San Clemente, CA Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax rate
- 10% of rent charged by the operator
- Who pays
- Any transient staying 29 or fewer days
- Hotel filing
- Monthly, due by end of following month
- First late penalty
- 10% added if payment is late
- Enforcing office
- Finance and Administrative Services Director
- Fund use
- Tourist promotion and visitor facilities (§3.24.140)
Summary
San Clemente charges a 10 percent transient occupancy tax on rent paid by anyone staying 29 or fewer consecutive days in any hotel, motel, bed-and-breakfast, or short-term lodging unit within city limits. Operators collect the tax at the time of payment and remit it monthly to the Finance and Administrative Services Director under Municipal Code Chapter 3.24.
For the privilege of occupancy in any hotel or STLU permitted under Title 27 of this code, each transient is subject to and must pay a tax in the amount of 10 percent of the rent charged by the operator. Such tax constitutes a debt owed by the transient to the City which is extinguished only by payment. The transient must pay the tax to the operator of the hotel or STLU when the rent is paid. ... All unpaid tax is due when the transient ceases to occupy space in the hotel regardless of whether the operator collects, or is able to collect, the full amount of the rent owed.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Traffic: Supplement 30 | Code of Ordinances: Supplement 66 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
010 defines 'hotel' to include not just conventional hotels and motels but vacation rentals, bed-and-breakfasts, private single-family and multi-family residences, condominiums, and mobile homes used for transient lodging, and folds short-term lodging units (STLUs) into the same definition unless a section says otherwise. A 'transient' is anyone occupying a room for 29 or fewer consecutive calendar days; a lease of more than 29 days, or one requiring 30 days notice to terminate, takes the renter outside the tax. Operators collect the 10 percent tax from the transient when rent is paid and hold it in trust for the City.
Hotel operators file and remit monthly, by the last day of the following month; STLU operators file quarterly instead, with payment due within 30 calendar days after each quarter closes (April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31). 100. 030 are narrow: they cover situations beyond the City's taxing power, exempt certain foreign-government employees, and exempt the STLU owner while personally occupying the unit. 140 for tourist promotion and for maintaining, improving, or acquiring facilities that directly benefit tourists in the City.
Violations & Fines
Under § 3.24.120, an operator who misses the filing deadline owes a 10 percent penalty on the tax due; a second 10 percent penalty applies if payment is still unpaid 30 days later, and a 25 percent penalty applies if the Finance and Administrative Services Director finds fraud. Interest accrues at 1½ percent per month on any unpaid tax. After 45 days the operator must open a City-beneficiary trust account, and after 90 days without a repayment agreement the City suspends the Transient Occupancy Registration Permit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does San Clemente's transient occupancy tax apply to Airbnb-style rentals?
How often must an operator remit the tax?
What happens if an operator is late?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in San Clemente
California rules heatmap·Compare San Clemente to another location·View the California hotels & lodging overview
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Transient Occupancy Tax in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Orange County handle transient occupancy tax.