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Hotel And Lodging Tax In San Francisco 2026: TOT Rate And Rules
San Francisco stacks a 14% Transient Occupancy Tax with zone-based Tourism Improvement District and Moscone Expansion District assessments that push some hotel bills to 17.5% combined.
August 28, 2026
7
min. read
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TL;DR
- SF combines a 14% city TOT with Tourism Improvement District (TID) and Moscone Expansion District (MED) assessments, reaching a combined 17.5% at downtown Zone 1 hotels.
- Hotel tax, lodging tax, occupancy tax, and bed tax all describe the same TOT charged on SF stays.
- As California's only consolidated city and county, San Francisco has no separate overlapping county hotel tax layer.
- TID assessments now apply to both hotels and registered short-term rentals, following a January 2024 renewal.
- SF exempts stays priced under $60 a day or $149 a week from TOT, a threshold unusual among major California cities.
- Hotels file TOT monthly; short-term rental hosts not using a Qualified Website Company file annually, by January 31.
- Short-term rentals are capped citywide at 1,000 registered units, with only 152 approved as of July 2026, and unhosted stays are limited to 90 nights a year.
- Both California's SB 478/AB 537 and the FTC's federal hotel fee rule require SF hotels to disclose the full price, including mandatory fees, upfront.
How San Francisco's Hotel and Lodging Tax Works
San Francisco charges its Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) under the city's own tax code, and because San Francisco is California's only consolidated city and county, there's no separate county layer stacked on top, just the city tax plus two tourism district assessments that apply only within specific zones.
The city's TOT rate is 14%, charged on hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, and any short-term rental booked for fewer than 30 consecutive days, under the San Francisco Business and Tax Regulations Code. On top of that base rate, most hotels and registered short-term rentals also pay into the Tourism Improvement District (TID), a business improvement district managed by San Francisco Travel that funds destination marketing.
The TID splits the city into two zones: 2.25% in Zone 1, which covers the downtown, Union Square, and Moscone Center core, and 2.00% in Zone 2 for hotels outside that area. Many Zone 1 properties also carry a separate Moscone Expansion District (MED) assessment to help fund the Moscone Center's expansion, and San Francisco Travel publishes the fully stacked total, TOT plus TID plus MED, at 17.5% for qualifying downtown hotels.
Tax Rates and Extra Fees
Because San Francisco carries no separate county tax, the components below are the city TOT and the two tourism district assessments that layer on top depending on a hotel's zone.
| Tax component | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| California state tax | None | California levies no statewide transient occupancy tax |
| San Francisco county tax | Not applicable | San Francisco is California's only consolidated city and county, so there is no separate county-level hotel tax |
| San Francisco TOT | 14% | Charged on hotel, motel, and short-term rental stays under 30 consecutive days |
| Tourism Improvement District (TID) assessment | 2.25% (Zone 1) / 2.00% (Zone 2) | Zone 1 covers downtown, Union Square, and the Moscone Center core; assessed on hotels and registered short-term rentals since a January 2024 renewal |
| Moscone Expansion District (MED) assessment | Rolled into the combined total below | Funds the Moscone Center expansion; layered on top of TID at participating Zone 1 hotels |
| Combined rate at Zone 1 hotels | 17.5% | TOT plus TID plus MED, as published by San Francisco Travel |
Collection and Remittance
Guests pay the combined TOT and district assessments at checkout, but the operator, whether a hotel or an individual host, is legally responsible for collecting and remitting the tax to the SF Treasurer and Tax Collector. Hotels and larger operators file TOT monthly. Short-term rental hosts file annually, by January 31 for the prior year, unless their listing runs through a Qualified Website Company (QWC), a designation San Francisco grants to platforms like Airbnb, Interval International, and misterb&b that collect and remit TOT and TID directly, which removes the host's own filing requirement for that booking.
San Francisco's Fee Transparency Rules
California's SB 478 and AB 537 have required upfront, all-in price disclosure from every San Francisco hotel and short-term rental since July 1, 2024, and the FTC's federal hotel junk fees rule, finalized in December 2024, layers a second, national disclosure requirement on top for the same properties. Together, they mean a San Francisco hotel can't advertise a room rate and then reveal a resort fee, facility fee, or other mandatory charge only at checkout. The total price, before taxes, has to be shown the first time a rate appears.
Exemptions From San Francisco's Hotel Tax
San Francisco exempts a few categories of stays from TOT: permanent residents who occupy a room for 30 consecutive days or more, certain exempt nonprofit corporations and associations, and federal or state government employees traveling on official business with proper documentation. Uniquely among major California cities, San Francisco also exempts any stay billed at less than $60 a day or $149 a week, a threshold aimed at very low-cost lodging rather than typical hotel stays. As with other cities, none of these exemptions apply automatically. Operators need supporting documentation on file to justify an exempted stay in an audit.
Common Mistakes Hotels Make With TOT Compliance
- Applying the wrong TID zone rate. Zone 1 downtown and Moscone-area properties owe 2.25% while Zone 2 properties owe 2.00%, and using the wrong zone's rate either overcharges guests or underpays the assessment.
- Not updating short-term rental listings for TID. Since the January 2024 renewal, registered short-term rentals owe the TID assessment alongside hotels, a change some smaller hosts still haven't built into their pricing.
- Missing the January 31 short-term rental filing deadline. Hosts who don't book through a Qualified Website Company must file TOT and TID annually themselves, a different cadence than the monthly filing hotels use.
- Overlooking San Francisco's unhosted-stay cap. Unhosted short-term rentals are limited to 90 nights a year, and exceeding it risks the registration entirely, separate from any tax owed.
- Misapplying the low-rate exemption threshold. The under-$60-a-day or under-$149-a-week exemption is a strict cutoff, not a rounding allowance, and applying it to a room priced just above the line understates tax owed.
- Blending TID and MED into the TOT line. TID and MED are business improvement district assessments, not government tax revenue, and combining them with TOT on a folio misrepresents what the guest is actually being charged for.
Where A PMS Fits Into TOT Compliance
None of this is about software, it's about keeping several differently timed obligations, city TOT, a zone-specific TID rate, the MED layer, and short-term rental filing cadence, straight across every reservation. A property management system like roommaster can help by letting a hotel configure each tax and assessment as its own line item tied to the correct zone, rather than one blended percentage, and by generating revenue reports by date range that make monthly TOT reconciliation more straightforward. A booking engine that shows the full nightly rate and every mandatory charge before checkout also supports the all-in pricing that both California and federal law now require.
See how roommaster simplifies multi-property tax reporting.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Does San Francisco have its own hotel tax rate?
Yes. San Francisco sets a 14% Transient Occupancy Tax under its own municipal tax code. Because San Francisco is California's only consolidated city and county, there's no separate county rate layered on top, only the city tax plus zone-based tourism district assessments.
2. What is San Francisco's hotel tax?
San Francisco's hotel tax is a 14% Transient Occupancy Tax on stays under 30 consecutive days, plus a Tourism Improvement District assessment of 2.25% in Zone 1 or 2.00% in Zone 2, plus a Moscone Expansion District charge at participating downtown hotels. Combined, the total reaches 17.5% at qualifying Zone 1 properties.
3. What is San Francisco's lodging tax?
Lodging tax is another name for San Francisco's Transient Occupancy Tax. Hotel tax, lodging tax, occupancy tax, and bed tax all describe the same 14% city charge, before the Tourism Improvement District and Moscone Expansion District assessments layer on top.
4. How long must a stay last to be exempt from San Francisco's hotel tax?
A guest generally must occupy a room for 30 consecutive days or more to qualify as a permanent resident exempt from TOT. Separately, any stay billed under $60 a day or $149 a week is exempt regardless of length, a threshold unique to San Francisco among major California cities.
5. Does San Francisco have fee transparency rules?
Yes. California's SB 478 and AB 537 have required all-in price disclosure from San Francisco hotels since July 1, 2024, and the FTC's federal hotel junk fees rule, finalized in December 2024, adds a second layer of disclosure requirements for the same properties.
6. Who is responsible for filing San Francisco's hotel tax?
The hotel or short-term rental host is legally responsible for collecting TOT and TID from guests and remitting them to the SF Treasurer and Tax Collector. Hotels file monthly, while short-term rental hosts file annually by January 31, unless their platform is a Qualified Website Company that remits on their behalf.
7. How many short-term rentals are permitted in San Francisco?
San Francisco caps short-term rental registrations at 1,000 units citywide, and only 152 had been approved as of July 2026. Hosts must also live in the unit at least 275 nights a year and can rent it unhosted for no more than 90 nights annually.
