Transient Occupancy Tax

Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), also known as a “hotel tax,” is authorized under State Revenue and Taxation Code Section 7280. The City of Santa Rosa has, by code, set the TOT for the City of Santa Rosa at 9 percent for the privilege of occupying a hotel, inn, motel, short-term (vacation) rental, bed & breakfast, or other lodging where accommodations are offered for a period of 30 days or less.

Under the Code, lodging operators in the City of Santa Rosa are required to charge this TOT of 9 percent of the rent to “transient” guests. The tax is paid by the occupant and collected by the lodging operator. The lodging operator then remits the tax to the City of Santa Rosa. Lodging operator payment for TOT must be remitted to the City on or before the last day of the month following the close of each calendar quarter.

A 3 percent City Tourism Business Improvement Area (BIA) assessment also applies to all lodging establishments, and a 2 percent Sonoma County Tourism BIA applies to most hotel/motels.

View the list of Frequently Asked Questions.

Register for the City's TOT

1. Fill out the TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX (TOT) REGISTRATION Form

2. Return form to:
City of Santa Rosa
Revenue & Collections
PO Box 1673
Santa Rosa, CA 95402

How to Remit a Payment for TOT

1. Download the TOT/SRTBIA Remittance Form (right-click the hyperlink and select 'save link as' to save this form to your device) 

  • Please note: You will need a PDF viewer to open the document once downloaded. The lines in the PDF should automatically calculate your payment as it is filled out.

2. Follow the below instructions for filling out the remittance payment form. (or Download PDF instructions)

Instructions for completing the remittance payment form:

  • Line 1. Report the total amount of all rents charged, whether actually received or not.
  • Line 2. Amount of rent charged to occupants who have remained as tenants for more than 30 consecutive days.
  • Line 3. Amount of rents charged to representatives of exempt governmental agencies.*1 Return the original copy of each Exemption Certificate with this Quarterly Return. The amount reported must be the total of the amounts shown on the certificates. Additional Exemption Certificates may be printed from our website.
  • Penalties. Any operator who fails to file and remit the tax due within 30 days of the close of the reporting period shall pay a penalty of 10% of the amount of the tax due. If the operator fails to file and remit the tax due for an additional 30-day period beyond that, he shall be required to pay a further 10% penalty.
  • Interest. In addition to the penalties imposed, interest shall be added to the amount due at the rate of one-half of the 1% per month or fraction thereof on the amount of the tax, exclusive of penalties, from the date on which the remittance first became delinquent until paid.

3. Remit payment:

  • Make Check payable to "City of Santa Rosa"
  • Mail to:
    City of Santa Rosa
    Revenue and Collections
    PO Box 1673
    Santa Rosa, CA 95402

Revenue Generated

For a list of revenue generated by the City's TOT, go here.

Contact

  1. Revenue Division

    Email

    Physical Address
    90 Santa Rosa Avenue
    City Hall Annex, 1st Floor
    Santa Rosa, CA 95404

    Phone: 707-543-3170
    Fax: 707-543-3136

    Phone Hours

    Monday - Friday

    8 a.m. - 4 p.m.