If you’re trying to figure out which cities charge a tourist tax, the short answer is: most major destinations do, in one form or another. In the United States, combined hotel occupancy taxes run from about 6% in the cheapest jurisdictions to roughly 17% in Chicago. Across Europe, the model shifts to a flat fee per person per night, tied to the star rating of your accommodation, which can add €15 or more per guest each night at top-tier hotels. A few destinations, most famously Venice and Bhutan, charge you simply for entering the country or the city. Here is what to expect city by city, and what to watch for on your final bill.
U.S. Cities and Their Hotel Occupancy Taxes
American cities rarely use the phrase “tourist tax.” The charge shows up as a hotel occupancy tax, transient lodging tax, or accommodations tax, and the rate you actually pay is usually a stack of city, county, state, and special-district levies rolled together.
New York City. The city’s Hotel Room Occupancy Tax is 5.875% of the room rate, plus a flat per-night surcharge that reaches $5 for rooms priced over $40 per night.1New York City Administrative Code. New York City Administrative Code 11-2502 – Imposition of Tax Since virtually every Manhattan room clears that threshold, most guests pay the $5. Add New York State sales tax and the state hotel unit fee, and the total effective tax typically lands between 14% and 15%.
Chicago. The base city Hotel Accommodations Tax is 4.5%,2American Legal Publishing. Municipal Code of Chicago 3-24-030 – Tax Imposed but after convention, state, and district layers the combined effective rate is roughly 17.4%, one of the highest in the country. Short-term rentals face an even higher city rate of 10.5% before the other layers stack.3City of Chicago. Hotel Accommodations Tax and Vacation Rental and Shared Housing Surcharge
Las Vegas. Transient lodging tax runs 13.38% inside the Primary Gaming Corridor and 13% outside it, combining county, state, and tourism-district charges. On a $400 room, that is more than $50 per night.
San Francisco. The city’s transient occupancy tax is 14%, applied to hotels, motels, and short-term rentals. With state and county add-ons, the total lands closer to 16% or 17%.
Washington, D.C. A single combined rate of 14.95% covers transient hotel stays in the District, one of the highest single-jurisdiction lodging tax rates in the country.
Los Angeles. The current transient occupancy tax is 14%. A ballot measure (Measure TT) scheduled for June 2026 would raise the rate to 16% through 2028 and then settle at 15%, and would require online travel platforms to collect and remit the tax directly.
Honolulu. Hawaii’s state Transient Accommodations Tax is 10.25%, and Honolulu adds a county surcharge on top.4Hawaii.gov. An Introduction to the Transient Accommodations Tax Hawaii defines a taxable transient stay as anything under 180 consecutive days, so even multi-month stays under six months are covered. Revenue has been earmarked for infrastructure including the city’s rail transit system.
European Cities and Their Per-Person Nightly Fees
European tourist taxes usually work per person, per night, and scale with the accommodation’s star rating. The absolute numbers look modest next to U.S. percentages, but they multiply by every guest on the reservation. A family of four pays four times the listed figure.
Paris
Paris charges the Taxe de Séjour to every adult overnight guest. As of January 2026, the per-person nightly rate ranges from €2.60 for one-star hotels, hostels, and B&Bs up to €15.93 at palace-class hotels, with 4-star properties at €8.45 and 3-star at €5.53.5Service Public. Changes in 2026 in the Tourist Tax in Paris Those totals include the base tax plus departmental, regional, and a 200% Île-de-France supplement. Five nights in a 4-star hotel for two people works out to €84.50 in tax alone. Unclassified accommodations, including many Airbnb listings, pay 5% of the per-person nightly cost, capped at €15.93.
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the European outlier. Instead of a flat fee, the city charges 12.5% of the nightly rate, the highest percentage-based tourism levy in Europe. On a €250 room, that is €31.25 per night. It applies to all accommodation types, including private rentals booked through platforms.
Venice
Venice charges two things. Overnight guests pay a nightly tourist tax based on their hotel’s star rating, collected by the accommodation. Day visitors pay the Contributo di Accesso, an entry fee of €5 if paid at least four days in advance or €10 for last-minute payment.6Venezia Unica. About the Access Fee The access fee applies only on specific scheduled dates, not year-round, and overnight guests can apply for an exemption. Venice was the first major city to charge visitors simply for entering.
Barcelona
Barcelona combines a regional Catalan levy (the IEET) with a city surcharge.7Barcelona City Council. IEET – Tax on Stays in Tourist Establishments As of April 2026, the combined per-person nightly rate reaches €12 at 5-star and luxury hotels, €9.50 at tourist apartments, €8.40 at 4-star hotels, €7 at other accommodations, and €6 at youth hostels. The tax is capped at seven consecutive nights per person in the same accommodation.8Agència Tributària de Catalunya. Tax on Stays in Tourism Establishments in Catalonia Cruise passengers pay too: €9 for stops over 12 hours, €11 for shorter port calls. The €5 Barcelona city surcharge drives most of the total and reflects the city’s effort to manage mass tourism.
Rome
Rome’s contributo di soggiorno reaches €10 per person, per night at 5-star hotels. Four-star properties charge €7.50, three-star hotels and mid-range vacation rentals €6, and budget options like hostels and campgrounds €3 to €4. The charge applies for a limited number of nights per stay and then drops off.
Asian Cities and the Bhutan Exception
Asian destinations have been slower to adopt dedicated tourist taxes, but several major cities now charge one.
Tokyo and Osaka both apply an accommodation tax based on the per-person nightly room charge. In Tokyo, stays under ¥10,000 per person (roughly $65) are exempt; rooms between ¥10,000 and ¥15,000 add ¥100 per night, and anything above ¥15,000 adds ¥200. Osaka uses the same tiers plus a fourth bracket: stays above ¥20,000 cost ¥300.
Bhutan is in a category of its own. The country charges a Sustainable Development Fee of $100 per person, per night for international visitors, with a reduced rate of INR 1,200 for Indian nationals.9VisitBhutan.com. Sustainable Development Fee That is on top of accommodation, tours, and meals. Two weeks for two people is $2,800 in fees alone. The policy is deliberate, meant to limit visitor volume and fund conservation, education, and healthcare.
What Else Gets Taxed on Your Bill
The room rate is not the only thing subject to occupancy tax, and short-term rentals do not always come out cheaper than hotels.
Mandatory Resort Fees
Resort fees and destination fees, typically $25 to $50 per night, cover amenities like Wi-Fi, pool access, and gym use whether you use them or not. Tax authorities in most jurisdictions treat these as part of the gross rental charge because the hotel would not collect them but for the room rental. A $35 resort fee at a Las Vegas hotel with a 13.38% room tax generates another $4.68 in tax per night on top of the fee itself. When you compare hotel prices, add the resort fee to the room rate before estimating tax.
Short-Term Rentals
Airbnb, Vrbo, and similar platforms are now legally required to collect and remit occupancy taxes in most major jurisdictions. Vrbo collects lodging tax everywhere it is required by law, and hosts cannot opt out.10Vrbo. Collection and Remittance of Taxes and Lodging Taxes The catch is that platform collection does not always cover every local layer. If a listing shows “taxes included,” check whether that covers all applicable levies or only the ones the platform is obliged to collect. In Chicago, where short-term rentals face a higher combined rate than hotels, the total on a platform booking can surprise guests who expected it to undercut a hotel. Any stay shorter than 30 consecutive days generally counts as transient and is taxed accordingly.
Who Doesn’t Pay Tourist Taxes
Exemptions fall into three main categories, though the specifics vary by jurisdiction.
Extended stays. Most cities drop the lodging tax once you have stayed 30 consecutive days in the same accommodation, treating you as a longer-term resident rather than a transient guest. The stay must be continuous. Hawaii’s threshold is 180 consecutive days.4Hawaii.gov. An Introduction to the Transient Accommodations Tax
Government travelers. Federal employees on official business can claim exemption from state and local hotel taxes in many jurisdictions, but only when paying with a government travel charge card, and the rules depend on whether the account is individually or centrally billed.11Defense Travel Management Office. Save on Lodging Taxes in Exempt Locations The exemption is not automatic; some states require a signed form at check-in. State and local government employees may qualify in their own state, but coverage is far less consistent.
Tax-exempt organizations. Nonprofits with 501(c) status can claim exemption from hotel occupancy taxes in some jurisdictions when traveling for their exempt purpose.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 501 – Exemption From Tax on Corporations, Certain Trusts, Etc. The organization usually has to present its IRS determination letter and a signed statement that the stay is for exempt purposes. Personal travel by a nonprofit’s employees does not qualify, even if the organization’s card pays the bill.
How to Confirm the Rate Before You Book
The most reliable way to see exactly what you will pay is to carry a booking through to the final price summary on the hotel’s own website or a major platform. Booking.com, Expedia, and Airbnb all break out taxes and fees as separate line items before you confirm, and you do not need to complete the reservation to see the total.
For U.S. destinations, a search for the city name plus “hotel occupancy tax rate” usually surfaces the city or county revenue department’s current combined rate. For European cities, official tourism board websites publish the per-person nightly tax by accommodation category. Rates change more often than most travelers expect, so a check within a few weeks of your trip beats relying on a guidebook printed last year.