Sonoma, CA Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)
Key Facts
- TOT rate
- 12% of rent (Ord. 10-2018)
- Registration deadline
- Within 30 days of starting business
- Late payment penalty
- 10% + 10% + up to 25% for fraud
- Interest on unpaid tax
- 0.5% per month
- Tax administrator
- City manager
- Also required
- Business license, § 19.50.110(A)(7)
Summary
Every vacation rental in the City of Sonoma must register for and pay the transient occupancy tax under Municipal Code § 19.50.110(A)(8), a tax set at 12 percent of rent under Chapter 3.16 SMC, on top of the business license required by § 19.50.110(A)(7).
8. Transient Occupancy Tax. A transient occupancy tax registration form shall be completed, and the owner or manager shall pay transient occupancy tax and all other required fees.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 13-2025, passed December 3, 2025).
Full Breakdown
110(A)(8) requires every vacation rental to complete a transient occupancy tax registration form, with the owner or manager responsible for paying transient occupancy tax and all other required fees. 030 states the tax rate shall be 12 percent effective January 1, 2019, and may be increased by the city council to 13 percent by January 1, 2024. 050. 060, and the operator must post the resulting transient occupancy registration certificate in a conspicuous place on the property. 070. 080. 110(A)(7), separate from the occupancy tax itself.
All of this applies to rentals inside the City of Sonoma; it is unrelated to any tax Sonoma County collects on rentals in the surrounding unincorporated Sonoma Valley.
Violations & Fines
Failing to register, collect, or remit the transient occupancy tax is enforceable under both § 3.16.080's own penalty schedule, 10 percent plus 10 percent plus up to 25 percent for fraud, and 0.5 percent monthly interest, and Chapter 1.12 SMC's general penalty, which allows infraction fines from $100 to $500 or misdemeanor prosecution with fines up to $1,000 and up to six months in jail.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the transient occupancy tax rate for a Sonoma vacation rental?
How soon must a new Sonoma vacation rental register for the occupancy tax?
What penalty applies if a Sonoma vacation rental pays its occupancy tax late?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sonoma
How Sonoma compares: Cities with the Highest Short-Term Rental Taxes·California rules heatmap·Compare Sonoma to another location·View the California short-term rentals overview
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Taxes & Fees in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Sonoma County handle taxes & fees.