Murrieta, CA Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax rate
- 10% of rent charged
- Registration fee
- $5 per permit
- Late payment penalty
- 10% + 0.5%/month interest
- Fraud penalty
- Additional 100% of tax
- Misdemeanor penalty
- Up to $500 fine or 6 months jail
- Enforcing office
- City tax administrator (city manager)
Summary
Murrieta collects a ten percent transient occupancy tax on every hotel, motel, or transient rental stay of thirty days or less under Chapter 3.24 of the Municipal Code. Operators must register with the tax administrator, pay a five-dollar permit fee, collect the tax from guests, and remit it monthly; late payment triggers a ten percent penalty plus monthly interest.
For the privilege of occupancy in any hotel, each transient is subject to, and shall pay a tax in the amount of ten percent of the rent charged by the operator or otherwise payable by the transient. Insofar as the transient is concerned, the tax constitutes a debt owed by the transient to the operator or to the city. 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. If the tax is not paid to the hotel operator, the tax administrator may require payment directly to him or her.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-23: A Codification of the General Ordinances of the City of Murrieta, California through Ord. 634-26, passed 7-7-2026).
Full Breakdown
24 of the Municipal Code, the Transient Occupancy Tax ordinance adopted in 1991. 030 sets the rate at ten percent of the rent charged for any occupancy of thirty consecutive days or less; the tax is a debt owed by the transient to the operator or the city, and if rent is paid in installments, a proportionate share of the tax is due with each installment. 020 sweeps in motels, timeshares, and even single-family dwellings rented to transients, though a private home rented only occasionally and incidentally by its owner is carved out of the definition.
060 and pay a five-dollar registration fee for each permit; the resulting permit must be posted in a conspicuous place on the premises at all times. 050 requires the operator to state the tax separately from rent on every receipt and bars advertising that the tax will be absorbed or waived by the operator. 040 are narrow: they cover only occupancies the city lacks legal power to tax and foreign government employees exempt by federal law or treaty, and any exemption claim must be made in writing under penalty of perjury at the time rent is collected.
Late or unremitted tax draws escalating penalties. 110 layers on a full one-hundred percent penalty on top of that if the tax administrator determines the failure was fraudulent.
Violations & Fines
Failing to register, collect, or remit the tax is a misdemeanor under Section 3.24.260, punishable by up to a $500 fine, six months in county jail, or both. An operator who embezzles TOT funds already collected from guests faces felony prosecution under Penal Code Section 424 instead of the misdemeanor track. Filing a false or fraudulent return, or refusing to furnish records the tax administrator requires, is also charged as a separate misdemeanor under the same section.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Murrieta's transient occupancy tax rate?
Who has to register as a hotel operator?
What happens if a hotel operator is late remitting the tax?
Can an operator be criminally charged for TOT violations?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Murrieta
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