Hotel Tax for City of Santa Barbara Currently Above Budget

Transient Occupancy Tax Results for the City of Santa Barbara – Month Ended December 31, 2024

The City of Santa Barbara collected $2.1 Million in Transient Occupancy Taxes (TOT) for December 2024, the sixth month in the City’s fiscal year.

Year to date, the City has collected $19.5 Million in overall TOT, of which approximately $17.1 Million came from hotels and $2.4 Million from short-term rentals. Year to date, total TOT revenues are coming in 2.4% above budget.

The Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) is a Tax on “Transient” guests staying in any hotel, inn, motel, or other commercial lodging establishment for a period of less than 30 days.

The City’s adopted TOT budget for all funds is $34.5 Million, of which $28.7 Million is budgeted in the General Fund.

View the Transient Occupancy Tax Table. The City’s TOT tax rate is 12.0%, of which 10.0% goes to the City’s General Fund and the remaining 2.0% goes to the Creeks/Clean Water Fund.