Tourist tax 2026: complete guide for hotels and B&Bs — calculation, exemptions and declaration
What the tourist tax is, how to calculate it, who is exempt, the new 2026 maximum amounts and how to file the annual declaration with the MEF. With a guide on how Hotely automates everything.
Few compliance obligations in the Italian hospitality world generate as much confusion as the tourist tax. Some call it imposta di soggiorno, others contributo di soggiorno. Some think it only applies to Rome and Venice. Some don't know how the annual declaration to the MEF works. And some — every month — calculate it manually on an Excel spreadsheet.
This guide clarifies everything: what it is, who must apply it, how to calculate it correctly, who is exempt, how to pay it, and how the annual declaration works. With a dedicated chapter on how Hotely handles everything automatically for every booking.
What the tourist tax is
The tourist tax (technically "imposta di soggiorno") is a local tax that Italian Municipalities can establish under Legislative Decree 23/2011 art. 4. It is paid by the guest staying at the facility. The facility is responsible for collection on behalf of the Municipality and subsequent payment.
Not all Municipalities have introduced it. As of 2026, approximately 1,400 Municipalities out of 7,900 have resolved to introduce the tax — a minority, but one that includes virtually all the main Italian tourist destinations. If your facility is located in a Municipality that has introduced it, you are required to apply it.
Note: the tourist tax is not VAT, not a service fee and not a regional tourist tax (which no longer exists in Italy). It is a local tax, in favour of the Municipality, with specific rules for each Municipality.
The new 2026 maximum amounts
The 2024 Budget Law (L. 213/2023) significantly raised the maximum limits of the tax, in force from 1 January 2026:
| Type of Municipality | Maximum amount per person per night |
|---|---|
| Metropolitan City capitals and high housing tension municipalities | up to €7.00 |
| Art cities and UNESCO sites | up to €10.00 |
| Municipalities hosting Olympic/Paralympic events Milan-Cortina 2026 | up to €12.00 (+€5.00 above the standard maximum) |
| Other Municipalities with tourist tax | up to €5.00 |
Each Municipality resolves its own specific amount within the statutory maximum. Rates also vary based on the category of facility: a 5-star hotel in Rome pays more than a B&B in the same city. Always check your Municipality's current year resolutions.
Who is exempt from the tourist tax
Exemptions vary from Municipality to Municipality, but the most common — present in the vast majority of municipal regulations — are:
- Children below a certain age — typically under 10 or 14 years, depending on the Municipality
- Municipality residents — guests resident in the Municipality where the facility is located are generally exempt
- Law enforcement and military — when staying for service reasons
- People with disabilities and their companions — often both exempt, with Law 104 certification
- Patients and companions — undergoing treatment at healthcare facilities
- Tourist coach drivers — exempt in many Municipalities if the coach is at the facility
- Tour group leaders — in some Municipalities exempt one per group members
- Seasonal workers — in some Municipalities for continuous stays related to work
You are responsible for verifying exemptions. A guest may declare they are entitled to an exemption, but the facility is responsible for checking documentation (Law 104 certificate, service order, ID card for residency) before applying it.
How the tax is calculated
The most common calculation is per person per night, with a maximum number of applicable nights (typically 5-7 consecutive nights — beyond that threshold the guest no longer pays). An example:
Facility in Rome, 4-star category, rate €5.00 per person per night, maximum stay 10 nights but tax applicable only to the first 7.
Booking: 2 adults, 1 child aged 8 (exempt), 9 nights.
Calculation: 2 adults × 7 nights × €5.00 = €70.00
The last 2 nights are not taxed. The child is exempt.
If the Municipality's rate changes mid-stay (e.g. a rate increase on 1 April, booking from 29 March to 5 April), the calculation splits: the first 3 nights at the old rate, the remaining ones at the new rate.
These calculations seem simple but across hundreds of bookings per year — with guests of different nationalities, children, possible exemptions — they quickly become a source of errors.
How to pay the tax to the Municipality
Once the tax has been collected from guests, the facility must pay it to the Municipality according to the deadlines in the local regulation. The most common methods:
Via F24 — most common with tax code 3936 (tourist tax) or specific Municipal codes (e.g. 3937, 3938). The F24 is completed with the Municipal cadastral code and paid via online banking or at a branch.
Via municipal portal — some Municipalities have dedicated portals (e.g. Roma Capitale, Milan) where the facility periodically uploads a file with stay data. Payment is via PagoPA or bank transfer to the municipal treasurer.
Deadlines vary: some Municipalities require monthly payment, others quarterly, others semi-annual. Check your Municipality's regulations — often available on the institutional website in the "Tourist tax" section.
The annual declaration to the MEF (by 30 June)
In addition to periodic payments to the Municipality, there is a lesser-known but mandatory obligation: the annual electronic declaration to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. It must be submitted by 30 June of the year following the reference year.
The form is called SOG00 and the technical specifications are published by the MEF. The declaration must be uploaded to the reserved area of the Revenue Agency portal via SPID or CIE.
Many managers are unaware of this obligation. Yet penalties for omitted declarations exist — and since 2023 checks have become more systematic, thanks to the digitisation of data from municipal portals.
How Hotely manages the tourist tax
No manual calculation
Hotely maintains a database of Italian Municipalities with an established tourist tax and the corresponding rates. For approximately 60 of the most important Municipalities (Rome, Milan, Florence, Venice, Naples, Turin, Bologna and the main tourist destinations) rates are pre-validated by the Hotely team based on official resolutions — updated every time the Municipality changes its rates.
For your Municipality, you search by name or cadastral code, select the rates from the local resolution, and the system applies them automatically to every booking. Calculation per person per night, with automatic management of the maximum night limit, child exemption by age and separation for nights on different rates.
Visible to the guest before payment
The tourist tax is shown to the guest in the final booking summary, before payment. This is a European obligation (all-inclusive price), but it's also good practice: guests who discover it only at check-in are unhappy guests. With Hotely, the amount is transparent from the start.
Separate from the Hotely commission
The collected tourist tax is not revenue for the facility — it is a tax that the facility collects on behalf of the Municipality. Hotely excludes it from the 1.5% commission calculation base. You pay commission only on actual revenue, not on the tax.
Pre-filled F24 and files for municipal portals
When you need to pay, you don't need to calculate anything: Hotely generates the F24 form already completed with the correct tax code and your Municipality's cadastral code, in PDF format and in data format for online banking.
For Municipalities that use their own portals (Roma Capitale, Milan, Florence, Venice, Naples, Turin, Bologna), Hotely generates the file in the specific format required by the portal — not a generic CSV, but the exact file the portal accepts without modification.
SOG00 file for the annual MEF declaration
Hotely generates the SOG00 file in the official MEF format, ready to be uploaded to the Revenue Agency by 30 June. Data is aggregated from the year's declaration archive — you don't need to reconstruct anything.
Frequently asked questions
My Municipality doesn't have a tourist tax — do I need to do anything? No. If the Municipality where the facility is located has not resolved to introduce the tax, there is nothing to apply or pay.
Who decides the tax amount? The Municipality, with a resolution of the Municipal Council, within the maximums set by national law. Rates vary from Municipality to Municipality and may change from year to year — always check the updated resolution.
Can a guest refuse to pay the tourist tax? No. It is a legal obligation for those who stay overnight. The facility is required to collect it and pay it to the Municipality. If a guest refuses, it remains the facility's responsibility to pay the correct amount.
What happens if I calculate it incorrectly? The facility is responsible for correct payment. If you collect less than required, you still pay the correct amount to the Municipality. If you collect more, you must refund the excess to the guest. Systematic errors can lead to disputes from the Municipality during verification.
Can I exclude the tourist tax from the price shown on the booking? No. Since the entry into force of the European regulations on all-inclusive pricing, the total shown to the consumer must include all taxes known at the time of booking — including the tourist tax.
Complete technical documentation is available in the Hotely tourist tax guide.
To activate automatic tourist tax management for your facility, access the dashboard or contact us for a demo — configuration for most Municipalities takes less than ten minutes.
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