Unincorporated Sonoma County levies a 12% Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) on the gross rents collected for stays of 30 days or less, under Sonoma County Code Chapter 12. Every vacation rental operator must register with the Auditor-Controller-Treasurer-Tax Collector (ACTTC) and obtain a TOT certificate BEFORE applying for the Article VIII annual rental license. TOT returns are filed quarterly. Incorporated cities set their own rates (e.g., City of Sonoma 13% + 2% TID; Santa Rosa 11%).
Sonoma County Code Chapter 12 (Transient Occupancy Tax) imposes the TOT at 12% of gross rents on every transient — defined as a guest staying 30 days or less — in any hotel, motel, bed & breakfast, campground, second home, or vacation rental in the unincorporated area. The operator collects the tax from guests and remits it to the ACTTC. Operators must first register and obtain a TOT certificate from the ACTTC at 585 Fiscal Drive, Suite 100, Santa Rosa, CA 95403 (or TOT@sonomacounty.gov). The TOT certificate number is required input on the Article VIII vacation rental license application. In addition to TOT, the vacation rental program charges its own fees: a Zoning Permit (Level II, fee code 1166), a CEQA Exemption review (code 1052), and on the license side an Annual Monitoring fee (code 1163) plus a Noticing fee (code 1162), all with a 1.3% Technology Surcharge. Specific dollar amounts are published in Permit Sonoma's annually updated Project Review Fee Schedule.
Failure to collect or remit TOT exposes the operator to back-taxes, penalties, and interest under Code Chapter 12, and can trigger revocation of the Article VIII vacation rental license. Operating any short-term rental in unincorporated Sonoma County without first registering for a TOT certificate is itself a violation.
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