Mesa, AZ Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Base hotel tax rate
- 2.00% of gross lodging income (§ 5-10-444)
- Additional transient tax
- 5% on transient lodging charges (§ 5-10-447)
- Combined effective rate
- 7% of gross lodging income
- Late-filing penalty
- 5% per month, capped at 25% (§ 5-10-540)
- Fraud/evasion penalty
- 50% of tax deficiency (§ 5-10-540)
- Applies to
- Hotels and licensed short-term rentals
Summary
Mesa taxes hotel and lodging revenue at a combined 7% transaction privilege tax: a 2% base tax on gross income from operating a hotel under Mesa City Code § 5-10-444, plus a 5% additional tax on lodging charged to transients under § 5-10-447. The additional tax applies to any hotel, including licensed short-term rentals, charging transients for lodging.
5-10-444: - HOTELS. The tax rate shall be at an amount equal to two percent (2.00%) 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. ... 5-10-447: - RENTAL, LEASING, AND LICENSING FOR USE OF REAL PROPERTY; ADDITIONAL TAX UPON TRANSIENT LODGING. In addition to the taxes levied as provided in Section 5-10-444, 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 22).
Full Breakdown
Mesa's privilege (sales) tax code, Title 5, Chapter 10, imposes two layers of tax on lodging revenue. 00% tax rate on the gross income of every person 'engaging or continuing in the business of operating a hotel charging for lodging and/or lodging space furnished to any' person. Section 5-10-447 stacks an additional 5% tax on top of that base rate, applying to any hotel 'engaging or continuing within the City in the business of charging for lodging and/or lodging space furnished to any transient': bringing the effective combined rate to 7%.
The two sections work together: § 5-10-445(J), the general real-property rental tax section, expressly exempts gross income already taxed under § 5-10-444, so hotel revenue is not double-taxed under the ordinary 2% leasing tax. Because Mesa's short-term-rental chapter (Title 5, Chapter 15) defines a 'short-term rental' as a unit that is 'also a transient public lodging establishment,' and requires every license applicant to disclose 'the transaction privilege tax license number issued for the short-term rental by the State of Arizona' (§ 5-15-3(C)(3)), short-term-rental operators fall within the same hotel-tax base as traditional hotels and must remit both the 2% and 5% components through their combined state/city privilege tax return.
Mesa's Tax Collector oversees compliance, audits and delinquency assessments under Chapter 10, and the tax applies regardless of whether the guest is billed directly by the property or through an online lodging marketplace.
Violations & Fines
Under § 5-10-540, a taxpayer who misses the filing deadline owes a penalty of 5% of the tax per month late, capped at 25%; late payment alone draws a 10% penalty; failing to file within 30 days of a written demand from the Tax Collector draws 25%; negligence draws 10%; and civil fraud or evasion draws 50% of the deficiency, plus interest at the federal short-term rate plus three points, compounded annually.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Mesa's total hotel occupancy tax rate?
Do short-term rentals pay the same tax as hotels?
What happens if a hotel operator pays the tax late?
Is hotel income ever taxed twice under Mesa's rental tax?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Mesa
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