Hercules, CA Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax rate
- 10% of rent charged
- Governing section
- Hercules Municipal Code Sec. 8-7.201
- Stay threshold
- 30 consecutive days or less
- Filing frequency
- Quarterly return and remittance
- Late penalty
- 10% plus 10% plus 1%/month interest
- Enforcing office
- City Tax Administrator (Finance Director)
Summary
Hercules imposes a 10% transient occupancy tax on hotel, motel, and short-term rental stays of 30 consecutive days or less. Municipal Code Sec. 8-7.201 makes each transient guest liable for the tax, which the operator collects and remits quarterly to the City's Tax Administrator.
For the privilege of occupancy in any hotel, each transient is subject to and shall pay a tax in the amount of ten percent (10%) of the rent charged by the operator. Such tax constitutes a debt owed by the transient to the city which is extinguished only by 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.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 555, passed March 25, 2025).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 201 sets Hercules's transient occupancy tax at 10% of the rent charged, payable by the transient to the hotel operator when rent is paid, or directly to the Tax Administrator (the Finance Director or designee) if the operator fails to collect it. Sec. 102(b) defines 'hotel' broadly to include any hotel, inn, motel, tourist home, lodginghouse, apartment house, timeshare unit, mobile home or house trailer at a fixed location, and any space for a camper, house trailer, motor home, or recreational vehicle, so short-term rental stays of 30 days or less fall under the tax alongside traditional hotels and motels.
Operators must register each hotel with the Tax Administrator within 30 days of the Chapter's effective date or of starting business, obtaining a registration certificate posted on the premises under Sec. 402. Sec. 403 requires a quarterly return and remittance by the last day of the month following each calendar quarter, with all collected tax held in trust for the City until remitted. Operators must keep daily occupancy records, exemption records, and bad-debt records for three years and make them available to the Tax Administrator under Sec.
504. No tax applies to occupancy the City lacks the power to tax, or to foreign government officers or employees exempt under federal law or treaty, under Sec. 301.
Violations & Fines
Failing to remit the tax on time draws a 10% penalty of the tax due under Sec. 8-7.501(a), a second 10% penalty if the remittance is still delinquent 30 days later, a 25% fraud penalty if the Tax Administrator finds the nonpayment was fraudulent, and 1% monthly interest on the unpaid tax. An operator who refuses to collect or report the tax faces a Tax Administrator determination and assessment under Sec. 8-7.502, appealable to the City Council within 15 days under Sec. 8-7.503.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Hercules hotel tax rate?
Do short-term rental hosts have to collect Hercules's occupancy tax?
What happens if a Hercules hotel operator pays the occupancy tax late?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Hercules
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Transient Occupancy Tax in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Contra Costa County handle transient occupancy tax.