What the licence costs, year one and after
The licence fee is the smallest line in most budgets — occupancy tax usually costs more in a single month than the licence does in a year. This table lists only what cities publish: the application fee, the renewal fee, and how long the licence lasts.
| City | New licence | Renewal | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles, CA | $89 | $89 | 1 year, renewed annually; not transfer |
| San Diego, CA | Tiered by licence tier | Same as the first-year fee | 2 years from date of issuance |
| San Francisco, CA | $925 | None stated | — |
| Denver, CO | $150 | $100 | 1 year, renewed annually |
| Boston, MA | Tiered by unit type | Same annual fee | 1 year, renewed annually |
| New York City, NY | $145 | None stated | — |
| Nashville, TN | $313 | $313 | 1 year, renewed annually |
| Austin, TX | $736.60 | $369.60 | 2 years from date of issuance |
| Seattle, WA | $75 per unit | $75 per unit | 12 months from date of issue |
How far apart the fees are
The cheapest licence here is $75 per unit in Seattle, WA; the most expensive is $925 in San Francisco, CA. That is a gap of roughly 12× between the two ends, and it does not track city size — the fee reflects what each city decided to charge, not what the licence is worth.
3 cities price the fee by unit or by tier rather than as a flat amount: San Diego, CA, Boston, MA, Seattle, WA. For those, the figure in the table is the starting point, and the real cost depends on what you register.
Year two is not always year one
Most cities here charge the same amount to renew as to apply. The exceptions are Denver, CO ($150 → $100); Austin, TX ($736.60 → $369.60) — where renewal is cheaper than the first application. Over a multi-year hold that difference is worth knowing, because it changes the average annual cost rather than just the first invoice.
Where the term column says two years, the renewal is due half as often, so the annualised cost is lower than the fee suggests. Where it says one year, the fee recurs annually.
What the fee does not buy
Paying the licence fee is the cheapest part of getting compliant, and treating it as the total cost is the most common budgeting error in this sector. Three items sit outside it:
Some cities also require things that carry their own cost and their own deadline — a tax registration certificate within 30 days of starting to trade, a mailed notice to adjacent owners, a notarised approval. Each city page lists the ones that apply there, with the sentence the requirement came from.
Why this page has no total
A "total cost of compliance" figure would need insurance premiums, inspection fees and a nightly rate to apply the tax to. This site does not collect those, so it does not add them up. The table gives you the published fees; the rest has to come from quotes for your specific property.