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

030, every transient occupying a hotel room in El Monte pays a tax equal to 10 percent of the rent charged by the operator. The tax is a debt owed by the transient to the city, extinguished only by payment to the operator or directly to the city, and if rent is paid in installments the tax is collected proportionately with each installment; any unpaid balance comes due the moment the transient stops occupying the room. 020 to include any hotel, inn, tourist home, motel, studio hotel, lodging house, rooming house, apartment house, dormitory, public or private club, or mobilehome or house trailer at a fixed location used for transient dwelling, lodging or sleeping.

"Transient" means anyone occupying space for 30 consecutive calendar days or less, counting partial days as full days. Operators must register with the Tax Administrator within 30 days of the ordinance's effective date or of starting business, obtaining a Transient Occupancy Registration Certificate that must be posted conspicuously on the premises; the certificate explicitly does not authorize unlawful business or substitute for any other required city permit. Tax must be stated separately from rent on receipts, and operators are barred from advertising that they will absorb the tax themselves.

Monthly remittance is due by the last day of the month following the reporting month, along with a form describing posted room rates as defined in Civil Code Section 1863. A limited exemption applies to occupancies beyond the city's power to tax and to foreign government officers or employees exempt under federal law or treaty, but only if claimed in writing under penalty of perjury when rent is collected.