Vacaville, CA Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)

Vacaville Municipal Code Chapter 3.16 imposes the transient occupancy tax on any "hotel," a term the code defines broadly to include hotels, inns, motels, studio hotels, lodging-houses, rooming-houses, apartment-houses, dormitories, and mobile homes at a fixed location. Under Section 3.16.020(A), a transient occupying space for 30 consecutive days or less owes 8 percent of the rent charged. The tax is a debt owed by the guest to the city, extinguished only by payment to the operator or the city directly, and Section 3.16.020(B) makes the operator "primarily liable to the City for all tax required to be collected under this chapter" regardless of whether the operator actually collected it from the guest.

Operators must register with the Tax Administrator within 30 days of the ordinance's effective date or 30 days after starting business, obtain a transient occupancy registration certificate under Section 3.16.060, and post it in a conspicuous place on the premises. Guests staying under a written agreement for more than 30 days are "long-term occupants" exempt from the tax under Section 3.16.030(B), but the operator must file an exemption claim form and keep supporting documentation. Returns and full tax payment are due monthly, by the last day of the month following the reporting period, per Section 3.16.090.