Pasadena, CA Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax rate
- 7% of rent charged
- Transient defined as
- occupancy of 30 days or less
- Enforcing office
- City tax administrator
- Registration deadline
- 30 days after opening
- Filing frequency
- Quarterly returns and remittance
- Late penalty
- 10% first, up to 50% total
- Record retention
- 4 years, city may inspect
Summary
Pasadena charges every hotel guest a 7% transient occupancy tax on rent, collected by the operator and remitted to the city's tax administrator. The tax applies to any stay of 30 consecutive days or less in a hotel, motel, inn, rooming house or similar lodging structure.
For the privilege of occupancy in any hotel, each transient is subject to and shall pay a tax in the amount of 7% of the rent charged by the operator. The tax constitutes a debt owed by the transient to the city which is extinguished only by payment to the operator or to the city. The transient shall pay the tax to the operator of the hotel at the time the rent is paid. 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 for any reason the tax due is not paid to the operator of the hotel, the tax administrator may require that the tax shall be paid directly to the tax administrator.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 79 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
020 to include any hotel, inn, tourist home, motel, studio hotel, lodging house, rooming house, apartment house, dormitory, or mobilehome at a fixed location used for transient dwelling. A "transient" is anyone occupying a room for 30 consecutive calendar days or less, unless a written agreement sets a longer term. 050 bars an operator from advertising that the tax will be absorbed into the room rate. 060. 070. 110. 040 for occupancies the city lacks power to tax, such as certain foreign government officers, and any exemption claim must be made in writing under penalty of perjury when rent is collected.
Violations & Fines
An operator who fails to remit the tax on time owes a 10% delinquency penalty under Section 4.44.080; if the tax is still unpaid 20 days after it became delinquent, a second 10% penalty applies, capping combined penalties at 50% of the tax. Fraud in nonpayment adds a further 25% penalty, and unpaid amounts accrue interest at 1% per month from the delinquency date. If an operator fails to collect or report the tax, the tax administrator can estimate and assess the amount due, mail notice to the operator's last known address, and the operator has 10 days to request a hearing before the assessment becomes final. Unpaid amounts can be recorded as a lien against the operator's real property in any California county, valid for ten years, under Section 4.44.140.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Pasadena's hotel occupancy tax rate?
Who has to register as a hotel operator in Pasadena?
What happens if a Pasadena hotel operator remits the tax late?
Does Pasadena's occupancy tax apply to short-term rentals?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pasadena
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Transient Occupancy Tax in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Los Angeles County handle transient occupancy tax.