Pleasanton, CA Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax rate
- 8% of rent charged
- Transient defined as
- occupancy of 30 days or less
- Administered by
- city director of finance
- Registration deadline
- 30 days after opening
- Late penalty
- 10% plus 10% if still unpaid at 30 days
- Fraud penalty
- additional 25%
- Appeal window
- 15 days to city council
Summary
Pleasanton taxes transient hotel stays at 8% of the rent charged. The tax applies to any hotel, motel, inn or similarly used structure, including a mobile home or trailer rented outside a mobile home park for 30 days or less, and the operator must collect it from the guest.
For the privilege of occupancy in any hotel, each transient is subject to and shall pay a tax in the amount of eight percent 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.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4955754; v17 updated 2026-06-02).
Full Breakdown
030, every transient occupying a room in a hotel within the city owes a tax equal to 8 percent of the rent charged by the operator. The tax is a debt owed by the transient to the city that is extinguished only by payment to the operator or to the city, and it is due at the same time the rent is paid; if rent is paid in installments, a proportionate share of the tax is due with each installment, with the balance due when the transient stops occupying the room.
020) to include any structure or portion of a structure occupied by transients for sleeping purposes, including apartment complexes, motels, lodginghouses, and mobile homes or house trailers at a fixed location outside a mobile home park rented for 30 days or less; "transient" is anyone occupying space for 30 consecutive calendar days or less, unless a written agreement sets a longer stay. 060). 070); all tax collected is held in trust for the city until remitted. 040), and any exemption claim must be made in writing under penalty of perjury when rent is collected.
Violations & Fines
A late remittance draws a 10 percent penalty, plus a second 10 percent penalty if still unpaid 30 days after the original due date; fraud adds a further 25 percent penalty; and unpaid tax accrues interest at 0.5 percent per month from the delinquency date (§ 3.20.080). If an operator won't collect or report, the tax administrator estimates and assesses the tax, interest and penalties directly (§ 3.20.090), and an operator has 15 days to appeal an assessment to the city council through the city clerk (§ 3.20.100). Records must be kept for three years (§ 3.20.110).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Pleasanton's hotel occupancy tax rate?
Who counts as a "transient" under Pleasanton's tax?
What happens if a Pleasanton hotel operator misses the filing deadline?
Does Pleasanton's transient occupancy tax cover short-term rentals of mobile homes?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pleasanton
California rules heatmap·Compare Pleasanton 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.