Menifee, CA Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax rate
- 10% of rent charged
- Who pays
- Transient occupying 30 days or less
- Enforcing officer
- City Tax Administrator (City Manager)
- Late penalty
- 10% plus 0.5% monthly interest
- Fraud penalty
- 100% of tax owed
- Return deadline
- Last working day of following month
Summary
Menifee charges a 10% transient occupancy tax on rent paid by anyone staying 30 days or less in a hotel, motel, or rented single-family home that isn't just an occasional owner rental. Operators collect it and remit it to the Tax Administrator, the City Manager or a designated agent.
HOTEL. Any structure, or any portion of any structure, which is occupied or intended or designed for use or occupancy by transients, including, but not limited to, dwelling, lodging or sleeping purposes, and includes any hotel, inn, tourist home or house, motel... duplex, triplex, single-family dwelling units except any private dwelling house or other individually owned single-family dwelling house unit rented only occasionally (infrequently) and incidentally to the normal occupancy by the owner or his or her family... § 3.28.030 TAX IMPOSED. For the privilege of occupancy in any hotel, each transient is subject to, and shall pay a tax in the amount of 10% of the rent charged by the operator or otherwise payable by the transient.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-15: Supplement contains: Local legislation current through Ordinance 2026-432, passed 4-15-2026).
Full Breakdown
020 is written broadly: it covers hotels, motels, tourist homes, campsites, apartment houses, time-share projects, and duplexes, triplexes, and single-family dwelling units, with one carve-out for a private dwelling house rented only occasionally and incidentally to the owner's normal occupancy. That means a homeowner who rents a house short-term on a recurring basis, rather than just occasionally, is legally an "operator" of a hotel for tax purposes and owes the same 10% rate. A TRANSIENT is anyone occupying space for 30 consecutive days or less, counting partial days as full days, unless a written agreement sets a longer term.
030 the tax is a debt owed by the transient to the operator or the city, and if rent is paid in installments the tax is paid proportionally with each installment; the unpaid balance is due when the transient stops occupying the space. If the operator does not collect it, the Tax Administrator can demand payment directly from the transient. The Tax Administrator is the City Manager or his or her designated agent, whether a city employee or a county officer or employee. 080. 070.
Violations & Fines
Late remittance draws a 10% penalty on the unpaid tax plus 0.5% monthly interest under Section 3.28.100; fraud raises the penalty to 100% of the tax owed under Section 3.28.110. The Tax Administrator can suspend or revoke an operator's registration permit after a 10-day notice and hearing under Section 3.28.160, and can order the hotel closed while no valid permit is in effect under Section 3.28.170. Most violations of the chapter are misdemeanors punishable by up to a $500 fine or six months in county jail, or both, under Section 3.28.260; withholding collected taxes can instead be prosecuted as a felony under Penal Code Section 424.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the 10% tax apply to a rented house, not just a hotel?
Who is a transient under Menifee's tax code?
What happens if an operator pays the tax late?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Menifee
California rules heatmap·Compare Menifee to another location·View the California hotels & lodging overview
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How other cities in Riverside County handle transient occupancy tax.