Rohnert Park, CA Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax rate
- 12% of rent charged, § 3.24.030
- Who pays
- Transient guests staying 30 days or less
- Registration deadline
- 30 days after starting business, § 3.24.060
- Original delinquency penalty
- 10% of tax, plus 10% more after 30 days
- Fraud penalty
- 25% additional, § 3.24.080(C)
- Appeal window
- 15 days to city council, § 3.24.100
Summary
Rohnert Park charges a 12% transient occupancy tax on rent paid by any guest staying fewer than thirty days in a hotel, motel, inn, lodging house or similar structure, collected by the operator and remitted monthly to the city's tax administrator under Chapter 3.24.
For the privilege of occupancy in any hotel, each transient is subject to and shall pay a tax in the amount of twelve 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 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 such 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 51 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
" The tax is a debt owed by the guest to the city, collected by the hotel operator at the time rent is paid, with installment stays paying the tax proportionally per installment under the same section. 020(A) to include "any hotel, inn, tourist home or house, motel, studio hotel, bachelor hotel, lodging house, rooming house, apartment house, dormitory, public or private club, mobile home or house trailer at a fixed location, or other similar structure," and a "transient" is anyone occupying space for thirty consecutive days or less unless there's a written agreement for a longer stay. 070. 24 applies on top of that separate short-term rental permitting requirement wherever the property meets the broad "hotel" definition.
Violations & Fines
Late tax payments carry a 10% penalty for the original delinquency and another 10% if the remittance is still unpaid thirty days later, per Section 3.24.080. If the tax administrator finds the nonpayment was fraudulent, a 25% penalty applies on top of those, plus interest of one-half of one percent per month on the unpaid tax. An operator can appeal an assessed amount to the city council within fifteen days of the tax administrator's determination under Section 3.24.100.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the hotel tax rate in Rohnert Park?
Does the tax apply to short-term rentals, not just hotels?
What happens if an operator is late paying the tax?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Rohnert Park
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Transient Occupancy Tax in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Sonoma County handle transient occupancy tax.