Government Exemptions Form – Fresno, CA

The Government Exemptions Form is the City of Fresno Finance Department form listed on the city's Business License and Tax Certificate page under the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) exemption for government agency occupants, which covers tax-exempt hotel room receipts.

TOT is the tax a lodging business collects from a tenant and remits to the City when any person stays in the property for 30 consecutive days or less. The City's page names two exemptions from that tax. One covers permanent residents and the 31st day of a stay; it has its own form, the 30 Day Consecutive Days TOT Form. The other covers government agency occupants, and the Government Exemptions Form belongs to it.

The government agency exemption applies to any federal, California city, county, or state government officer or employee when on official business. It is not for personal use. To have it validated, the employee gives the hotel documentation such as agency letterhead, an e-mail, an ID badge, or a copy of an itinerary issued on behalf of the federal, state, or local government agency.

The form is issued under the Business Tax Divisions of the City of Fresno Finance Department. It is not the application for a Business Tax Certificate, which is a separate application on the same city page.

The form is for a federal, California city, county, or state government officer or employee who is staying at a lodging business on official business and wants the room receipts treated as tax-exempt for Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT). The exemption is tied to the official purpose of the stay, so it is not available for personal use.

• Traveling officers and employees: the City's page says the employee should provide the hotel with documentation for validation.
• Government agencies: the documentation is provided on behalf of the federal, state, or local agency, for example on its letterhead.
• Lodging businesses: they receive the documentation and use it to validate the exemption.

Do not use this form for a stay of 31 days or more by a permanent resident. The City lists that exemption separately, with the 30 Day Consecutive Days TOT Form. Do not use it either to apply for a Business Tax Certificate or a Short Term Rental permit, which have their own applications on the city's page.

Use the form when an officer or employee of a federal, California city, county, or state government agency is claiming the TOT exemption for a hotel stay on official business. The City's page says the employee provides the hotel with validating documentation; it prints no separate due date for the Government Exemptions Form. Because the exemption is claimed on room receipts, have the form and documentation ready when you book or check in, and confirm timing with the hotel or with the City's Business Tax Division at (559) 621-6880.

The City's page ties this form to two points of contact: the hotel, which receives the validating documentation, and the Finance Department's Business Tax Divisions, whose contact block is printed under the form's link.

• Hotel: the employee provides documentation such as letterhead, an e-mail, an ID badge, or a copy of an itinerary on behalf of the government agency so the hotel can validate the exemption.
• City of Fresno Finance Department, Business Tax Divisions: 2600 Fresno Street, First Floor, Room 1096, Fresno CA 93721. The city's page also lists an e-mail address for the division.
• By phone: Customer Service at (559) 621-6880.

The Business Tax Division public counter is open Monday–Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and closes at 3:00 p.m. on the third Friday. The page names no other filing channel for this form, so ask the division whether the completed form goes to the hotel, to the city, or both. FillingPDF lets you fill out and download the PDF; submission follows the channels above.