Airbnb tourist tax and Booking.com city tax: who collects it

You list on Airbnb, maybe Booking.com, maybe your own site, and you're not sure who's responsible for the tourist tax on each booking. The Airbnb tourist tax question is the one most hosts get wrong, because Airbnb collects some local taxes in some places and none in others, and the answer can differ between two listings in the same country.

Your first action takes ten minutes: open the tax settings for each listing on each platform and write down, per channel, who collects the tax from the guest and who pays it to the authority. The rest of this guide shows where those settings are and what to do with the gaps.

This is general information about how the platforms handle collection, not tax advice. Rates, exemptions and filing rules are set by your local or national authority, so confirm them there or with a tax adviser.

Does Airbnb collect tourist tax, or do you?

Airbnb collects and remits certain taxes only in areas where it has agreements with governments or is required by law to do so; everywhere else, and for any tax it doesn't cover, collection and filing stay with you.

Airbnb keeps a list of areas where it collects and remits taxes. On 2026-09-30 it covered countries including France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland, plus most U.S. states. Croatia and the United Kingdom weren't on it. Even inside a covered area, coverage can be partial: Airbnb says it may collect regional taxes but not local ones in some places, and hosts there remain responsible for "all other tax obligations, including state and city jurisdictions."

Don't rely on the country list alone. Check each listing:

1. In Airbnb, open Listings, pick the listing, then Listing editor, Settings, Taxes.
2. If you see a local tax collection section, Airbnb collects and pays that tax for this listing. If there's no such section, Airbnb doesn't collect and pay on your behalf for that listing.
3. Compare what Airbnb collects with the taxes your local authority says apply. Anything missing is yours.

Two details matter here. Airbnb works out which taxes apply from the address on the listing, so a wrong address can mean the wrong tax. And in covered areas, Airbnb's terms say that if you believe you're exempt from a tax it collects, accepting the reservation waives that exemption. Where Airbnb does collect, it doesn't change your payout; the tax shows as a separate line on the guest's receipt.

How do you add an Airbnb tourist tax the platform doesn't collect?

If your local tourist tax isn't collected by Airbnb, you can often add it with Airbnb's custom tax tool, which charges the guest and pays the tax out to you separately, and you then file and pay it yourself.

Airbnb describes the custom tax tool as available to most hosts. You choose how the tax is charged: a percentage per booking, a fee per guest, a fee per night, or a fee per guest per night. It also has fields for your accommodations tax registration number, long-stay or partial-stay exemptions, a maximum cap, and seasonal rates. It can't tax Airbnb's service fees or security deposits.

The hard part is translating your local rule into those settings, because the structure of tourist tax varies by place. Two official examples:

• France: the official business guidance says each commune sets the tax. Under the actual-occupancy method it's charged per person hosted, and for unclassified accommodation the 2026 rate is 1% to 5% of the per-person nightly cost, capped at the highest rate the local authority has adopted.
• Edinburgh: the City of Edinburgh Council says its visitor levy is 5% of the cost of paid overnight accommodation, charged before VAT, only on the first 5 nights, for stays from 24 July 2026.

Here's a worked example of mapping a rule onto the tool, using Edinburgh's published rule and a hypothetical price. Swap in your own authority's rule:

Check which price items go into the taxable base, such as cleaning fees, with your authority before you tick them. If the tool isn't available for your listing, Airbnb lists other routes for manual tax collection: include the tax in a special offer, or request it through the Resolution Center after check-in. In every case, tell the guest the exact amount before they book.

Does Booking.com include city tax in what it collects?

It depends on how the tax is set up and on whether guests prepay through Payments by Booking.com; per-person taxes set as "excluded" are usually yours to collect at check-in, and in most countries remitting stays with you.

Booking.com's article on VAT and local taxes spells out the rules:

• Where to look: in the extranet, go to Property, then VAT/tax/charges. It shows whether local and city taxes are included in your rates.
• Changing it: you can't edit these settings yourself. You send a request through the extranet inbox (Booking.com messages, then Property details, then VAT or City tax/extra charges).
• Prepaid guests: Booking.com includes percentage-based taxes and flat per-stay or per-night taxes in what it collects. Per-person taxes set to "excluded" are yours to collect at check-in, except in listed countries, including Portugal, France (non-professional properties) and a group added on June 15, 2026, where it collects them. Elsewhere you can opt in to an early access programme on the same page.
• Remitting: you stay responsible for paying the tax to the authority, except where Booking.com runs automated remittance: Canada, France, Malaysia and the U.S. In the U.S. that applies to specific states and virtual card payouts.

One piece of good news: Booking.com says it doesn't charge commission on local taxes such as city tax, though in most countries commission applies to VAT.

Put it together per channel. This is the table to fill in for your own listings:

How should you handle tourist tax on direct bookings?

On direct bookings no platform sits between you and the tax authority, so you calculate the tax, show it to the guest before they pay, collect it, and remit it on your authority's schedule.

Our recommendation: show the tax as its own line, not baked into the nightly rate. It's easier for the guest to understand and easier for you to reconcile. If your booking tool can't add a separate tax line, state the amount in the quote and confirmation and collect it the way your local rules allow. The direct booking guide covers the rest of the setup.

Whatever the channel, keep one record per stay: booking channel, dates, number of guests and nights, any exempt guests, the rate or rule applied, who collected the tax, the amount, and the date it was remitted. Airbnb shows the taxes it collected in the gross earnings section of your transaction history, and Booking.com shows each booking's charges on its Reservation details page, so reconcile those against your record monthly. Our bookkeeping basics post shows how that fits with payouts and fees.

When this advice does not apply

• Croatia: sojourn tax runs through the national guest registration system. See our Croatia short-term rental rules for how that works.
• Registration and permits: getting a tax registration or permit in the first place is covered in the short-term rental regulations guide.
• Hotels contracting with Airbnb Travel, LLC: Airbnb's tax collection article doesn't apply to them.
• Income tax and VAT: these are separate from tourist tax. Airbnb's service fee isn't charged on taxes, but VAT on your own rates is a separate question for your adviser.
• Long stays: exemptions for longer stays depend on the jurisdiction (Airbnb's tax tool has a field for them), so check your authority's rule before you charge.

What to do next

1. List every tourist, city or occupancy tax your local authority says applies to your property, with its rate and basis.
2. Open Airbnb's Taxes section for each listing and note what Airbnb collects.
3. Open Booking.com's VAT/tax/charges page and check whether each tax is included or excluded.
4. Add any missing tax through Airbnb's custom tax tool or your Booking.com settings, and as a separate line on direct bookings.
5. Start the per-stay record and reconcile it against platform reports before each filing date.

FAQ

Can an Airbnb host ask for tourist tax in cash?

Airbnb's help center says hosts who need to collect a tax in person should collect it only upon arrival, and must tell the guest the exact amount before booking. It also points hosts to the custom tax tool and special offers.

Does Airbnb's service fee apply to the tourist tax?

No. Airbnb says its service fee is charged on the nightly price plus host fees such as cleaning, not on taxes.

What happens if Booking.com collects the wrong city tax amount?

Booking.com says to contact its Customer Service team, which will handle refunds to guests. Then correct the tax settings through the extranet inbox.

Sources

• Airbnb Help Center, "Areas where tax collection and remittance by Airbnb is available" — Verified 2026-09-30
• Airbnb Help Center, "Adding taxes to a home listing" — Verified 2026-09-30
• Booking.com for Partners, "Understanding VAT and local taxes" — Verified 2026-09-30
• Service Public Entreprendre (French government), "Taxe de séjour touristique : quels sont les tarifs ?" — Verified 2026-09-30
• City of Edinburgh Council, "About the Edinburgh Visitor Levy" — Verified 2026-09-30