Anaheim, CA Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)
Key Facts
- TOT rate
- 15% of rent
- Business license
- Required under Chapter 3.04
- Unpermitted operation fine
- $500 per day
- Tax administrator
- Anaheim License Collector
- Application fee
- Set by City Council resolution
Summary
Every short-term rental stay in Anaheim carries a 15% transient occupancy tax on the nightly rent, collected under the same Chapter 2.12 rules that apply to hotels. Operating an STR also requires an Anaheim business license under Chapter 3.04, and every permit application or renewal carries whatever fee the City Council sets by resolution.
4.05.040.040: The short-term rental of a dwelling is subject to the city's business license requirements (Chapter 3.04 of this code) and the transient occupancy tax requirements (Chapter 2.12 of this code). 2.12.010.010: For the privilege of occupancy of space in any hotel, each transient is subject to and shall pay a tax in the amount of fifteen percent of the rent.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-28: Code: Supplement contains: Local legislation current through Ord. 6627, passed 8-11-2026 | Zoning: Local legislation current through Ord. 6627, passed 8-11-2026).
Full Breakdown
12 tax rather than a separate STR-only rate. 04 before it operates. 090 requires that every short-term rental permit application and renewal be accompanied by whatever fee the City Council sets by resolution, a figure updated administratively rather than printed in the ordinance itself. Because Anaheim closed short-term rentals to new entrants citywide after the September 15, 2015 moratorium, these taxes and fees apply almost exclusively to the shrinking pool of Pre-Moratorium Short-Term Rentals still holding valid permits and to a handful of C-G General Commercial Zone rentals grandfathered in under a pre-moratorium conditional use permit.
0104 imposes a five-hundred-dollar civil citation for every day an unpermitted rental operates, which functions as the practical backstop for the tax and licensing scheme when an owner tries to skip registration.
Violations & Fines
Failing to remit the fifteen percent transient occupancy tax exposes an operator to the interest, penalty and civil-action remedies in Chapter 2.12, while operating without the required business license or short-term rental permit draws a $500-per-day civil citation under Section 4.05.130.0104. TOT non-payment on an existing STR permit is also a major violation under Section 4.05.140.0201(10), which can trigger permit suspension or revocation on top of the tax penalty.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Anaheim short-term rental hosts pay hotel tax?
Is there a set dollar fee to apply for an Anaheim STR permit?
What happens if I rent short-term without a business license?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Anaheim
How Anaheim compares: Cities with the Highest Short-Term Rental Taxes·California rules heatmap·Compare Anaheim to another location·View the California short-term rentals overview
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