Occupancy Tax Collection and Remittance in the State of California
California calls its tax on entities that provide rentals in the state a Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT). The TOT is only assessed at the county/city level. For the purposes of the state of California, a short term rental is one that is 30 days or less. All local counties and cities also use the same definition.
Do I Need To Pay?
Check the tables in the next section to see if your county or city requires the tax. This is the first step. Then, if it does, all of your short term rental activity is covered by the tax.
If you use any online service that charges payments on your behalf you should be good. The online marketplace service that markets your vacation property typically collects guest payments on your behalf. If they do not collect guest payments and merely provide a guest referral, then you would likely be responsible for the taxes. Check with the company if you are not sure.
Exempt Rental Activity – Do not submit taxes
AirbnbBooking.comOther booking sites that charge guest on your behalf
What if you obtain rentals on your own and you charge the guest directly? Then you would need to charge the guest the taxes. Also, you would need to register and submit the payments to the state as well as any city/county that requires it. These are the situations where this might occur:
- The guest is a friend.
- A guest rented your property from an ad.
- Some guests rented your property from an online site that charges only subscription fees for your listing.
- Guest rented the property from your own website.
State Registration
Not applicable at the state level.
Statewide Tax Rate
None.
Counties That Require Registration
If you book your rentals using an online marketplace (such as Airbnb), no registration is required at the county level. One county (Eldorado) requires a permit in addition to a registration. Registration means that you are applying to pay the tax without regard to applicability. If the county also requires a permit, you would first need an approval before you can start renting out short term rental. The permit requires its own payment as well as a property inspection.
Some counties differentiate between unincorporated and incorporated cities that are within the county. The county tax applies to unincorporated cities. Cities that are incorporated would not apply the county tax. They would be expected to collect their own tax, if they choose.
Because there is no state level registration, each county administers is own occupancy tax. Each has setup its own method to register and collect the taxes. This information is document the following sections in the county table.
Cities That Require Registration
If you only book your rentals using an online marketplace (such as Airbnb), generally no registration is required at the city level. However, there are a few cities that require what is effectively a permit. The permit needs to be approved separately. Even if a third party collects the taxes on your behalf, the permit is still required.
When you need to pay rental taxes on your own, you will have to register in some cities. Some of the cities combine the registration/payment into one form. This is documented in the next section.
Also, each of these cities has their own payment methods.
Counties That Have Their Own Taxes
If you need to pay any of these county taxes, you need to register and pay to each county directly. The bad news is that these counties still don’t have an electronic means of carrying this task out. You would need to pay in person or using snail mail/paper check. The table below has this information detailed.
If the registration is a separate activity from payment, this is noted in the table.
The following table documents that taxes that are collected at the county level. There are links to where you can register, pay or apply for a permit.
| County | Rate | Register | Pay | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amador | 10% | Register | Pay | excludes Amador City, Lone, Jackson, Plymouth, and Sutter Creek |
| Butte | 6% | Register | Pay | excludes Biggs, Chico, Gridley, Oroville, and Paradise |
| Calaveras | 12% | Register | Pay | excludes Angels Camp |
| Culver | None | See Culver City | ||
| El Dorado | 10% | Register | Pay | Eldorado also requires a separate permit, found here |
| Humboldt | 12% | Register | Pay | excludes Arcata, Blue Lake, Eureka, Ferndale, Fortuna, Rio Dell and Trinidad |
| Madera | 11% | Register | Pay | excludes Chowchilla and Madera |
| Marin | 10% | Register | Pay | excludes Belvedere, Corte Madera, Fairfax, Larkspur, Mill Valley, Novato, Ross, San Anselmo, San Rafael, Sausalito and Tiburon |
| Nevada | 10% | Register | Pay | excludes Grass Valley, Nevada City and Truckee |
| Plumas | 9% | Register | Pay | excludes Portola |
| San Bernardino | 7% | Register | Pay | excludes Adelanto, Apple Valley, Barstow, Big Bear Lake, Chino, Chino Hills, Colton, Fontana, Grand Terrace, Hesperia, Highland, Loma Linda, Montclair, Needles, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Redlands, Rialto, San Bernardino, Twentynine Palms, Upland, Victorville, Yucaipa, Yucca Valley |
| San Francisco | 12% | N/A | N/A | See City Tax - county/city are same administrator |
| San Joaquin | 8% | Register | Pay | excludes Escalon, Lathrop, Lodi, Manteca, Ripon, Stockton, and Tracy |
| San Luis Obispo | 10-12% | Register | Pay | excludes Arroyo Grande, Atascadero, Grover Beach, Morro Bay, Paso Robles, Pismo Beach and San Luis Obispo |
| Santa Cruz | 11% | Register | Pay | excludes Capitola, Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley and Watsonville |
| Siskiyou | 10% | N/A | N/A | More Information excludes Dorris, Dunsmuir, Etna, Fort Jones, Montague, Mount Shasta, Tulelake, Weed, and Yreka |
| Sonoma | 12% | Register | Pay | excludes Cloverdale, Cotati, Healdsburg, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Sonoma and Windsor |
| Trinity | 5% | Register | Pay | |
| Tuolumne | 10% | Register | Pay | excludes Sonora |
Cities That Have Their Own Taxes
If you need to pay any of these city taxes, you need to contact the city where you property is locate. Pay the tax to each city directly. The bad news is that these cities still don’t have an electronic means of carrying this task out. (There are a few exceptions as noted in the table). You would need to pay in person or using snail mail/paper check.
If the registration is a separate activity from payment, this is noted in the table. For many cities, they keep it simple. There is only one form, the form to send the money in.
A few cities require a third form, typically referred to as a Permit, License or Application. For these cities, you want to be careful to note specific restrictions on property location. Also, they may require property inspections as well as limit the kinds of rentals (days, number of people, etc). If you are unsure, contact the administrator of the city.
| County | Rate | Register | Pay | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berkeley | 14% | Register | Pay | Pay Online Available. Requires separate Permit, found here. |
| Carlsbad | 10% + $1/night | N/A | Pay | Apply for Permit |
| Coachella | 9% | N/A | N/A | Register at City Office |
| Corona | 10% | Register at Office | Pay | |
| Culver | 14% | Register at Office | ||
| Cupertino | 12% | Business License Application | Pay | |
| Davis | 12% | Contact Finance Department | ||
| Desert Hot Springs | 12% | Register | Pay | |
| Dunsmuir | 12% | Contact City Office | ||
| Indio | 13% | Register | Pay | |
| Long Beach | 12% | Register | Pay | |
| Los Angeles | 14% | Register | Pay | |
| Malibu | 12% | Register | Pay | |
| Morgan Hill | 12.5% | Register | Pay | |
| Oakland | 14% | Register | Pay | |
| Orinda | 8.5% | Register | Pay | |
| Pacific Grove | 10% | Obtain License | Pay | Pay Online Available. Limited licenses available. Note, must submit tax returns even if you don't pay the taxes. |
| Pacifica | 12% | N/A | Pay | |
| Palm Desert | 11% | Register | Pay | |
| Palo Alto | 14% | N/A | Pay | |
| Pasadena | 12.11% | Register | Pay | |
| Pinole | 10% | Register | Pay | |
| Pittsburg | 10% | Register | Pay | |
| Rancho Cucamonga | 10% | Register | ||
| Rancho Mirage | 10% | Register | ||
| Redwood City | 12% | N/A | Pay | |
| Richmond | 10% | Register | Pay | |
| Riverside | 13% | N/A | Pay | |
| Sacramento | 12% | N/A | Pay | |
| San Diego | 10.5% | Register | Pay | Pay Online Available |
| San Francisco | 14% | Register | Pay | Pay Online Available |
| San Jose | 10% | Register | ||
| San Luis Obispo | 13% | Register | ||
| Santa Clara | 9.5% | N/A | Pay | |
| Santa Monica | 14% | N/A | Pay | |
| Sebastopol | 10% | N/A | Pay | |
| Sunnyvale | 12.5% | Register | Pay | Permit also required. |
| Twentynine Palms | 10.5% | N/A | Pay | |
| Union City | 12.87% | Register | Pay | |
| Winters | 14% | N/A | Pay | |
| Yucca Valley | 7% | Register | Pay |
How Do I Pay?
There is a big surprise here. California created Silicon Valley. They probably have more technology startups than anywhere else in the world. However, when it comes to the transient occupancy taxes, no county currently offers an online or electronic means to pay. Paper forms and checks only.
A few cities do offer electronic payments.
