San Diego County Bookkeeper Talk to a bookkeeper

Short answer: Short-term rental bookkeeping in San Diego records each booking at gross, with platform fees, cleaning and repairs as costs. Transient occupancy tax collected is tracked by month so it matches what you remit to the City Treasurer. Each property gets its own profit and loss, and the books are ready for your CPA's Schedule E work.

Platform payouts hide the real numbers

A host with a condo in Pacific Beach and a granny flat in North Park might see dozens of payouts a month from two or three platforms. Each payout is net of host fees, sometimes net of taxes the platform collected, and sometimes a bundle of several stays.

If the books record only what hit the bank, nightly revenue, cleaning fees, platform fees and occupancy tax all blur together. You cannot tell which property is worth keeping, or whether the tax you owe the city is sitting in your checking account.

City of San Diego licensing and TOT

Inside the City of San Diego, short-term rentals need a Short-Term Residential Occupancy (STRO) license. The city uses four tiers: Tier 1 for part-time rentals of 20 days or less a year, Tier 2 for home sharing where the host lives onsite, Tier 3 for whole-home rentals outside Mission Beach, and Tier 4 for whole-home rentals in Mission Beach. Licenses expire two years after issue, and Tier 3 and 4 hosts must use the license at least 90 days a year and report use quarterly.

Every host also needs a Transient Occupancy Tax certificate. Since May 1, 2025, the city's TOT rate depends on location: 11.75% in Zone 1, 12.75% in Zone 2 and 13.75% in Zone 3. Operators collect the tax, hold it in trust and remit monthly, due by the last day of the following month.

These rules apply inside the City of San Diego. Other cities in the county set their own. Check the city's STRO and TOT pages for current details.

What the books track

  • Each property set up as its own class or tracking category
  • Bookings recorded at gross rent, with platform fees as an expense
  • Cleaning fees charged to guests kept apart from cleaning costs you pay
  • TOT collected by month and by property, shown as a liability until paid
  • Taxes a platform collected and remitted for you recorded so they are not counted twice
  • STRO license fees, TOT certificate costs and the city's annual rental unit business tax
  • Furniture, appliances and improvements recorded as assets rather than repairs when they should be

Monthly TOT without the scramble

Because TOT is due every month, the books need to close every month. The bookkeeper totals taxable rent for the month by property, applies the zone rate for that address, compares it to what the platforms already remitted and gives you the figure to file. The tax stays on the balance sheet as money owed, not as income.

Late TOT payments carry a penalty that starts at 1% on the first day and grows daily up to 25%, so a reliable monthly routine pays for itself.

Profit by property

A property can have high occupancy and still lose money once you count cleaning, supplies, utilities, the HOA, insurance and mortgage interest. A per-property P&L each month shows which units pull their weight. At year end, your CPA gets totals by property and by expense type, ready for Schedule E.

How the work runs

  1. Connect Bank and card feeds and platform payout reports for every listing come in each month.
  2. Split Each payout is broken into rent, cleaning fees, platform fees and taxes by property.
  3. Calculate TOT owed for the month is worked out by property and compared to platform remittances.
  4. Report You get a P&L per property, a TOT summary and a reconciled balance sheet.

Short term rental by city

Where we work

We keep books for businesses across the City of San Diego, North County, the South Bay and East County.

Questions

Do you file my TOT return?

The bookkeeping team gives you the monthly TOT figure by property. You or your tax preparer file and pay it with the City Treasurer.

Do the platforms pay TOT for me?

Sometimes, for some taxes and some bookings. The books record what each platform reports it remitted so you only pay the balance.

I have a rental in Oceanside or Carlsbad. Does this apply?

The bookkeeping method is the same. Licensing and tax rules come from that city, so the books follow its rate and filing schedule.

Can you catch up a year of rental books?

Yes. Past payouts are rebuilt from platform reports and bank statements, and TOT by month is recalculated so you can see any gaps.

Sources

Talk to a bookkeeper

Tell us where your books stand. A bookkeeper reads it and replies to set up a short call.

  • No cost to ask.
  • You get a real person, not a sales sequence.
  • One month behind or three years behind, the first call is the same.