California Hotel Tax and Fees: Rates, Exemptions, and Resort Charges

On a California hotel stay you will pay three things beyond the base room rate: a Transient Occupancy Tax set by the city or county where the hotel sits, sometimes a tourism district assessment, and any mandatory resort or amenity fee the property charges. California hotel tax and fees vary sharply by location, with the occupancy tax alone running from roughly 8% to more than 13%, and resort fees adding $25 to $75 per night. Both a state law and a federal rule now require the advertised room rate to include those mandatory hotel fees upfront, though government taxes may still appear as separate line items at checkout.

How the Transient Occupancy Tax Works

California has no statewide lodging tax. Revenue and Taxation Code Section 7280 gives every city, county, and city-and-county the authority to levy a Transient Occupancy Tax on anyone occupying a hotel, motel, inn, vacation rental, or similar lodging for 30 consecutive days or fewer.¹ Each local government sets its own rate, and a county’s TOT applies only to unincorporated areas. A hotel just inside a city line and one a mile outside can carry different rates.

The hotel collects the tax at checkout and remits it to the local government. The rate that matters is the one where the property physically sits, not the city it markets itself as being near. A hotel advertised as being “in Palm Springs” but sitting in an unincorporated pocket could carry a different rate than one a block away inside city limits.

Rates by Location

San Diego uses three tax zones, charging 11.75%, 12.75%, or 13.75% depending on where the hotel falls, as of May 2025.² Unincorporated Los Angeles County charges a flat 12%.³ The City of Goleta charges 12%.⁴ Smaller communities sometimes set lower rates, and the statewide range generally runs from about 8% to the mid-teens.

Check your confirmation email or the property’s website if a rate looks unfamiliar. That is the fastest way to confirm which jurisdiction is charging you.

What the Occupancy Tax Applies To

The TOT is not charged only on the nightly room rate. Most California jurisdictions apply it to every mandatory charge tied to occupying the room. The City of Goleta lists resort and destination fees, mandatory cleaning fees, extra-occupancy charges, pet fees, early-arrival and late-departure fees, non-refundable deposits, rollaway bed charges, and mandatory parking fees as taxable.⁴ The City of Saratoga similarly taxes all “fees and charges necessary, or mandatory, for occupancy of a room.”⁵

Genuinely optional and separately itemized items, like room-service meals or minibar purchases, are generally not taxed. The test is whether the charge is mandatory for occupancy. If you cannot avoid it, it is almost certainly taxable.

Resort, Amenity, and Destination Fees

Separate from any tax, many California hotels charge a flat daily fee under labels like “resort fee,” “amenity fee,” or “destination fee.” These are revenue for the hotel, not money remitted to the local government. They typically cover pool access, fitness centers, Wi-Fi, and local calls, and you pay them whether or not you use any of it. The fees commonly run $25 to $75 per night, with some luxury properties charging more.

Because the fees are mandatory, most jurisdictions treat them as part of taxable rent for TOT purposes. You pay the occupancy tax on the resort fee itself, not just the base room rate.⁵ A $300 room with a $50 resort fee in a 12% TOT jurisdiction means you owe 12% on $350, not $300. Over several nights the difference is real money.

Tourism Marketing and Business Improvement District Assessments

A separate line labeled “TMD” or “TBID” often appears on California receipts. This is a Tourism Marketing District or Tourism Business Improvement District assessment, distinct from both the TOT and any resort fee. It is levied on lodging operators within a defined district and passed through to guests as a percentage of the nightly rate. In Greater Palm Springs, the TBID assessment runs 3% for hotels and 1% for vacation rentals.⁶

The revenue funds destination marketing rather than general city services. Not every California city has one, but they are common in resort and tourism-heavy areas.

When You Do Not Owe the Occupancy Tax

The most widely available exemption is written directly into state law. Revenue and Taxation Code Section 7280 excludes occupancy lasting more than 30 consecutive days from the tax entirely.¹ Someone staying that long stops looking like a transient tourist.

How the long-stay exemption works varies by jurisdiction. In unincorporated Los Angeles County, you need a written agreement with the hotel, entered within the first 30 days, stating you will stay longer than 30 consecutive days. With that agreement, the first 30 days are also exempt. Without it, you pay the tax for those initial days and only stop accruing it after day 30.⁷ If you are relocating, on an extended work assignment, or staying for medical care, ask about the paperwork before check-in.

Government and Diplomatic Travel

Federal and state government employees on official business are exempt from the TOT in many California jurisdictions, though local rules differ. Los Angeles County exempts federal and California state officers or employees traveling on official duty, as well as foreign government officials covered by federal law or international treaty.⁷ Employees of nonprofits, religious organizations, and 501(c)(3) entities are generally not exempt.

For federal travelers, the payment method matters. Lodging charged to a Centrally Billed Account through the GSA SmartPay program must be honored for sales tax exemption in all states. Individually Billed Accounts get less uniform treatment.⁸ Foreign diplomats must present a valid diplomatic tax exemption card issued by the U.S. Department of State at the time of payment; hotels can verify the card through the State Department’s online system.⁹

Airbnb, VRBO, and Other Short-Term Rentals

Vacation rentals booked through platforms like Airbnb and VRBO are subject to the same Transient Occupancy Tax as traditional hotels. Unincorporated Los Angeles County explicitly includes “properties rented through home sharing services like Airbnb” in its 12% TOT.³ The host, not the booking platform, is legally responsible for collecting and remitting the tax, though some platforms handle collection on the host’s behalf under voluntary agreements with local governments.

If a vacation rental bill shows no TOT, that does not mean it does not apply. It may mean the host is not collecting it properly or the platform handles it separately. The obligation exists for stays of 30 days or fewer in virtually every California city and county that has adopted a TOT ordinance.

What Must Be Included in the Advertised Price

California enacted SB 478, effective July 1, 2024, to stop drip pricing. The law added Section 1770(a)(29) to the Civil Code, making it an unlawful business practice to advertise or display a price that does not include all mandatory fees and charges.¹⁰ Government-imposed taxes like the TOT and shipping costs are the only items that may be excluded from the advertised price.

In practice, if a hotel charges a $50 nightly resort fee, the listed room rate must already include it. A property cannot advertise “$250 per night” and then reveal at checkout that the real price is $300 plus tax. The TOT may still appear as a separate line at checkout because it is a government tax rather than a hotel-imposed charge.

The FTC’s Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees, codified at 16 C.F.R. Part 464, took effect on May 12, 2025, and covers short-term lodging nationwide. The federal rule requires hotels to display the total price, including all mandatory fees, more prominently than any other pricing information except the final payment amount. Hotels must also clearly describe the nature, purpose, and amount of any charges excluded from the total before asking you to pay. Vague labels like “service fee” or “convenience fee” are not sufficient, and the FTC has flagged a specific concern: a hotel charging an “environmental fee” that does not actually fund environmental purposes could violate the rule.¹¹

A property that buries a mandatory resort fee below the advertised rate potentially violates both state and federal law. Consumers who encounter hidden fees can report them to the FTC through its complaint portal or to the California Attorney General’s office.¹⁰

Reading Your Final Bill

A typical California hotel bill breaks into a few components. The room rate should already include any mandatory resort or amenity fee under current law. Below that sits the Transient Occupancy Tax as a percentage. If the property is in a tourism district, expect a TMD or TBID line as well.

Because the TOT applies to all mandatory charges for occupancy, the tax line should be calculated on the combined room rate plus any mandatory fees, not on the base rate alone. If the TOT appears to be calculated only on the room rate while a resort fee sits separately below, either the tax has been undercharged or the total you were quoted was misleading. When in doubt, multiply your total pre-tax charges by the local TOT rate and compare the result to the tax line on your receipt.

1
California Legislative Information. California Revenue and Taxation Code RTC 7280
2
City of San Diego. Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT)/Tourism Marketing District (TMD)
3
Treasurer and Tax Collector. Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT)
4
City of Goleta. Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) and Tourism Business District Assessment (TBID)
5
City of Saratoga. Hotel / Motel Operator’s TOT
6
Visit Greater Palm Springs. TBID Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
7
Treasurer and Tax Collector. Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) FAQs
8
GSA SmartPay. Frequently Asked Questions
9
United States Department of State. Hotel Tax Exemption
10
State of California Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. SB 478 – Hidden Fees
11
Federal Trade Commission. The Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees: Frequently Asked Questions