Orange, CA Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit fee
- Set by City Council resolution
- TOT rate
- 10% of rent charged
- TOT governing chapter
- OMC Chapter 5.16
- Late TOT penalty
- 10% + 10% + up to 25% for fraud
- Registration deadline
- 30 days after starting business
Summary
Every short term rental application in Orange requires a Council-set permit fee, and every stay is subject to the City's 10% Uniform Transient Occupancy Tax under Chapter 5.16, which classifies short-term rentals as hotels for tax purposes.
Each application shall be accompanied by a permit fee in such amount as is established from time to time by resolution of the City Council. ... "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, lodginghouse, roominghouse, apartment house, dormitory, public or private club, mobile home or house trailer at a fixed location, short-term rental, or other similar structure or portion thereof. ... each transient is subject to and shall pay a tax in the amount of 10% of the rent charged by the operator.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4796775; v10 updated 2026-01-27).
Full Breakdown
050 requires each short term rental application to be accompanied by a permit fee in an amount set from time to time by resolution of the City Council, rather than a fixed dollar figure written into the code itself. 040(E) requires a completed Uniform Transient Occupancy Tax registration form as part of the permit application. 020 to expressly include a 'short-term rental,' pulling every permitted rental into the same 10% tax structure applied to hotels and motels. 070. 060 requires the operator to register the hotel and post a Transient Occupancy Registration Certificate on the premises within 30 days of commencing business. 5% per month on the unpaid tax, all of which merge into the tax debt itself.
Violations & Fines
Failure to pay the required Transient Occupancy Tax is a major offense under Section 5.94.070(B)(2)(g), triggering the tiered fine schedule and counting toward permit revocation after three major offenses in 12 months; separately, late TOT remittance under Section 5.16.080 draws a 10% penalty, a further 10% after 30 days, up to a 25% fraud penalty, and 0.5% monthly interest.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the short term rental permit fee in Orange?
Do short term rentals pay the same tax as hotels in Orange?
What happens if a host doesn't remit the occupancy tax on time?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Orange
How Orange compares: Cities with the Highest Short-Term Rental Taxes·California rules heatmap·Compare Orange to another location·View the California short-term rentals overview
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Taxes & Fees in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Orange County handle taxes & fees.