Croatia Airbnb rules: permits, taxes and guest registration in 2026

You want to list an apartment in Croatia on Airbnb or Booking.com, or you already do and aren't sure your paperwork matches the listing. Croatia Airbnb rules are strict about order: the state approves the unit first, then the tax office registers you, then every guest gets registered in eVisitor. A listing doesn't change any of that.

Your first action today: find your approval decision (rješenje) for each unit and compare its bed count with what your listings advertise. If there's no decision, or the numbers don't match, stop taking new bookings for that unit until you've fixed it.

This guide summarizes Croatian laws and official guidance as published on 30 September 2026. It isn't legal or tax advice. Amounts are set locally, so confirm yours with your local tourist board and Tax Administration office.

Do you need a permit to rent on Airbnb in Croatia?

Yes. A private renter needs an approval decision for providing hospitality services in a household (rješenje o odobrenju za pružanje ugostiteljskih usluga u domaćinstvu), which also fixes the unit's type and category.

You apply to the competent administrative body for your area. Every later obligation builds on this decision: the Tax Administration registers you from it, and its bed count drives both per-bed taxes. Under the December 2024 amendments to the Hospitality Act, you must display a sign at or near the entrance showing the type and category set in your decision.

The same amendments added two things that matter for new applications:

• Local limits. Decisions are now issued in line with local council decisions on the number, type, category and capacity of accommodation in all or part of a municipality, and applications are handled in order of receipt.
• Co-owner consent. For a unit in a multi-residential or mixed residential-commercial building, prior written consent of the co-owners for short-term rental is a condition for the decision.

If you already rented a flat in such a building before the amendments, the law gives you five years from its entry into force to obtain that consent. Without it, your right to rent ends by law when the five years run out.

Within 8 days of receiving the decision, report to your local Tax Administration office and file the RPO form, per the Tax Administration's page for renters to tourists.

Do you need an EU registration number for Airbnb in Croatia yet?

Not yet. The Ministry of Tourism and Sports said in May 2026 that the registration-number obligation under EU Regulation 2024/1028 applies in Croatia from early 2027. The Ministry will issue the number on request, and says the process will be free and digital. The exact date follows a new Hospitality Act.

That new act isn't law yet. On 17 June 2026 the government adopted the proposal and sent it to Parliament, with planned entry into force on 1 January 2027. The Ministry says it brings a single registration system and mandatory recategorization for rooms, apartments and holiday homes. Treat details as pending until the final text appears in Narodne novine. For how registration schemes work across other countries, see our short-term rental regulations guide.

What do Croatia Airbnb rules require for eVisitor registration?

You must register every guest you accommodate in eVisitor within 24 hours of arrival and deregister them within 24 hours of departure, under Article 22 of the Tourist Tax Act.

eVisitor is the national online system for guest registration. According to gov.hr, you enter guests from their ID card, passport or other identity document, and it runs as a web application, so nothing needs installing. Your local tourist board must explain how registration works, provide training and help, and issue user instructions, so contact them before your first arrival.

The Act makes a missed 24-hour registration or deregistration a misdemeanor for household renters, with higher fines for repeat offenses. A late check-in doesn't pause the clock.

A practical routine for small hosts:

1. Ask each guest before arrival to bring the ID document they'll show you.
2. Register the whole party as soon as they arrive, not at the end of the day.
3. Deregister on departure day, alongside your turnover checklist.

How do tourist tax and flat-rate income tax work in Croatia?

Household renters don't pay tourist tax per guest night. They pay an annual lump sum per bed, and most small renters also pay income tax as a fixed flat rate per bed rather than on actual earnings.

Tourist tax for household renters

Under Article 12 of the Tourist Tax Act, people providing hospitality services in a household pay an annual lump-sum tourist tax for each bed, main and auxiliary. The county assembly (or the City Assembly of Zagreb) sets the amount for each municipality, within a minimum and maximum set by the minister. You can pay it in full by 31 July, or in three equal installments due 31 July, 31 August and 30 September. Payment slips come from eVisitor.

Two details trip hosts up. The Act says household renters don't show a tourist tax amount on the invoice for the stay. And if a household renter charges a guest tourist tax and refuses to refund it, an inspector will order the refund. This suggests you shouldn't add a separate tourist tax line for household units. Airbnb's list of places where it collects and remits taxes didn't include Croatia on 30 September 2026. For how tourist tax flows through each channel elsewhere, see our tourist tax guide for vacation rentals.

Flat-rate income tax (paušalni porez)

According to the Tax Administration, you're taxed at a flat rate if you're outside the VAT system (receipts up to €60,000), rent at most 10 rooms or 20 beds, and meet the other conditions. The annual tax is your number of beds multiplied by the per-bed amount your municipality or city sets. It's paid quarterly, and it's fixed whether the beds sell or not.

Since 2025 the per-bed amount depends on the municipality's tourism development index category, per the Tax Administration's 2025 tax changes page:

Worked example (hypothetical): you have two apartments with 6 beds in total, in a category II municipality that adopted no decision of its own. Flat-rate income tax is 6 × €135 = €810 a year, or €202.50 a quarter. Because the tax is per bed, every bed on your decision costs you money all year, so don't register beds you won't sell.

Flat-rate renters must also issue invoices in at least two copies and record every invoice daily in the turnover record (Obrazac EP). You also pay an annual lump-sum tourist board membership fee per bed and file the TZ-2 report by 15 January for the previous year. Our bookkeeping basics post covers keeping pass-through amounts separate from real costs.

What does a Croatian host's compliance calendar look like?

Most obligations follow fixed dates or events, so you can keep them in one calendar and check it monthly instead of relying on memory in peak season.

Any row you can't match to a document, receipt or eVisitor record is where to start.

When this advice does not apply

• Companies and trades (obrt): legal entities and sole traders providing accommodation follow different tax and tourist tax rules, including per-night tourist tax.
• Above the flat-rate limits: over 20 beds or 10 rooms, inside the VAT system, or not meeting the other conditions, you're taxed on self-employment income instead.
• Camps and Robinson-style accommodation: separate capacity limits and rules apply.
• Holiday home owners staying in their own property: the Tourist Tax Act sets separate registration and payment rules for them.
• After 1 January 2027: if the new Hospitality Act passes, recheck everything above against the published text.

What to do next

1. Compare each unit's approval decision with your listings: beds, unit type and category.
2. If your unit is in an apartment building, check whether you hold written co-owner consent and when your deadline runs out.
3. Ask your municipality or city for its current per-bed flat-rate amount and your county's lump-sum tourist tax decision.
4. Test your eVisitor access with your tourist board before the next arrival.
5. Put the compliance calendar dates into your own calendar, and watch Narodne novine for the new Hospitality Act.

FAQ

Do I charge guests tourist tax in Croatia?

If you're a household renter, you pay tourist tax as an annual lump sum per bed. The Tourist Tax Act says you don't show it on the guest's invoice, and an inspector can order you to refund tourist tax you charged a guest.

What happens if I miss the 24-hour eVisitor deadline?

It's a misdemeanor under the Tourist Tax Act. Register the guest as soon as you notice and ask your tourist board how to correct the record.

Is there a registration number for Airbnb in Croatia now?

No. The Ministry of Tourism and Sports says the obligation starts in early 2027 and that there's currently no obligation to obtain one for advertising on platforms.

Sources

• Narodne novine, "Zakon o turističkoj pristojbi" (NN 52/2019) — Verified 2026-09-30
• Narodne novine, "Zakon o izmjenama i dopunama Zakona o ugostiteljskoj djelatnosti" (NN 152/2024) — Verified 2026-09-30
• Porezna uprava, "Iznajmljivači turistima" — Verified 2026-09-30
• Porezna uprava, "Porezne izmjene 2025." — Verified 2026-09-30
• Ministarstvo turizma i sporta, "Važna informacija – izdavanje registracijskog broja" — Verified 2026-09-30