What is San Francisco's hotel tax rate?

The base Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) is 14% of the room rate. On top of that most hotels add a Tourism Improvement District assessment of roughly 1.25% to 2.25% and a Moscone Expansion District assessment, which together push the effective rate above 16%.

Is the Tourism Improvement District fee a tax?

Technically it is an assessment collected by the hotel rather than a government tax, but it appears on your folio and you pay it like a tax. This tool lets you include it so your total reflects the real amount charged.

Are resort fees taxed too?

Mandatory resort or facility fees are generally treated as part of the room charge and are themselves subject to the 14% TOT. If your hotel charges one, add it to the nightly rate before calculating to capture the tax on it.

Does the tax apply to long stays?

The Transient Occupancy Tax applies to stays of less than 30 consecutive days. A continuous stay of 30 days or more makes you a permanent resident under the rules and is exempt from the TOT.

Why is my online total higher than the room rate I saw?

The advertised nightly rate excludes the 14% occupancy tax and the district assessments. Adding them typically increases the displayed rate by 15% to 17%, which is why your checkout total looks noticeably larger.

San Francisco Hotel & Occupancy Tax Calculator

A San Francisco hotel quote is never the real price. Every taxable stay carries the city’s 14% Transient Occupancy Tax, plus Tourism Improvement District and Moscone Expansion District assessments that hotels list on the folio. This calculator stacks all of them on your room subtotal so you can see the true cost before you book.

How it works

Each charge is a percentage of the room subtotal, then summed:

subtotal     = nightly rate × nights
TOT          = subtotal × 14%
TID + Moscone = subtotal × (assessment %)
total        = subtotal + TOT + assessments
effective %  = (total − subtotal) / subtotal × 100

The 14% Transient Occupancy Tax is fixed by the city. The district assessments vary by hotel and tier but typically add another 1% to 3%, so the all-in effective rate lands between roughly 15% and 17%. The tax applies only to stays under 30 consecutive days; longer continuous stays are exempt as permanent occupancy.

Example and tips

A $280 room for 3 nights is an $840 subtotal. The 14% TOT is $117.60, and a 2.25% combined district assessment adds $18.90, for an all-in total of about $976.50 — an effective rate of roughly 16.25%. If your hotel charges a mandatory resort fee, add it to the nightly rate before calculating, because that fee is itself subject to the occupancy tax.