Fountain Valley, CA Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax rate
- Set by City Council resolution (§ 3.08.030)
- Who pays
- Each transient, collected by the hotel operator with the rent
- Transient means
- Occupancy of thirty consecutive calendar days or less
- Return due
- Last day of the month after each calendar quarter
- Late penalties
- 10% original, 10% more after 30 days, 25% for fraud
- Criminal penalty
- Misdemeanor, fine up to $500, up to six months jail
- Record retention
- Three years
Summary
In the City of Fountain Valley, California, every transient who occupies a room in a hotel pays a transient occupancy tax at a rate the City Council sets by resolution rather than in the code text. The hotel operator collects it with the rent and remits it to the city's tax administrator every calendar quarter.
For the privilege of occupancy in any hotel, each transient is subject to and shall pay a tax which shall be set by resolution. Said tax constitutes a debt owed by the transient to the city which is extinguished only be payment to the operator or to the city. The transient shall pay the tax to the operator of the hotel at the time the rent is paid. If the rent is paid in installments, a proportionate share of the tax shall be paid with each installment. The unpaid tax shall be due upon the transient's ceasing to occupy space in the hotel. If for any reason the tax due is not paid to the operator of the hotel, the tax administrator may require that such tax shall be paid directly to the tax administrator.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 3.08 of the Fountain Valley Municipal Code, the Uniform Transient Occupancy Tax Ordinance, taxes the privilege of occupancy in any hotel in the City of Fountain Valley. Section 3.08.030 leaves the percentage to a City Council resolution, so the rate can change without amending the code. The tax is a debt the transient owes the city, extinguished only by payment to the operator or the city. It is due when the rent is paid, a proportionate share is due with each installment, and any unpaid balance is due when the guest stops occupying the room.
The reach is wide. Section 3.08.020 defines "hotel" to include an inn, motel, tourist home, lodging house, rooming house, apartment house, dormitory, public or private club, and a mobilehome or house trailer at a fixed location. A "transient" is a person who occupies space for thirty consecutive calendar days or less. Rent counts every receipt, including goods, labor and services, with no deduction.
Operators carry the paperwork. Under 3.08.050 the tax must be stated separately from the rent, each transient gets a receipt, and the operator cannot advertise that the tax will be absorbed or not added. Under 3.08.060 each operator registers with the tax administrator, meaning the director of finance or a designee, within thirty days of starting business and posts a Transient Occupancy Registration Certificate in a conspicuous place. Section 3.08.070 requires a return on or before the last day of the month after each calendar quarter, with the full tax remitted then and held in trust for the city. Records must be kept three years (3.08.110). Exemptions under 3.08.040 cover federal or California officers and employees on official business and certain foreign government officers, and must be claimed on the tax administrator's form, under penalty of perjury, when the rent is collected.
Short-term rentals are handled elsewhere. Chapter 4.95 prohibits them in the City of Fountain Valley, and one stated purpose of that chapter is to ensure the collection and payment of transient occupancy taxes.
Violations & Fines
An operator who misses the remittance deadline owes a ten percent penalty, a second ten percent penalty if the amount is still unpaid thirty days later, and a twenty-five percent fraud penalty where the tax administrator finds fraud, plus interest of one-half of one percent per month (3.08.080). Any violation of Chapter 3.08, including failing to register or filing a false return, is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500, up to six months in jail, or both (3.08.140).
Frequently Asked Questions
Who collects the transient occupancy tax in Fountain Valley?
What can an operator do if the tax administrator assesses tax the operator disputes?
Does a stay longer than thirty days owe the tax?
Can a guest or operator get a refund of tax overpaid?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Fountain Valley
California rules heatmap·Compare Fountain Valley to another location·View the California hotels & lodging overview
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Transient Occupancy Tax in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Orange County handle transient occupancy tax.