Butte County, CA Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)

Section 24-172.1 H.1 of the short-term rental ordinance ties permit compliance to Butte County's separate Transient Occupancy Tax law in Chapter 23-A. Chapter 23-A, the Uniform Transient Occupancy Tax Ordinance of the County of Butte, taxes every transient six percent of the rent charged for occupying a lodging in the unincorporated area under Section 23A-3; the operator collects the tax at the time rent is paid and holds it in trust for the county until remittance. Section 23A-6 requires an operator to register with the tax collector within ten days of commencing business and post the resulting transient occupancy registration certificate at the property, and Section 24-172.1 H.1 layers the short-term-rental-specific version of that filing on top: proprietors must complete a Transient Occupancy Tax Questionnaire and submit it to the Central Collections Division of the Treasurer-Tax Collector's Department within the same ten-day window.

Returns and full tax remittance are due quarterly under Section 23A-8, by the last day of the month following the close of each calendar quarter. Section 24-172.1 F.4 makes tax compliance a condition of the annual administrative permit renewal: the Department of Development Services will not renew a short-term rental permit unless the property is current on transient occupancy taxes and has paid them by the required due date. Williamson Act contract properties face an added layer under Section 24-172.1 H.2, which requires the owner to report the short-term rental's annual income to the Butte County Assessor every year.