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

Oceanside's Uniform Transient Occupancy Tax Ordinance (Sec. 13) taxes every stay of thirty consecutive days or less in a "hotel," a term Sec. 14 defines broadly to include hotels, motels, inns, tourist homes, lodginghouses, apartment homes and even a mobile home or house trailer at a fixed location. Sec. 15 sets the rate at 10 percent of the rent charged by the operator, a figure that has held since May 15, 1993, up from the original 9 percent set when the ordinance was first adopted.

Sec. 16 exempts occupancies the city lacks power to tax, federal or state officers on official business, and certain treaty-protected foreign officials, but only on a sworn exemption claim filed at the time rent is collected. The operator collects the tax alongside rent (Sec. 17), must register with the tax administrator, defined as the financial services director, within thirty days of opening and post a Transient Occupancy Registration Certificate on the premises (Sec. 18), and must file a quarterly return with full remittance by the last day of the following month (Sec.

19). 5 percent monthly interest on the unpaid tax (Sec. 20). If an operator refuses to report, the tax administrator can assess the tax directly after notice and a hearing, with a further appeal to the city council within fifteen days (Sec. 22). Operators must keep supporting records for three years (Sec. 23), and Sec. 26 makes any violation, including a false or fraudulent return, a misdemeanor.