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Hotel And Lodging Tax In San Diego 2026: TOT Rate And Rules
San Diego replaced its flat 10.5% hotel tax with three zone-based rates in 2025, the delayed result of a 2020 ballot measure, so two hotels a few blocks apart near the Convention Center can now legally owe different tax rates.
August 28, 2026
7
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TL;DR
- San Diego's Transient Occupancy Tax split into three zone-based rates, 11.75%, 12.75%, and 13.75%, effective May 1, 2025, replacing the old flat 10.5% citywide rate.
- Hotel tax, lodging tax, occupancy tax, and bed tax all describe the same charge, split here into San Diego's Transient Occupancy Tax and its separate Tourism Marketing District assessment.
- The zone system comes from Measure C, approved by 65.2% of San Diego voters in November 2020 but delayed for years by litigation until a 2024 trial court judgment confirmed it.
- Properties with 70 or more rooms pay a 2% Tourism Marketing District assessment, while smaller properties pay a reduced 0.55%, and both must be shown separately from the base tax.
- San Diego's long-stay exemption is defined by calendar month, not a flat 30-day count, so the exact exemption threshold shifts slightly depending on which day of which month a stay began.
- San Diego also exempts stays with a daily rent of $25 or less, a low threshold uncommon among major cities.
- Zone boundaries don't follow obvious neighborhood lines, so the city provides an interactive lookup map for operators to confirm which of the three rates applies to a specific address.
- Remittance is monthly to the Office of the City Treasurer, due the last day of the month following collection, with an escalating late penalty capped at 25% of the tax owed.
How San Diego's Hotel and Lodging Tax Works
San Diego's hotel tax, officially the Transient Occupancy Tax, no longer has a single citywide rate. Since May 1, 2025, it's split into three zones, 11.75%, 12.75%, and 13.75%, based on a property's distance from the San Diego Convention Center.
The zone system traces back to Measure C, a ballot initiative San Diego voters approved in November 2020 with 65.2% in favor, authorizing the city to raise TOT to fund convention center expansion, street repair, and homelessness programs. Implementation stalled for years while the measure faced legal challenges over whether it needed a two-thirds supermajority as a special tax; a 2024 trial court judgment finally confirmed Measure C's validity, and the new zoned rates took effect May 1, 2025, replacing the old flat 10.5% rate.
Coverage extends to hotels, motels, and short-term rentals alike. Short-term rentals carry an additional licensing layer on top of the tax itself: the city's Short-Term Residential Occupancy program sorts listings into four tiers by how many days a year they're rented and whether the host is present, and whole-home rentals in the highest-frequency tiers are capped at roughly 1% of the city's housing stock, with fewer than 900 citywide licenses remaining as of late 2025 and new applicants entering a lottery rather than a first-come queue.
Tax Rates and Extra Fees
A San Diego stay can be taxed under as many as two separate charges depending on the property's zone and room count.
| Tax component | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Transient Occupancy Tax, Zone 1 | 11.75% | Closest of the three zones to the base rate; effective May 1, 2025 under Measure C |
| Transient Occupancy Tax, Zone 2 | 12.75% | Mid-tier zone by distance from the San Diego Convention Center |
| Transient Occupancy Tax, Zone 3 | 13.75% | Highest zone rate, generally closest to the Convention Center |
| Tourism Marketing District Assessment, 70+ rooms | 2% | Funds regional tourism promotion; operator may pass it to the guest but must show it separately from TOT |
| Tourism Marketing District Assessment, under 70 rooms | 0.55% | Reduced rate for smaller lodging businesses |
Because the zone boundaries don't follow neighborhood names or ZIP codes in any obvious way, the city maintains an interactive tax zone lookup map so an operator can confirm exactly which of the three rates applies to a specific address rather than guessing based on distance or reputation.
The Tourism Marketing District assessment is a separate charge from TOT with its own room-count threshold: properties with 70 or more rooms pay 2%, while smaller properties pay a reduced 0.55%. Whichever rate applies, the city requires it to appear as its own line item distinct from the Transient Occupancy Tax rather than folded into one combined percentage.
Collection and Remittance
The guest pays TOT and, where applicable, the TMD assessment, but the operator is responsible for collecting and remitting both to the Office of the City Treasurer. Remittance is monthly, due by the last day of the month following collection, so April's tax is due by May 31.
Late remittance carries an escalating penalty: 1% for the first delinquent day, plus an additional one-third of 1% for every day after that, capped at 25% of the tax owed. Short-term rental platform remittance still varies by platform, so an operator can't assume a booking made through a major site has already had San Diego's zone-specific rate applied and remitted correctly.
San Diego's Fee Transparency Rules
San Diego's transparency requirement is specific to how the two charges are displayed rather than a broader all-in pricing law: the Tourism Marketing District assessment must be shown as its own separate line item from the Transient Occupancy Tax, not combined into a single tax percentage on the guest's receipt. A property that lists one blended rate instead of two distinct lines isn't meeting the city's own presentation requirement, even if the total dollar amount collected is correct.
Exemptions From San Diego's Hotel Tax
San Diego defines its long-term stay exemption by calendar month rather than a flat day count: occupancy becomes exempt once it reaches "a month," defined as the period of consecutive days from the first calendar day of occupancy in any month to the same calendar day in the following month. That means the exact number of days before exemption kicks in shifts slightly depending on which day of which month the stay began, unlike a fixed 30-day rule.
San Diego also exempts stays with a daily rent of $25 or less, a low-cost threshold not common in other major cities, along with stays paid directly by the federal or state government with proper documentation and stays covered by international treaty exemptions.
Common Mistakes Hotels Make With TOT Compliance
- Charging the old flat 10.5% rate. That rate was replaced by the three-zone system on May 1, 2025, and a property still billing the pre-Measure C rate is under-collecting by 1.25 to 3.25 percentage points depending on its actual zone.
- Guessing a zone instead of checking the city's lookup map. Zone boundaries don't follow obvious neighborhood lines, and a property assuming it falls in the lower-rate zone without confirming against the official map risks under-collection that surfaces at audit.
- Applying a flat 30-day exemption instead of San Diego's calendar-month definition. The city measures a month from the first calendar day of occupancy to the same calendar day the following month, which can be more or fewer than 30 days depending on the month.
- Using the wrong Tourism Marketing District rate. Properties with 70 or more rooms owe 2%, while smaller properties owe 0.55%, and applying the wrong tier either overcharges guests or under-remits to the district.
- Combining TOT and the TMD assessment into one line item. San Diego requires the TMD assessment to be shown separately from TOT, and a folio that blends them into a single tax percentage doesn't meet the city's presentation requirement.
- Skipping the $25-per-day exemption or treaty documentation. Both require the same kind of supporting records as any other exemption, and failing to document them invites the exemption being disallowed on audit.
Where A PMS Fits Into TOT Compliance
None of this is about software resolving which of San Diego's three zones a property sits in, since that depends entirely on the property's actual address relative to the Convention Center. What a PMS can do is let a property configure its confirmed zone rate and its correct Tourism Marketing District tier as two distinct line items, matching the city's requirement that they appear separately rather than as one blended tax. Revenue reports by date range help confirm the May 2025 rate change was applied consistently going forward, and a booking engine that itemizes both charges keeps a multi-zone operator from accidentally applying one property's rate to another.
See how roommaster simplifies multi-property tax reporting.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Does San Diego have its own hotel tax rate?
Yes, and since May 1, 2025 it's actually three rates, not one. San Diego's Transient Occupancy Tax runs 11.75%, 12.75%, or 13.75% depending on which of three zones a property falls in relative to the San Diego Convention Center.
2. What is San Diego's hotel tax?
San Diego's hotel tax is the Transient Occupancy Tax, set at 11.75% to 13.75% depending on zone under Measure C, plus a Tourism Marketing District assessment of 2% for properties with 70 or more rooms or 0.55% for smaller properties.
3. What is San Diego's lodging tax?
San Diego's lodging tax is the same charge as its hotel tax: hotel tax, lodging tax, occupancy tax, and bed tax all refer to the Transient Occupancy Tax and the related Tourism Marketing District assessment.
4. How long does a guest need to stay in San Diego to be exempt from hotel tax?
San Diego defines the exemption threshold as one calendar month, the period from the first calendar day of occupancy to the same calendar day in the following month, rather than a flat 30-day count.
5. Does San Diego require hotels to disclose fees upfront?
San Diego specifically requires the Tourism Marketing District assessment to be shown as its own line item separate from the Transient Occupancy Tax, rather than combined into a single blended tax percentage on the guest's receipt.
6. Who is responsible for filing and remitting San Diego's hotel tax?
The property operator collects both the Transient Occupancy Tax and the Tourism Marketing District assessment from the guest and remits them monthly to the Office of the City Treasurer, due by the last day of the month following collection.
7. Why did San Diego's hotel tax rate change in 2025?
Voters approved Measure C in November 2020 to fund convention center expansion, street repair, and homelessness programs, but legal challenges over whether it required a two-thirds vote delayed it for years. A 2024 trial court judgment confirmed its validity, and the new three-zone rate structure took effect May 1, 2025, replacing the previous flat 10.5% citywide rate.
