Butte County, CA Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax Rate
- 6% of rent charged (§ 23A-3)
- Registration Deadline
- Within 10 days of commencing business
- Filing Office
- Treasurer-Tax Collector's Central Collections Division
- Reporting Frequency
- Quarterly returns due end of following month
- Late Registration Penalty
- $50 per certificate
- Delinquency Penalty
- 10% plus 10% more after 30 days
- Renewal Condition
- Permit renewal requires taxes current
Summary
Short-term rental hosts in unincorporated Butte County must file a Transient Occupancy Tax Questionnaire with the Treasurer-Tax Collector's Central Collections Division within ten days of starting business, under Section 24-172.1 H.1. The underlying tax itself, set at six percent of the rent charged, is imposed on every overnight guest countywide by Chapter 23-A's Uniform Transient Occupancy Tax Ordinance and must stay current for the STR permit to renew.
1.Transient Occupancy Taxes. Butte County Code Chapter 23-A authorizes the levy of a Transient Occupancy Tax for overnight stays at all lodging facilities. Short-term rental proprietors must complete a Transient Occupancy Tax Questionnaire and submit it to the Central Collections Division of the Treasurer-Tax Collector's Department within ten (10) days of commencing business.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 61).
Full Breakdown
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. 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. 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. 2, which requires the owner to report the short-term rental's annual income to the Butte County Assessor every year.
Violations & Fines
Failing to register within ten days draws a fifty-dollar penalty per certificate under Section 23A-9(a). A late tax remittance adds a ten-percent delinquency penalty, a second ten-percent penalty if still unpaid after thirty days, and one-percent monthly interest under Section 23A-9(b), (c), and (e); a fraud finding adds a further twenty-five percent. Because Section 24-172.1 F.4 requires current tax payment for permit renewal, unpaid transient occupancy tax can also block the annual short-term rental permit renewal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Butte County short-term rental hosts pay a special tax?
What happens if a host is late paying the occupancy tax?
Does Butte County require a separate tax filing for Williamson Act short-term rentals?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Butte County
How Butte County compares: Cities with the Highest Short-Term Rental Taxes·California rules heatmap·Compare Butte County to another location·View the California short-term rentals overview
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