Oceanside, CA Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)
Key Facts
- OTMD rate, vacation rentals
- 1.5% of gross rental revenue
- OTMD rate, lodging businesses
- 2.5% of gross rental revenue
- Assessment cutoff
- None after day 30 of a stay
- Owner-occupied stays
- Exempt from OTMD assessment
- Noncompliance consequence
- STR permit revocation (Sec. 24.7(a))
- Collected by
- City, monthly or quarterly (Sec. 24A.8)
Summary
Oceanside short-term rental owners must pay the citywide transient occupancy tax and a separate Oceanside Tourism Marketing District assessment under City Code Sec. 24.7(a) and Sec. 24A.7(a). Vacation rental businesses owe 1.5 percent of gross short-term rental revenue to the OTMD, while lodging businesses (hotels/motels) owe 2.5 percent. Missing either payment can cost an owner their short-term rental permit.
(a)All short-term rental properties must comply with the provisions of chapter 34 of the Oceanside City Code regarding the collection and remittance of transient occupancy taxes and the collection and remittance of the Oceanside Tourism Marketing District Assessment. Failure to comply with these provisions may result in revocation of a short-term rental permit. ... The annual assessment rate for lodging businesses is two and one-half of one (2.5) percent of gross short-term sleeping room rental revenue. The annual assessment rate for vacation rental businesses is one and one-half of one (1.5) percent of gross short-term sleeping room rental revenue. Based on the benefit received, assessments will not be collected on domestic or international government employees on government business. For stays longer than thirty (30) days there shall be no assessment for the thirty-first day or any day thereafter. Stays by owners of vacation rental businesses in their own vacation rental business shall not be subject to the assessment.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 49).
Full Breakdown
Oceanside folds two separate charges into every short-term rental stay. 7(a) of the Short-Term Rental chapter requires every permitted host to comply with Chapter 34's transient occupancy tax collection and remittance rules and with the Oceanside Tourism Marketing District (OTMD) assessment, and it expressly warns that failing to do either can lead to permit revocation. The OTMD itself was renewed by Ordinance No. 24-OR0029-1 for a nine-year, three-month term starting April 1, 2025, under the Property and Business Improvement District Law (Streets & Highways Code Sec.
). Its boundaries cover every lodging business and vacation rental business in the city (Sec. 6). 5 percent rate on the same revenue base. The assessment stops at day thirty of any stay, with no charge for day 31 onward, does not apply to government employees traveling on official business, and does not apply when an owner occupies their own vacation rental. Under Sec. 8, the city collects the assessment directly from each business on a monthly or quarterly basis, layered on top of whatever a host separately owes under the Chapter 34 transient occupancy tax that Sec.
7(a) also incorporates by reference. Because the tax and fee duties are wired into the permit itself, an owner who falls behind risks losing the short-term rental permit under Sec. 7(a), independent of any separate misdemeanor or administrative-citation exposure the Short-Term Rental chapter allows for other violations.
Violations & Fines
Falling behind on transient occupancy tax or OTMD assessment payments is grounds for revoking a short-term rental permit under Sec. 24.7(a), on top of whatever the tax administrator pursues for the underlying tax debt. The city collects the OTMD assessment monthly or quarterly under Sec. 24A.8, including any delinquencies, interest, and overdue charges, and takes reasonable efforts to collect from every lodging and vacation rental business in the district.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is Oceanside's short-term rental tourism assessment?
Is the OTMD assessment separate from the transient occupancy tax?
What happens if a host stops paying the OTMD assessment or TOT?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Oceanside
How Oceanside compares: Cities with the Highest Short-Term Rental Taxes·California rules heatmap·Compare Oceanside to another location·View the California short-term rentals overview
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