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

In the unincorporated county, short-term rentals are permitted through the Homestay use in LUDC Sec. 193, which caps a Homestay at three bedrooms and requires the owner or long-term tenant to live on site while guests stay. 12 folds tax compliance directly into that land use permit: the owner or applicant must maintain a TOT license and stay current on every required TOT report and payment. That obligation runs alongside the countywide transient occupancy tax set by Sec. 32-12, currently fourteen percent of rent charged, which applies because the Homestay's broad definition of taxable lodging in Sec.

32-11 covers any structure rented to a transient for thirty consecutive days or less. Operators must register with the county tax collector within thirty days of starting business and post a Transient Occupancy Registration Certificate on the premises (Sec. 32-14), collect the tax separately from rent, and remit it after each calendar quarter (Sec. 32-15). Falling behind triggers standard TOT delinquency penalties under Sec. 32-16: ten percent for an original late remittance, another ten percent if it is still unpaid after thirty days, twenty-five percent more if the tax collector finds fraud, and interest of one-half of one percent per month.

Because Sec. d lists failure to obtain or comply with any other required county permit as a ground for revocation, an operator who lets TOT payments or reports lapse can lose the Homestay Land Use Permit itself, not just face a tax bill.