Tourist tax in Germany: what short-term rental hosts need to know

How tourist tax works in Germany

Germany has no national tourist tax law. Every municipality that charges one does so under its own local ordinance, at its own rate, with its own exemptions and remittance schedule. The result is that whether you owe tourist tax, how much, and what it is called depends entirely on where your property is located.

The tax goes by different names in different cities. Hamburg calls it the Kultur- und Tourismusabgabe. Berlin and Cologne charge an Übernachtungssteuer. Resort and spa towns, officially designated Kurort municipalities, typically use the term Kurtaxe. Frankfurt charges a Tourismusbeitrag. In other cities it appears as a Beherbergungsabgabe, a Citytax, or a Tourismusabgabe. These are all the same type of obligation: a per-night levy on overnight guests that the host is responsible for collecting and remitting.

The first thing to establish for any property is whether your specific municipality charges tourist tax at all, and if so, under what name and at what rate.

Which cities charge it and which do not

Tourist tax is widespread across German cities and towns but not universal. Berlin charges 7.5% of the accommodation price. Cologne charges 5% of the gross nightly price. Hamburg applies a tiered rate based on the net nightly price per person, ranging from under a euro to several euros depending on the price bracket. Frankfurt charges a flat Tourismusbeitrag of 2.00 euros per non-resident guest per night.

Munich does not currently charge tourist tax, though some hotels there levy a voluntary city tax. Nuremberg has no mandatory tourist tax either.

Resort and spa towns designated as Kurort municipalities have charged tourist tax for decades, typically at flat rates between 1.50 and 4.00 euros per person per night. These include well-known destinations such as Sylt, Rügen, Usedom, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Baden-Baden, and Badenweiler.

Do not assume a city has no tourist tax based on what you have heard. Rates change, and new schemes are introduced. The Trippz Germany tourist tax guide covers verified rates for German cities and towns.

Who is responsible for collecting it

The host is responsible for collecting tourist tax from guests and remitting it to the local authority. The guest pays the tax. You pass it on.

Airbnb collects tourist tax on behalf of hosts in some German municipalities through direct agreements with local authorities. Where this applies, Airbnb adds the tax to the guest's booking total and remits it directly. Check your Airbnb host tax settings to confirm whether your city is covered. For bookings through Booking.com, Vrbo, or your own direct channel, you collect the tax yourself in all cases.

How exemptions work

Most tourist tax schemes in Germany include exemptions. Children under a set age are exempt in most municipalities, though the age threshold varies. Some cities exempt business travel guests, others have removed that exemption. Hamburg has no exemptions, including for children or minors. Stays beyond a certain length are sometimes exempt.

The exemption rules are set at the municipal level. What applies in one city does not necessarily apply in the next. Applying exemptions incorrectly creates a liability in both directions.

Remittance

You remit the collected tourist tax to the local authority on the schedule they set, typically monthly or quarterly, along with a declaration showing the amounts collected and any exemptions applied. Some municipalities require you to register as a collector before you can remit. The registration process is generally a one-time notification.

Guest registration

Separately from tourist tax, every host in Germany must manage guest registration. Since 1 January 2025, German nationals are exempt from the Meldeschein registration requirement under the amended Bundesmeldegesetz. Foreign guests must still complete a hand-signed Meldeschein at check-in, presenting a valid passport or passport substitute. You retain completed forms for 12 months and destroy them within a further 3 months.

For a full breakdown of the 2025 reform and what it means for your check-in process, see Guest registration in Germany: what changed in 2025.

Note that in municipalities that charge tourist tax, local levy rules may require collecting guest data from all guests, including German nationals, for the purpose of calculating the tax. The Meldeschein exemption and the levy data requirement are governed by different laws and sit alongside each other.

How Trippz handles German tourist tax

Trippz holds the rates and rules for tourist-tax-charging municipalities across Germany, under whichever local name the tax operates. When you connect a property, Trippz identifies whether tourist tax applies to that address, applies the correct rate and calculation method, handles exemptions automatically based on the guest and booking data, and collects the tax from guests before check-in.

At remittance time, Trippz pays the collected tax out to you with a clear breakdown by property and period, ready for forwarding to the local authority.

Guest registration for foreign guests is managed through the pre-arrival data collection flow, so Meldeschein information is gathered before check-in rather than at the door.

Manage tourist tax and guest registration for your German properties