Transient Occupancy Tax Results for the City of Santa Barbara – March 31, 2026
The City of Santa Barbara collected $3.0 Million in Transient Occupancy Taxes (TOT) for March 2026, the ninth month in the City’s fiscal year.
Year to date, the City has collected $27.5 Million in overall TOT, of which approximately $24.1 Million came from hotels and $3.4 Million from short-term rentals. Year to date, total TOT revenues are coming in 8.3% 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 $35.5 Million, of which $29.5 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.
For additional current and historical financial data, visit the City’s Budget & Reporting webpage.
Also Read
- County of Santa Barbara Announces Jana Petersen as the Next County Executive Officer
- City of Santa Barbara Announces Anacapa Street Repaving
- Carbajal, Moore Lead Bipartisan Effort to Support Transit Infrastructure in Mid‑Sized Cities
- Preliminary Design Review Hearing for Proposed New Anthem Church and Changes at Christ Lutheran Church in Goleta
- Santa Barbara County Junior Lifeguard Program Opens Registration for 2026 Season
We are seduced. The temptation of a “free ride” from taxes imposed on “others” has corrupted our leaders. In LA the government is actually calling on residential property owners to convert from renting or selling to tenants who work in the city to becoming short term vacation rentals. They say this is because they need the taxes to pay the cost of the World Cup and Olympic Games! I thought California had a housing shortage. How is that ameliorated by using housing for tourism? We need to tax ourselves and responsibly allocated funds for the good of the community, not deep pocket tourists (or those with multiple homes either).
What those figures tell me is that the city of Santa Barbara could severely restrict, or even completely outlaw short term rentals and still be pretty close to their budget. We’d have a lot more housing available for actual residents living and working here, making significant daily contributions to the local economy. People tend to spend their money where they live. Short-term rentals are a blight masquerading as a quick financial fix.