Glendale, CA Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)
Key Facts
- TOT rate on home-sharing rent
- 12% of rent charged
- Governing tax duty section
- Municipal Code § 5.56.050(J)
- Record retention required
- 3 years of stay records
- Monthly filing deadline
- 25 days after month closes
- First late penalty
- 10% of unpaid tax
- Fraud penalty
- Additional 50% of tax owed
- Noncompliance penalty
- Misdemeanor, separate offense per day
Summary
Glendale folds home-sharing straight into its hotel tax law: Municipal Code Section 5.56.050(J) requires every host to comply with all of Chapter 4.32, the Transient Occupancy Tax ordinance, meaning the same 12% tax charged to hotel guests applies to short-term rental stays. Hosts must also keep three years of stay records for the finance department.
I. The property owner or host engaged in home-sharing shall keep and preserve, for a period of three years, all records as may be necessary to determine the amount of such tax as he or she may have been liable for the collection of and payment to the city, including the number and length of each home-sharing stay, and the price paid for each stay. The finance department shall have the right to inspect these records at all reasonable times.
J. The property owner and host engaged in home-sharing shall comply with all of the requirements contained in Chapter 4.32 (Transient Occupancy Tax) and any successor sections.
K. Any dwelling used for home-sharing shall contain functional smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, fire extinguishers and information related to emergency exit routes, and emergency contact information.
L. All persons engaged in home-sharing shall provide to the guests a code of conduct. (Ord. 5972 § 5, 9-14-2021)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4983441; v20 updated 2026-05-19).
Full Breakdown
Home-sharing in Glendale is not a tax-free side business. 030. The host or operator collects the tax from the guest at the time rent is paid and remits it to the tax administrator, the city's director of administrative services. 070, operators (hosts included) must file a return within 25 days of the close of each calendar month reporting total rent collected and tax due, with the full amount remitted at filing. 050(I) layers on a host-specific recordkeeping duty: hosts must keep and preserve, for three years, all records needed to verify the tax owed, including the number and length of each home-sharing stay and the price paid for each stay, and the finance department may inspect those records at any reasonable time.
060 further applies hotel registration requirements to home-sharing, so a host must register with the tax administrator and obtain a transient occupancy registration certificate. 32's enforcement provisions.
Violations & Fines
Late or unremitted TOT carries a 10% penalty on the tax owed, plus a second 10% penalty if the delinquency continues past 30 days, and a 50% penalty on top of both if the tax administrator finds fraud. Unpaid tax also accrues interest at 0.5% per month. A host who fails to collect the tax, refuses to file a return, won't produce records for inspection, or files a false return commits a misdemeanor under Section 1.20.010, with each day of noncompliance a separate offense; the city may also refer the debt to a collection agency or pursue civil action.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Glendale short-term rental hosts pay the same tax as hotels?
How long must a Glendale host keep short-term rental tax records?
What happens if a Glendale host doesn't remit the occupancy tax on time?
Does a Glendale home-sharing host need to register for the occupancy tax?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Glendale
How Glendale compares: Cities with the Highest Short-Term Rental Taxes·California rules heatmap·Compare Glendale to another location·View the California short-term rentals overview
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