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

HMC § 3.20.030 sets the rate. For the privilege of occupancy in any hotel, each transient is subject to and pays seven percent of the rent charged by the operator. The chapter treats the tax as a debt owed by the transient to the City, extinguished only by payment to the operator of the hotel at the time the rent is paid. Where rent is paid by installment, the unpaid tax is due when the transient ceases to occupy space. If the tax is not paid to the operator for any reason, the tax administrator can require payment directly to the tax administrator.

The operator does the collecting. Under HMC § 3.20.050 the tax is stated separately from the rent, each guest receives a receipt, and no operator can advertise that the tax will be assumed or absorbed, that it will not be added to the rent, or that any part will be refunded. Registration is required within 30 days after commencing business, and the transient occupancy registration certificate must be posted in a conspicuous place. The printed certificate wording says it does not authorize any unlawful business and does not constitute a permit (HMC § 3.20.060).

Returns are due on or before the last day of the month following the close of each calendar quarter, showing total rents charged and received and tax collected. The tax administrator can set shorter reporting periods for any certificate holder, and returns and payments are due immediately when business ceases for any reason. Taxes collected are held in trust for the City (HMC § 3.20.070). Operators keep records for three years, and the tax administrator can inspect them at all reasonable times (HMC § 3.20.110). A refund claim, stating the grounds under penalty of perjury, must be filed within three years of payment, and a guest can claim directly only if the tax was paid to the tax administrator or the operator will not refund it (HMC § 3.20.120).