Occupancy tax by city
Every city in this index charges a lodging tax on short stays, and the rate differs by more than threefold. The figures below are the ones each city publishes; where a city does not print a rate, the row says so rather than carrying an estimate.
| City | Combined rate | What it is made of |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles, CA | 14% | Transient occupancy tax 14% |
| San Diego, CA | 11.75% – 13.75% by tax zone | TOT — Tax Zone 1 11.75%; TOT — Tax Zone 2 12.75%; TOT — Tax Zone 3 13.75% |
| San Francisco, CA | 14%, plus 2.00%–2.25% TID by zone | Transient occupancy tax 14%; Tourism Improvement District — Zone 1 2.25%; Tourism Improvem |
| Denver, CO | 10.75% | Denver lodger's tax 10.75% |
| Boston, MA | 14.95% before any community impact fee | Massachusetts room occupancy excise 5.7%; Boston local option 6.5%; Convention center fund |
| New York City, NY | — | not published; flat per-room charges apply |
| Nashville, TN | — | not published on city pages |
| Austin, TX | 17% | Texas state hotel occupancy tax 6%; City of Austin occupancy tax 9%; Austin venue project |
| Seattle, WA | — | not published; WA DOR blocks our reads |
The spread, stated plainly
Rates run from 10.75% in Denver, CO to 17% in Austin, TX — a gap that compounds on every booking, every month. The range is not noise: it reflects how each state and city assembles the tax, and in most cases no single body sets the whole number.
3 of the 9 cities do not publish a rate on the pages read here — New York City, NY, Nashville, TN, Seattle, WA. In each case the city describes the obligation and leaves the percentage to another authority or to a flat charge. Those rows stay blank rather than carrying an estimate, because an estimated tax rate is indistinguishable from a wrong one once it is on the page.
Why the components matter more than the total
A combined rate hides where the money goes, and that matters for two practical reasons: who collects it, and whether it changes by address.
Who actually collects it
This is the part that catches people out, and it differs by city. Where a hosting platform has an agreement with the city, the platform collects and remits the tax and the host's obligation is largely administrative. Where it does not, the host registers for a tax account, collects the tax from the guest, and files on a schedule — monthly in some cities, quarterly in others.
Each city page states which situation applies and, where the city publishes it, the filing deadline. The registration requirement usually has its own clock: several cities require the tax account within 30 days of starting to trade, separately from the rental licence itself.
What this page cannot tell you
It gives rates, not amounts. What you owe depends on what you charge, and this site does not carry nightly rates or occupancy data for any city — so a dollar figure here would be an invention. Use the rate against your own numbers.