Santa Barbara County, CA Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)

Sec. 32-11 defines a taxable "hotel" broadly to include any structure or portion of one occupied by transients for dwelling, lodging, or sleeping, from a traditional hotel or motel to a tourist home, rooming house, apartment house, or fixed mobile home, and defines a "transient" as anyone occupying space for thirty consecutive calendar days or less. Sec. 32-12 sets the tax at fourteen percent of the rent charged, effective January 1, 2025; during the interim between the November 5, 2024 election and that date, the rate was twelve percent.

The tax is a debt owed by the transient to the county, collected by the operator at the time rent is paid and stated separately from the room charge. Within thirty days of opening, every operator must register with the county tax collector and post a Transient Occupancy Registration Certificate on the premises (Sec. 32-14), then report and remit collected tax by the last day of the month after each calendar quarter (Sec. 32-15). Late remittance draws a ten percent penalty, plus another ten percent if still unpaid thirty days later, an additional twenty-five percent for fraud, and interest of one-half of one percent per month (Sec.

32-16). If an operator will not report, the tax collector can estimate and assess the tax directly (Sec. 32-17), with the operator entitled to a hearing and, after that, an appeal to the Board of Supervisors within fifteen days of the tax collector's determination (Sec. 32-18). Records must be kept for three years (Sec. 32-19), and refund claims must be filed within three years of payment (Sec. 32-20).