Chico, CA Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)
Key Facts
- STR tax rate
- 10% of rent
- Threshold
- stays under 31 days
- Registration
- certificate required
- Late penalty
- 10-15% monthly, capped 50%
- Noncompliance
- misdemeanor, up to $500 fine
Summary
Chico classifies Airbnb-style home-sharing and vacation rentals under 31 days as hotel stays, making hosts subject to the city's 10% transient occupancy tax and registration rules.
Hotel means any structure, or any portion of any structure, which is occupied, or intended or designed for occupancy, by transients for dwelling, lodging or sleeping purposes, and is held out as such to the public and includes, but is not limited to, any hotel, inn, tourist home or house, motel, studio hotel, bachelor hotel, lodging house, rooming house, apartment house, short-term home-sharing and/or vacation rental unit under thirty-one days, dormitory, public or private club, mobile home or house trailer, at a fixed location, or other similar structure or portion thereof. Short-term home- sharing and/or vacation rental-units consist of home-sharing, where a residential or dwelling unit is shared. in whole or in part, and/or vacation rentals, where the residential or dwelling unit is exclusively used for occupancy as defined in this Chapter. (Prior code §25.76-2 (Ord. 849 §l (part), Ord. 2512 §2))
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Supplement contains local legislation current through: Codified Resolution No. 53-26, adopted 7-14-26 and Ordinance No. 2622, adopted 6-2-26).
Full Breakdown
Chico Municipal Code § 3.52.030 folds "short-term home-sharing and/or vacation rental unit under thirty-one days" directly into the code's definition of "hotel." That means any host renting a room or whole home in Chico for stays under 31 days owes the same Uniform Transient Occupancy Tax as a hotel operator: 10 percent of the rent, per § 3.52.080. Hosts must register with the finance director and obtain a Transient Occupancy Registration Certificate under §§ 3.52.110-.120 before taking bookings, and must remit collected tax monthly.
Violations & Fines
Failing to register, collect, or remit the tax is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $500, up to six months in jail, or both, plus monthly penalties of 10-15% on unpaid tax and 1% monthly interest.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Chico tax Airbnb and VRBO stays?
What happens if a host doesn't register?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Chico
How Chico compares: Cities with the Highest Short-Term Rental Taxes·California rules heatmap·Compare Chico to another location·View the California short-term rentals overview
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