Berkeley, CA Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax rate
- 12% of rent charged
- Covered stays
- 13 consecutive days or less
- Registration deadline
- 30 days after opening
- Original delinquency penalty
- 10% of tax due
- Continued delinquency penalty
- Additional 10% after 30 days
- Fraud penalty
- 25% of tax due
- Enforcing office
- Director of Finance (tax administrator)
Summary
Berkeley charges a 12% transient occupancy tax on every hotel stay of 13 nights or less. The Finance Department's tax administrator collects it through the operator, who must register the property and post a occupancy certificate within 30 days of opening.
For the privilege of occupancy in any hotel, each transient is subject to and shall pay a tax in the amount of 12% of the rent charged by the operator. Said tax constitutes a debt owed by the transient to the City which is extinguished only by a payment to the operator or to the City.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 8031-NS, passed July 28, 2026).
Full Breakdown
36, the Uniform Transient Occupancy Tax Ordinance, taxes any "hotel" room occupied for 13 consecutive days or less by the same person at 12% of the rent charged. The tax is a debt owed by the transient to the City, collected by the operator at the time rent is paid, and shown as a separate line item; an operator may not advertise that it will absorb the tax. Every operator must register with the tax administrator (the Director of Finance or a designee) within 30 days of opening and post a transient occupancy registration certificate on the premises, then file a monthly return and remit collected tax by the last day of the following month.
"Hotel" is defined broadly to include motels, lodging houses, dormitories, and mobile homes at a fixed location, but excludes hospitals, jails, employer-owned housing, and housing owned or controlled by an educational institution and used to house students, faculty or employees, meaning university-owned housing at UC Berkeley falls outside this tax. A narrow carve-out exempts guests of a bed and breakfast in a residential zone that has operated continuously since before January 1, 2003. Late payment draws a 10% penalty, a second 10% penalty if still unpaid after 30 more days, a 25% penalty for fraud, and 1% monthly interest.
095. Operators must keep records for three years, and unpaid amounts become a lien on the operator's real property recorded with the Alameda County Recorder.
Violations & Fines
Failing to register, collect, report or remit the tax exposes an operator to the tiered penalty structure in BMC 7.36.080: 10% for original delinquency, another 10% for continued delinquency past 30 days, and 25% for fraud, plus 1% monthly interest on the unpaid tax. The City can record a lien against the operator's real property, issue a warrant enforceable like a writ of execution, and seize and sell non-exempt property at public auction to satisfy the debt. Operators who dispute an assessment must request a hearing within 10 days of notice or the tax administrator's determination becomes final and immediately payable.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Berkeley's hotel tax rate?
Does the tax apply to short stays other than hotels?
Is university housing at UC Berkeley subject to this tax?
What happens if an operator does not remit the tax on time?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Berkeley
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Transient Occupancy Tax in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Alameda County handle transient occupancy tax.