Glendale, AZ Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Base hotel tax rate
- 2.9% of gross lodging income
- Additional transient tax
- 5% on top of base rate
- Combined city rate
- 7.9% on transient stays
- Transient defined as
- stay under 30 consecutive days
- Enforcing office
- City Tax Collector
- License required
- $35 TPT license, renews Jan. 1
Summary
Glendale taxes hotel operators 2.9% of lodging gross income under the city's hotel classification, then layers a separate 5% transient-lodging tax on top for any guest staying under 30 days, for a combined 7.9% city tax collected by the Tax Collector on every taxable room charge.
Sec. 21.1-444. - Hotels. The tax rate shall be at an amount equal to two and nine-tenths percent (2.9%) of the gross income from the business activity upon every person engaging or continuing in the business of operating a hotel charging for lodging and/or lodging space furnished to any: (a)Person.
Sec. 21.1-447. - Rental, leasing, and licensing for use of real property: additional tax upon transient lodging. In addition to the taxes levied as provided in Section 21.1-444, there is hereby levied and shall be collected an additional tax in an amount equal to five percent (5%) of the gross income from the business activity of any hotel engaging or continuing within the City in the business of charging for lodging and/or lodging space furnished to any transient.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 115).
Full Breakdown
9% of gross income for "every person engaging or continuing in the business of operating a hotel charging for lodging and/or lodging space furnished to any" person. 9%. The chapter's general definitions section pins down who counts: a "transient" is any person who obtains lodging space "on a daily or weekly basis, or on any other basis for less than thirty (30) consecutive days," while a "hotel" reaches any public or private hotel, inn, motel, rooming house, apartment house, or trailer offering lodging for compensation, but excludes foster homes, rest homes, sheltered care homes, nursing homes, and primary health care facilities. 1-470). 1-350 makes operating without one unlawful. 1.
Violations & Fines
Failure to remit either the 2.9% base hotel tax or the 5% transient add-on draws the same civil-penalty schedule as every other privilege tax classification under Section 21.1-540: 5% per month of unpaid tax for a late return (capped at 25%), a separate 10% penalty for late payment, and up to 50% of the deficiency where the Tax Collector finds civil fraud or evasion, plus interest at the federal short-term rate plus three points.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Glendale's total hotel tax rate on a short stay?
Does the extra 5% tax apply to a guest who stays a full month?
Are extended-stay charges like internet fees taxed as lodging income?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Glendale
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Transient Occupancy Tax in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Maricopa County handle transient occupancy tax.