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

Section 20-48.050 of Santa Rosa's Short-Term Rental chapter requires every STR Owner to impose, report, and remit Transient Occupancy Tax under City Code Chapter 3-28, and the section overrides the normal 30-day registration window in Section 3-28.050: STR owners must register with the Tax Collector for TOT before the City will accept a new Short-Term Rental Permit application. Chapter 3-28 sets the tax itself at 11 percent of the rent charged for any stay of 30 consecutive days or less (Section 3-28.020), collected from the guest at the time rent is paid and reported to the Tax Collector on a quarterly return due by the last day of the month following each calendar quarter (Section 3-28.060).

Section 20-48.050(B) layers on a second obligation: STR owners must also report and remit the Santa Rosa Tourism Business Improvement Area assessment under Chapter 6-56, Article IV, set at 3 percent of rent (Section 6-56.300(A)), with the Tax Collector authorized to retain up to a 2 percent administrative fee for collection costs (Section 6-56.310(A)). Combined, an STR guest's bill carries 14 percent in local lodging charges before any cleaning or service fees. Both obligations run separately from the Short-Term Rental Permit itself: a property can hold a valid permit and still be pursued for TOT or BIA nonpayment, and unresolved tax violations feed into the permit enforcement scheme in Section 20-48.080.

Records substantiating rent collected and tax remitted must be kept for three years under Section 3-28.070 and are subject to Tax Collector inspection at any reasonable time.