Tourist tax for small hotels: what it is and how to handle it

Tourist tax is a levy that a municipality or region charges visitors who stay overnight. It is usually a fixed amount per person and per night. The money is meant for things that visitors use: paths, public transport passes, events, tourist information. You will also hear it called visitor tax, city tax, occupancy tax, Kurtaxe or Ortstaxe, depending on where you are.

For you as host, the important points are these:

• It is set locally. The same stay can carry a different amount in the next valley or the next town, and some places do not charge it at all.
• The host usually collects it from the guest and passes it on to the municipality or the tourism office, often with a periodic statement.
• Children are often charged less or not at all. Where the age limits lie, and who else is exempt, is set by the local rule.
• It is not part of your room revenue. You collect it on behalf of someone else.

Do not copy the amount from a hotel in another town or from a forum post. Ask the source:

1. Start with your municipality's website or counter. Search for the local word, such as Kurtaxe, Tourismusabgabe, Ortstaxe or the equivalent in your language.
2. Ask your local tourism office or tourism association. They often run the collection and send you the forms.
3. Ask your accountant or your hotel association. They know the practice in your area.

Write down four things: the amount for adults, the amount for children and the age limit, who is exempt, and how and when you have to report and pay.

The most common complaint about tourist tax is not the amount, it is the surprise. Mention it before the booking is made, not at check-out.

On the booking page

Show the tax as its own line in the price summary, separate from the room price. The guest then sees what the stay costs and which part is the levy. In Nuitina the tax appears as its own line in the price summary and in the confirmation, with the adult and child lines shown separately.

In your house information

Add a sentence to your house rules or cancellation text, for example that the local tourist tax is charged per person and night and is shown separately. If you list prices on your website, say whether they include it.

Invoices

Show the tax as a separate line, not buried inside the room price. Whether VAT or sales tax applies to the levy is a question for your accountant; in many places it is not part of the taxable turnover, because you collect it for the municipality. Either way, a separate line makes your books and your reports cleaner.

Registration forms (Meldeschein)

Many municipalities require hosts to record each guest's name and other details, and some ask for date of birth, nationality or an ID. The paper or digital Meldeschein is often also the basis for the tourist tax statement, because it shows how many people stayed how many nights. Check what your municipality demands and how long you must keep the forms.

In Nuitina you enter the amounts once, under Settings → Property (in German: Einstellungen → Haus), in the section for times, VAT and tourist tax:

• Tourist tax per adult and night
• Tourist tax per child and night

A value of 0 means no tourist tax. From then on every booking gets a tourist tax line for adults and one for children, shown in the price summary and on the invoice. The tax is added without VAT, and the invoice carries a note that the tourist tax is not subject to VAT. If you are not sure that this matches your local rule, ask your accountant.

Reports show the tourist tax collected and the number of person-nights it relates to, and keep it apart from room revenue, since it is passed on and not income. The registration form can be printed for check-in, and guests can fill in their registration details online before arrival.

One limit to know: Nuitina has one amount for adults and one for children. If your municipality uses several rates or exemptions that depend on age or purpose of stay, check how that fits before you rely on the automatic amounts.