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

13(a) sets the tax at twelve percent of the rent charged by the operator for the privilege of occupancy in any "hotel," a rate that took effect January 1, 2025; the tax is a debt owed by the transient to the city that is only extinguished once the transient pays the operator along with the rent. 12 defines "hotel" broadly to include any structure or portion of one occupied by transients for dwelling, lodging, or sleeping purposes, from a traditional hotel or motel to a tourist home, rooming house, apartment house, or mobile home at a fixed location, and defines a "transient" as anyone occupying space for thirty consecutive days or less unless there is a written agreement to pay market rate for at least thirty-one days.

16 requires every operator to register with the Tax Administrator, the Finance Director, within thirty days of the article's effective date or of starting business, and to post the resulting transient occupancy registration certificate conspicuously on the premises; the certificate itself is not a business permit. 17 requires quarterly returns and remittance of collected tax by the last day of the month after each calendar quarter closes, and the Tax Administrator can shorten that reporting period for a particular operator with thirty days' written notice.

18 layers penalties on late payment: a 10% penalty for an original delinquency, another 10% if the delinquency runs more than thirty days, a 25% penalty on top of both if the nonpayment is fraudulent, and interest at half a percent per month on the unpaid tax until it is paid.