Clovis, CA Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)
Key Facts
- Transient occupancy tax rate
- 12% of rent
- Effective date of 12% rate
- January 1, 2023
- Business registration
- Required at all times
- Late payment penalty
- 10% (plus 10% more after 30 days)
- Fraud penalty
- 25% additional
- Interest on unpaid tax
- 1.5% per month
- Tax remitted to
- City Tax Administrator (Finance Director)
Summary
Every short-term rental in Clovis owes the city's 12% transient occupancy tax on top of maintaining a valid business registration, under Municipal Code Section 9.58.065(T) and Section 3.3.403(a). The tax applies to the full rent charged, whether paid directly or through a booking platform, and is separate from the short-term rental home occupation permit itself.
All short-term rentals shall be subject to the City’s transient occupancy tax, as required by Chapter 3.3, Article 4. The owner shall also maintain at all times a valid Clovis business registration. ... For the privilege of occupancy in any hotel on and after January 1, 2023, each transient is subject to, and shall pay, a tax in the amount of twelve percent (12%) of the rent charged by the operator or paid by the transient, whichever is greater.
Full Breakdown
3, Article 4, and the owner must also keep a valid Clovis business registration active at all times. That business registration and the home occupation permit required for short-term rentals are separate obligations from the tax itself. 403(a), has been 12% of the rent charged since January 1, 2023, calculated on whichever is greater: the amount the operator charges or the amount the transient actually pays. The tax applies to the full rental rate even if the host has an arrangement with a booking platform to sell the stay at a discount, and it is owed regardless of whether the guest paid the operator directly or paid through the platform.
Operators collect the tax from the guest at the time rent is paid and remit it quarterly to the Tax Administrator, the City's Finance Director, on the first day of April, July, October and January for the preceding quarter, with returns due by the last day of the following month. 406 exempts only narrow categories, such as stays over thirty days, government officials on official business, and rent under $2 a day, none of which typically apply to a nightly short-term rental.
Violations & Fines
An operator who fails to remit the tax on time owes a 10% penalty under Section 3.3.408(a), plus a second 10% penalty if the remittance is still delinquent thirty days later, and a 25% fraud penalty if the Tax Administrator finds the nonpayment was intentional, on top of 1.5% monthly interest on the unpaid tax. Operating a short-term rental without the required Clovis business registration or without collecting and remitting the transient occupancy tax is a separate violation from the underlying home occupation permit requirement in Section 9.58.065.
Frequently Asked Questions
What tax do short-term rental hosts pay in Clovis?
Do I need a business license to run a short-term rental in Clovis?
What happens if I don't pay the transient occupancy tax on time?
Is the 12% tax the only fee a short-term rental owes?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Clovis
How Clovis compares: Cities with the Highest Short-Term Rental Taxes·California rules heatmap·Compare Clovis to another location·View the California short-term rentals overview
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