Beverly Hills city tax comes in several forms depending on what you’re doing in town: shoppers pay a combined sales and use tax of 9.75 percent as of April 1, 2026; hotel and short-term rental guests pay a 14 percent transient occupancy tax; businesses operating in the city pay an annual business tax calculated by classification; property owners pay the statewide one percent base rate under Proposition 13 plus voter-approved local assessments; and real estate transactions trigger a city transfer tax on top of the Los Angeles County documentary transfer tax.
Sales and Use Tax
Purchases of tangible goods in Beverly Hills carry a combined sales and use tax rate of 9.75 percent as of April 1, 2026.1California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California City and County Sales and Use Tax Rates That rate went up from the prior 9.5 percent. It blends state, county, and local components, with a portion going to the State of California and the remainder staying within local and county budgets.
Businesses collecting sales tax in the city should confirm they’re applying the current rate. Charging the old 9.5 percent figure means under-collecting and potentially owing the difference to the state.
Transient Occupancy Tax
Hotels and short-term rentals in Beverly Hills charge a transient occupancy tax of 14 percent of the rent.2American Legal Publishing. Beverly Hills Code of Ordinances 3-1-303 – Tax Imposed It applies to any guest occupying a room for 30 consecutive calendar days or fewer. Under the municipal code, partial days count as full days, and a guest stays a transient until the 30-day period actually expires, even if a longer stay is anticipated.3American Legal Publishing. Beverly Hills Code of Ordinances 3-1-302 – Definitions
Operators collect the tax from guests at the time of payment and remit it to the city’s Finance Department. A written agreement for a stay longer than 30 days takes the transaction out of the tax; without that written agreement, the operator must collect 14 percent regardless of the guest’s stated intentions.
Business Tax
Anyone doing business in Beverly Hills needs a Business Tax Registration Certificate, filed before operations begin or within 30 days of starting activity in the city.4City of Beverly Hills. Business Tax The application asks for the business name, physical address, and nature of the trade. Which classification you fall into determines how your annual tax is calculated.
The main classifications in the municipal code work like this:
- Classification A covers corporate headquarters and business and personal services. You pay an annual base tax plus a per-employee tax, using the annualized average headcount from the prior calendar year.
- Classification B covers retail, wholesale, manufacturing, and contractors. You pay an annual base tax plus a gross receipts tax for each $1,000 of gross receipts above $60,000, based on the prior year’s revenue.
- Classification C covers professions and semiprofessions. You pay a per-professional tax for each professional or semiprofessional working in the business, plus a per-employee tax for nonprofessional staff.
- Classification D covers used car dealers, structured like Classification B with a base tax plus a gross receipts tax on each $1,000 above $60,000.
The dollar amounts for the base tax and per-unit rates are set by the city’s official Schedule of Taxes, Fees and Charges, published by the Finance Department separately from the municipal code.5American Legal Publishing. Beverly Hills Code of Ordinances 3-1-219 – Business Classifications If your tax runs on gross receipts, accurate prior-year records matter, because the calculation comes straight off your reported revenue.
Late Payment Penalties
The penalty structure for delinquent business taxes escalates quickly:
- In the first 30 days past due, a penalty of one percent of the unpaid tax accrues for each calendar day late, capped at 10 percent during this initial period.
- After 30 days, an additional 10 percent penalty is added on the first day of each subsequent 30-day period the tax remains unpaid.
- Total penalties from the initial and continuing delinquency periods cannot exceed 50 percent of the original tax due.
Interest also runs at 1.5 percent per month on the unpaid tax, calculated from the date the tax first became delinquent. Interest accrues even during an extension and cannot be waived except by direction of the City Council.6American Legal Publishing. Beverly Hills Code of Ordinances 3-1-207 – Delinquent Dates, Penalties, Overpayments, Interest
Property Tax
Property tax bills in Beverly Hills start with the statewide base rate of one percent of assessed value under Proposition 13.7California State Board of Equalization. California Property Tax An Overview The Los Angeles County Tax Collector bills and collects, and the final amount exceeds one percent because voter-approved charges are layered on top.
Those extra line items fund things like local school district bonds and public library improvements, and they appear alongside general county levies on the annual secured property tax bill. Because the add-ons depend on which measures are currently active, the total effective rate varies. Reviewing individual line items on your bill is the clearest way to see where the money goes.
Real Property Transfer Tax
When real estate in Beverly Hills changes hands, the city imposes a real property transfer tax on the transaction, authorized under Article 4 of Title 3, Chapter 1 of the Beverly Hills Municipal Code.8American Legal Publishing. Beverly Hills Code of Ordinances – Article 4 Real Property Transfer Tax The city tax applies on top of the Los Angeles County documentary transfer tax, so both layers need to be accounted for when budgeting a purchase or sale.
How to Pay
The city offers an online portal for business tax renewals and electronic payments. You can also mail a check to the address printed on your tax notice or pay in person at the Finance Department at City Hall.4City of Beverly Hills. Business Tax The Finance Department can be reached at (310) 285-2424 for questions about registration or payment. Given how the penalty structure works, confirming your payment posted is worth the extra step.