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

Napa's lodging tax stack is among the highest in California and is administered by the City of Napa Finance Department (955 School Street, 707-257-9500). The components are: (1) General Transient Occupancy Tax of 12% on the rent charged by the operator of every hotel, motel, resort, bed and breakfast, non-hosted vacation rental, or hosted vacation rental, imposed under NMC Chapter 3.20. (2) Transient Occupancy Special Tax for Affordable and Workforce Housing of 1%, codified at NMC Section 3.20 (special tax provisions), bringing the City portion to 13%. The special-tax revenue is restricted by ordinance to programs that increase, improve, or preserve the availability of affordable and workforce housing in Napa. (3) Napa Valley Tourism Improvement District assessment of 2% on gross short-term (under 30-day) room rentals on lodging businesses, used to fund destination marketing through Visit Napa Valley. The combined effective rate on every Napa lodging stay is therefore 15%. Operators register with Napa Finance using the TOT Remittance Form (revised 06-16-2025) available at cityofnapa.org. Stays of 30 consecutive days or more by the same guest are exempt. NMC 17.52.515 requires the Vacation Rental Permit Holder to maintain an active Business Tax Certificate under NMC Chapter 5.04 (with a minimum tax of $30 for businesses under $12,000 in annual gross receipts, scaling to 0.1% of gross receipts above that threshold). The 2026-2027 annual program fee for the Vacation Rental Permit itself is $674. Airbnb has a voluntary collection agreement with the City of Napa under which the platform remits the 12% TOT and 1% special tax on Napa bookings; VRBO and direct bookings remain the host's full responsibility, and the host remains accountable for accuracy. The 2% NTID assessment is generally remitted by the host through Visit Napa Valley regardless of platform.