consecutive days or less.
- Many tourist cities layer a separate district assessment (TMD or TBID) on top of TOT, often adding another 1 to 3 percentage points.
- The property collects TOT from the guest and remits it, monthly or quarterly depending on the city.
California does not charge a statewide hotel tax. Instead, state law (Revenue and Taxation Code Section 7280) lets each city and county set its own Transient Occupancy Tax, commonly called TOT, hotel tax, lodging tax, bed tax, or room tax, on stays under 30 days. Rates run from about 8% in unincorporated San Diego County to over 15% in Los Angeles, so the actual rate depends entirely on where the property sits.
What Is California's Hotel Tax?
California's hotel tax, officially the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), is a local tax on stays of 30 days or less at hotels, motels, and short-term rentals. There is no statewide rate: each city or county sets its own, typically between 8% and 15.5%, and collects it directly.
Hotel tax and lodging tax are the same charge, just different names people use for it. California's legislature never created a state version: it gave local governments the authority to levy their own rate under Revenue and Taxation Code Section 7280, and under Proposition 218, any new tax or rate increase needs voter approval before it takes effect.
California Hotel Tax Rates By City (2026)
Because there’s no statewide rate, the only way to know what a guest actually owes is to look up the specific city or county. Here’s where the major hospitality markets stand as of 2026.
| City / county | TOT rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles (city) | 15.5% | 14% base TOT plus a 1.5% LA Convention Center Authority surcharge |
| San Francisco | 14% | Some properties also collect a separate Tourism Improvement District assessment |
| Oakland | 14% | n/a |
| Santa Clara | 13.5% | n/a |
| San Diego (city) | 11.75% to 13.75% | Since Measure C, effective May 2025, rate depends on the property’s zone relative to the Convention Center |
| Santa Barbara | 12% | 10% to the General Fund, 2% to the Creeks and Clean Water Fund |
| Los Angeles County (unincorporated) | 12% | Applies outside city limits, administered by the County Treasurer |
| Monterey County (unincorporated) | 10.5% | n/a |
| Mountain View | 10% | n/a |
| Thousand Oaks | 10% | n/a |
| San Diego County (unincorporated) | 8% | n/a |
Rates change after local elections, so treat this table as a starting point and confirm the current published rate with the specific city or county Treasurer or Tax Collector before filing.
Who Pays And Who Collects The Tax?
The guest pays TOT. It shows up as a line item on the folio, calculated as a percentage of the room rate. The property is the one legally responsible for registering with the local tax collector, collecting the tax at checkout, and filing and remitting it, on a schedule that’s monthly in some cities and quarterly in others.
Booking platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo often collect and remit local TOT automatically for listings in many California communities, but that arrangement varies by platform and by city, so hosts and operators should confirm it rather than assume it.
Exemptions From California’s Hotel Tax
TOT generally doesn’t apply once a guest’s stay passes 30 consecutive days, but only if there’s a signed agreement, made within the first 30 days of the stay, stating the guest intends to stay longer. Without that paperwork on file, the exemption doesn’t hold up if the city audits the property.
Most ordinances also exempt certain government employees traveling on official business, though the exemption doesn’t extend to federal employees just because their employer reimburses the cost. It depends on how the room is paid for. Exemption forms typically have to be filed with the property’s regular TOT return, not claimed after the fact.
Tourism District Assessments: The Fee On Top Of The Tax
In tourism-heavy cities, TOT isn’t the only charge on the folio. A tourism district assessment, called a Tourism Marketing District (TMD) in some cities and a Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) in others, usually adds another 1 to 3 percentage points of room revenue to fund destination marketing, separately from the city’s general TOT collection.
It’s easy to treat this as part of the hotel tax in reporting, but it’s a distinct assessment with its own rate, its own rules, and sometimes its own filing deadline. Properties that lump it in with TOT on their books tend to find the discrepancy at year-end reconciliation, not before.
Common Mistakes Hotels Make With TOT Compliance
- Using a stale rate. Local TOT rates change after ballot measures, San Diego’s 2025 shift to a three-zone system is a recent example, and a property still charging the old rate either undercollects or overcharges guests.
- Treating the 30-day exemption as automatic. Without a signed agreement filed within the first 30 days, the exemption doesn’t apply, no matter how long the guest actually stays.
- Missing OTA remittance gaps. Some booking platforms remit TOT directly to the city, others don’t. Assuming one way or the other, without checking, leaves either an underpayment or a double collection.
- Folding district assessments into the TOT line. TMD or TBID fees are separate charges with separate reporting requirements, and combining them makes filings harder to reconcile, not easier.
- Not retraining front desk staff after a rate change. The tax code in the PMS gets updated, but if staff quote the old rate to walk-in guests, it creates disputes at checkout.
Where A PMS Fits Into TOT Compliance
None of the above is about software. It’s about the property staying current with a rate that a city council can change without much notice. Where a PMS actually helps is in making sure the current rate is applied consistently and that reconciling it at filing time doesn’t mean digging through paper folios. roommaster lets properties configure tax codes per rate and pull revenue reports by date range, so when a city updates its TOT rate, that’s a configuration change once, not a manual recalculation on every folio until someone remembers to fix it.
See how roommaster simplifies multi-property tax reporting.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is California's hotel tax?
California's hotel tax, officially called the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), is a local tax that cities and counties charge on hotel, motel, and short-term rental stays of 30 days or less. There's no statewide rate: each city or county sets its own, typically between 8% and 15.5%.
2. What is California's lodging tax?
California's lodging tax is the same charge as the hotel tax, just a different name for the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT). Like the hotel tax, it's set locally by each city or county rather than by the state, and it applies to stays of 30 consecutive days or less.
3. Does California have a statewide hotel tax?
No. California doesn’t set a state-level hotel tax. Cities and counties each set their own Transient Occupancy Tax rate under state law.
4. Is lodging tax the same as hotel tax in California?
Yes. “Lodging tax,” “hotel tax,” “bed tax,” “room tax,” and “TOT” all refer to the same local Transient Occupancy Tax, just different names used in different cities and by different guests.
5. What is the average hotel tax rate in California?
There isn’t a single average, since every city sets its own rate. Most major markets fall between 10% and 15.5%, with Los Angeles currently the highest among the state’s large cities.
6. Who is responsible for collecting and remitting California’s hotel tax?
The hotel or short-term rental operator registers with the local tax collector, collects the tax from the guest at checkout, and remits it on a monthly or quarterly schedule set by that city or county.
7. Are long-term hotel stays exempt from California’s occupancy tax?
Stays over 30 consecutive days can be exempt, but only if the guest and property sign an agreement to that effect within the first 30 days of the stay.
8. Is a Tourism Marketing District fee the same as TOT?
No. TMD and TBID assessments fund destination marketing and are billed separately from TOT, even though both often appear on the same guest folio.
