Compton, CA Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)

Compton's Uniform Transient Occupancy Tax Law, codified at Municipal Code §§ 3-2.1 through 3-2.14, taxes occupancy in any 'hotel,' a term the code defines broadly to include hotels, motels, tourist homes, apartment houses, dormitories, mobile homes at a fixed location, and any other structure rented to transients for dwelling, lodging or sleeping purposes. A 'transient' is anyone occupying space for 30 consecutive days or less; longer stays under a written agreement fall outside the tax. Section 3-2.3 sets the rate at 7.5% of the rent charged by the operator, payable by the transient when rent is paid, with installment stays taxed proportionally with each installment.

The tax is a debt owed to the City that can only be discharged by payment to the operator or the City Controller. Every operator must register with the City Controller within 30 days of the tax's effective date or of commencing business and post a Transient Occupancy Registration Certificate on the premises (§ 3-2.6). Operators must file a return and remit collected tax to the City Controller by the last day of each month, or on a shorter cycle the Controller sets, and hold collected tax in trust for the City until remitted (§ 3-2.7).

Exemptions apply only to occupancies the City lacks power to tax and to federal, state, or exempt foreign-government officials on official business, and must be claimed under penalty of perjury when rent is collected (§ 3-2.4). Records substantiating tax collected must be kept for three years and made available for the City Controller's inspection (§ 3-2.11).