Oakland, CA Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Base rate
- 11% of room rent (§4.24.030)
- Surcharge
- 3% funding OCVB/Zoo/Museum/Chabot/Arts (§4.24.031)
- Combined rate
- 14% stated as one line item
- Exempt
- Stays over 30 consecutive days
- Late penalty
- 25%; fraud penalty 50%
- Enforcing agency
- Tax Administrator (Director of Finance)
- Appeal deadline
- 15 days to Board of Review
Summary
Oakland charges a combined 14 percent transient occupancy tax on any hotel stay of 30 days or less: 11 percent under OMC § 4.24.030 plus a 3 percent surcharge under § 4.24.031 that funds the Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Zoo, the Museum, Chabot Space and Science Center, and Cultural Arts programs. The broad "hotel" definition reaches short-term rentals too.
For the privilege of occupancy in any hotel, each transient is subject to and shall pay a tax in the amount of eleven (11) percent of the rent charged by the operator. Said tax constitutes a debt owed by the transient to the city which is extinguished only by payment to the operator of the hotel at the time the rent is paid. ... There shall be a tax of three percent of the rent charged by the operator of a hotel, in addition to the 11 percent tax specified in Section 4.24.030, for the privilege of occupancy in any hotel in the City (the "surcharge").
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 102 | Planning Code: Supplement 59).
Full Breakdown
24 defines "hotel" expansively as any public or private space or structure offering sleeping or overnight accommodations for compensation, expressly including an inn, hostelry, tourist home, motel, rooming house, or mobile home, to any "transient," meaning a guest who stays 30 consecutive days or fewer. Because the definition isn't limited to traditional hotels, it reaches short-term room and home rentals booked for under a month. 030 imposes an 11 percent tax on the rent charged by the operator, a debt owed by the transient that is extinguished only when paid to the operator with the rent.
031, added by Resolution No. 050. 3. 040, along with certain government-employee exemptions claimed under penalty of perjury at the time rent is collected. 110.
Violations & Fines
An operator who fails to remit the tax on time owes a 25 percent penalty under § 4.24.080, rising to 50 percent if the Tax Administrator finds the nonpayment was fraudulent, plus 1 percent monthly interest on the delinquent balance. The Tax Administrator can estimate unpaid tax where an operator refuses to report under § 4.24.090, and an aggrieved operator has 15 days to appeal an assessment to the Oakland Taxation and Assessment Board of Review under § 4.24.100.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Oakland's hotel occupancy tax rate?
Does the tax apply to Airbnb-style short-term rentals?
Who is exempt from the tax?
Where does the 3 percent surcharge money go?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Oakland
California rules heatmap·Compare Oakland to another location·View the California hotels & lodging overview
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Transient Occupancy Tax in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Alameda County handle transient occupancy tax.