The visitor tax (Kurtaxe, also guest tax or city tax) is a municipal charge paid by overnight guests — with the accommodation provider acting as collection agent: it must levy the charge, document it and remit it to the municipality. Alongside it, many places levy a tourism levy that hits the BUSINESS itself. Both are pure local law: amounts, exemptions and reporting routes sit in the local bylaw — and collection errors fall on the business.
Enter your figures — collection volume and the risk of missed levying appear instantly.
The municipality reconciles against the registration forms — every registered but unbilled night gets reassessed. A missed levy can practically never be collected from the guest afterwards: the gap comes out of the business's pocket.
| Charge | Who pays | Typical |
|---|---|---|
| Visitor tax (Kurtaxe) | The guest (business collects) | €0.50–5 p.p./night in spa and tourist towns; funds spa gardens, beaches, guest cards |
| Tourism levy | The business (all businesses benefiting from tourism) | Assessed on turnover/benefit rate — an operating expense, not chargeable to guests as a line item |
| City tax / accommodation tax | The guest (business remits) | Large cities: usually % of the room price (e.g. 5%); business travellers exempt depending on the bylaw |
Yes — the business is liable to the municipality as collection agent. On refusal: document it and inform the municipality; the guest's duty remains, but without your record the claim sticks with you.
As a pass-through item (collected in the municipality's name, shown separately) generally not part of your consideration. Clean separation on the invoice and in the POS is the precondition — fix the details with your tax advisor.
Yes — the bylaws generally cover every paid accommodation, often long-term campers and sometimes second-home owners. Rental portals partly collect city tax automatically — check what the portal remits and what remains with the host.
Reconciliation of registration forms against billed nights, spot checks on exemptions. Whoever levies cleanly in the PMS and retains the records (exemption proofs!) has nothing to fear — gaps get reassessed, systematic ones expensively.