Calaveras County, CA Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax rate
- 12% of rent, same as hotels
- Registration deadline
- 30 days after starting business
- Certificate
- Must be posted on premises
- Reporting cycle
- Quarterly, due end of following month
- Records retention
- 3 years
- Penalty
- Misdemeanor, up to $500 fine/6 months jail
Summary
Short-term rentals in unincorporated Calaveras County fall under the county's transient occupancy tax code because Chapter 3.12 defines 'hotel' to include any structure, including a mobile home or house trailer at a fixed location, occupied by transients for lodging. Operators owe the same twelve percent tax and must register with the tax administrator.
A."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 includes any hotel, inn, tourist home or house, motel, studio hotel, bachelor hotel, lodging house, rooming house, apartment house, dormitory, public or private club, mobile home or house trailer at a fixed location, or other similar structure or portion thereof. ... A.Within thirty days after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter, or within thirty days after commencing business, whichever is later, each operator of any hotel renting occupancy to transients shall register the hotel with the tax administrator and obtain from him a transient occupancy registration certificate to be at all times posted in a conspicuous place on the premises.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 23 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
' A 'transient' is anyone occupying space for thirty consecutive calendar days or less. 030 on every stay and remit it to the county tax administrator, the county tax collector. 060, an operator of a short-term rental must register the property with the tax administrator within thirty days of the ordinance's effective date or of commencing business, obtain a transient occupancy registration certificate, and keep it posted in a conspicuous place on the premises; the certificate does not substitute for any other county permit the rental needs. 050). 070). 110). 100).
Violations & Fines
Operating a short-term rental without registering, or failing to collect, report or remit the transient occupancy tax, is a misdemeanor under Sections 3.12.080 and 3.12.140, punishable by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars, imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six months, or both. Filing a false or fraudulent return carries the same penalty.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Calaveras County's transient occupancy tax apply to short-term vacation rentals?
Do short-term rental owners need to register with the county?
How often must short-term rental operators file tax returns?
What happens if a short-term rental operator does not pay the tax?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Calaveras County
How Calaveras County compares: Cities with the Highest Short-Term Rental Taxes·California rules heatmap·Compare Calaveras County to another location·View the California short-term rentals overview
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