City tax at the hotel desk: Amsterdam, Barcelona and Edinburgh in 2026

How the 2026 tourist taxes in Amsterdam, Barcelona and Edinburgh are calculated, with worked examples so agents can quote the real cost of a stay.

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One charges a percentage, one charges a flat amount per person, and a third started in July. How three official city taxes work, with sums you can copy into a quote.

By Traviology · Published 2026-10-16

A client books a four-night city break at a price that looks fine, then pays more at the desk. That isn't the hotel's fault, and it isn't really yours either, unless the tax never came up in the conversation.

Three cities, three different sums. Here's what the official pages say as of October.

Amsterdam: a percentage

The City of Amsterdam charges 12.5% of the overnight price, excluding VAT. Accommodation providers charge it to guests and pass it on to the municipality. Cruise operators pay a separate €15 per passenger for day visits.

Quick example: a room at €200 a night before VAT for three nights comes to €600, and 12.5% of that is €75. Not small.

Amsterdam's coalition agreement, published in June 2026, plans to raise the rate to 16% from 1 January 2027, then by one point a year to 20% in 2031. The city's own page still shows 12.5%, so check before you quote a stay that starts in 2027.

Barcelona: a flat amount per person

Catalonia charges per person, per night, and the amount depends on the category of establishment. The Generalitat's tax agency lists, for 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027, a regional rate of €7.00 for a five-star hotel and €3.40 for a four-star. Barcelona adds a city surcharge of €5.00 on top of each, which makes €12.00 and €8.40 respectively.

Taxed nights are capped at seven per person. Two guests in a four-star for four nights pay €8.40 × 2 × 4, which is €67.20, and if the same couple stayed nine nights they'd be taxed for seven of them.

Two details agents miss. The agency's table shows the Barcelona surcharge rising on 1 April 2027 and again on 1 April 2028, so a stay from April 2027 will cost more than the figures above, which apply to stays up to 31 March 2027. And the agency says that for advance bookings, the rate in force when you book applies, but only if the booking amount and the tax plus surcharge are paid at that moment. We'd check with the hotel how a given booking is handled before quoting a number as final.

Seven other municipalities near Barcelona, including L'Hospitalet, El Prat and Sabadell, have approved their own surcharges from 1 October 2026. If a client is staying out of the centre, ask.

Edinburgh: a percentage with a cap

Edinburgh's visitor levy is new, and the council expects it to raise up to £50 million a year. It says it applies to paid overnight stays from 24 July 2026, at 5% of the accommodation cost, capped at five nights in a row and charged at the same rate every day of the year. It covers advance bookings made from 1 October 2025 for stays on or after that date.

Example: £140 a night for seven nights. Only five of those nights count, so the levy is 5% of £700, or £35, and nothing more.

What we'd put in a quote

A separate line for city tax, with the formula beside it. The client should see "12.5% of the room price" or "€8.40 per person per night, max seven nights" before they pay, so there's no mystery sum on checkout day. If you aren't sure whether the tax is collected in advance or at the hotel, say that too. It's a perfectly normal thing to admit, and it beats guessing in writing.

What we didn't verify

We haven't checked who collects the tax on a given package or how a booking platform presents it. Exemptions, such as for children or particular guests, vary and we haven't covered them. We also haven't looked at Venice, Paris, Rome or other cities. Treat these three as examples of how different the formulas are.

Sources

• Tourist tax (toeristenbelasting) (City of Amsterdam)

• Cuota tributaria, tarifas y recargos municipales (Agencia Tributaria de Cataluña)

• Impuesto sobre las estancias: incremento de tarifas y recargos (Agencia Tributaria de Cataluña, 10 March 2026)

• Edinburgh Visitor Levy comes into effect (The City of Edinburgh Council, 23 July 2026)

• Amsterdam coalition agreement 2026: higher tourist tax (Het Parool, 3 June 2026)

Checked October 2026. Rates change; confirm with the hotel before issuing a final quote.