The tourist tax on a holiday rental in France, the taxe de séjour, costs the owner nothing, since the guest pays it, but it does engage the owner’s responsibility: its calculation, collection and payment follow precise rules, which differ depending on whether the furnished property is classified or not. For a villa or a prestige apartment, the gap between the two regimes is real, and additional taxes increase the bill in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, and even more so in Île-de-France. This guide details the calculation, the role of the platforms and the returns, with the examples of Paris, Saint-Tropez and Ramatuelle (general information, up to date as of October 2026, to be checked with a legal or tax professional for your situation).
Tourist tax on a holiday rental: who pays, who sets it, who collects it
The tourist tax is revenue for municipalities and certain groupings of municipalities, intended to fund spending linked to tourist numbers. It is owed by the guest, not by the owner, who acts as collector: the owner adds it to the price of the stay, shows it separately on the invoice, then pays it over to the local authority; it is not subject to VAT (economie.gouv.fr, January 2026). Each local authority decides whether to introduce it, on which types of accommodation, at what rates and over which period of the year. The resolution must be adopted before 1 July to apply the following year (article L2333-30 of the general local authorities code, CGCT), which explains why two comparable villas in two neighbouring municipalities do not generate the same tax. On the peninsula, for example, Saint-Tropez and Ramatuelle do not apply the same cap to unclassified furnished lets, a nuance that a luxury concierge in Saint-Tropez knows from practice. Finally, two regimes coexist. Under the actual regime (au réel), the tax is calculated per person and per night, according to the number of guests actually accommodated. Under the flat-rate regime (au forfait), the host pays it, based on the property’s capacity and the number of nights in the period, with a possible reduction of 10% to 80%, whatever the actual occupancy. The choice between these two regimes belongs to the local authority, not to the landlord, who simply needs to check which one applies to their category of accommodation.
Under the actual regime, several categories of people are exempt: minors under 18, holders of a seasonal employment contract working in the municipality, people in emergency accommodation or temporary rehousing, and occupants of premises whose rent is below a threshold set by the local authority (economie.gouv.fr). For a family house welcoming children, the difference is noticeable, which means knowing the exact make-up of the group before arrival, information that can be gathered in the exchanges beforehand. The actual regime also requires documentary discipline: each stay must be supported by its dates, address, number of people, number of nights and, for unclassified lets, the nightly price, since these are the items collectors declare to the local authority (article L2333-34 CGCT). The host remains responsible for payment, even when a third party collects on their behalf. In the absence of a return, or if it is late, the mayor or the president of the grouping of municipalities may impose an ex officio assessment (taxation d’office) after formal notice, with a reasoned notice sent at least thirty days before recovery, and any late payment incurs interest of 0.20% per month (economie.gouv.fr). In practice, keeping a register of stays, even a simple one, makes periodic returns easier and allows an immediate response to any request from the local authority. It also makes it possible to cross-check the nights declared by the platforms against those actually recorded, which protects the owner as much as the municipality.
Tourist tax on an unclassified furnished let: a capped proportional calculation
For accommodation without a classification or awaiting one, the tax is not a fixed amount but a percentage. The municipality chooses a rate of between 1% and 5%, applied to the cost of the night per person, excluding taxes, up to the highest rate it has adopted for the other categories (article L2333-30 CGCT). In Paris, as in Saint-Tropez, that highest rate is the one for palace hotels. The rule weighs particularly on luxury properties: the higher the nightly price, the sooner the cap is reached, so an exceptional unclassified villa most often pays the municipality’s maximum rate. This tax follows a different logic from short-term rental taxation: it is not a tax on your income, but a sum you collect on behalf of the local authority and do not keep. The national ranges, uprated every 1 January in line with inflation, frame the rates each local authority can vote. The table below shows the 2026 scale published by the Ministry of the Economy, excluding additional taxes, category by category, for the types of accommodation most often relevant to a luxury rental. The exact rate and cap that apply are set out in your municipality’s resolution, usually published on its tourist tax portal.
| Accommodation category | 2026 rate per person per night |
|---|---|
| Palace hotels | From €0.70 to €4.90 |
| 5-star hotels, residences and furnished lets | From €0.70 to €3.60 |
| 4-star furnished lets | From €0.70 to €2.60 |
| 3-star furnished lets | From €0.50 to €1.70 |
| 2-star furnished lets | From €0.30 to €1.00 |
| 1-star furnished lets, guest rooms | From €0.20 to €0.80 |
| Unclassified furnished lets | 1% to 5% of the cost per person excluding tax, capped at the municipality’s highest rate |
The calculation is done in four stages. First, divide the nightly price excluding tax by the total number of occupants, minors included, even though they are exempt. Then apply the municipal rate to this cost per person and compare it with the municipality’s cap, keeping the lower of the two amounts. Add the additional taxes, calculated on this municipal amount. Finally, multiply the result by the number of people liable and by the number of nights. Let us take a fictitious example, intended to illustrate the method: an unclassified villa in Saint-Tropez let at €4,000 excluding tax per night to eight people, including two children. The cost per person comes to €500, and 5% of that amount gives €25, well above the municipal cap of €4.80. It is therefore the cap that applies, raised to €6.91 per adult per night with the departmental and regional taxes. With six adults, the tax reaches €41.46 per night, or €290.22 for a week. In Saint-Tropez, the cap is reached as soon as the cost exceeds €96 excluding tax per person per night, a threshold quickly crossed by a prestige rental. For a property in this category, the final amount therefore depends less on the price than on the number of adults, which is worth explaining to guests comparing quotes.
- Divide the nightly price excluding tax by the total number of occupants, children included.
- Apply the rate voted by the municipality, between 1% and 5%.
- Use the municipal cap if the result exceeds it, then add the additional taxes.
- Multiply by the number of liable adults and by the number of nights.
Tourist tax and classification: fixed rate and additional taxes
For a classified furnished let, the logic changes completely: the tax becomes a fixed rate per category, voted by the local authority within the national range, whatever the nightly price. Furnished tourist accommodation classification, a voluntary process based on a framework of 133 criteria and valid for five years, therefore directly changes what your guests pay. For a luxury house, the effect is often favourable. A five-star classified let cannot be charged more than €3.60 as the municipal share in 2026, whereas an unclassified property of the same standing frequently pays the capped rate, aligned with that of palace hotels. In Saint-Tropez, the 2026 scale thus sets the tax at €5.04 per person per night for a five-star furnished let, additional taxes included, against a cap of €6.91 for an unclassified let. The gap is modest over one night, but it accumulates over a season and with large groups. The fixed rate has another, less obvious advantage: it is known in advance and depends neither on the price nor on its variations, which simplifies presenting the total price to the guest and limits calculation errors when prices change over the season. Classification also has other effects, notably for tax purposes, which involve a separate decision and should be examined with your accountant before starting the process.
On top of the municipal tax come additional taxes, calculated on its amount and collected at the same time. The departmental additional tax, at 10%, applies where the department has introduced it. In Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, a regional tax of 34% funds the new Provence Côte d’Azur rail line, hence the totals seen in Saint-Tropez: a municipal share of €4.80 becomes €6.91. In Ramatuelle, the town hall’s page updated in March 2026 states for unclassified lets a rate of 5% of the nightly price per person, plus the departmental and regional taxes, with the total capped at €6.19. In Île-de-France, the surcharge is on another scale: since 2025, an additional tax of 200% has been levied for Île-de-France Mobilités, plus a regional share of 15% (Ulysse, May 2026). In Paris, the 2026 total therefore reaches €15.93 per person per night for a palace hotel, which is also the cap applied to unclassified lets taxed at 5% (economie.gouv.fr). For an unclassified prestige apartment in Paris, the tourist tax thus becomes a visible line in the total price, best presented clearly to the guest at the time of booking. In every case, it is the amount including all additional taxes that must be collected and then declared.
Airbnb tourist tax: collection by platforms and online returns
The Airbnb tourist tax follows a precise rule. Online booking operators that act as payment intermediaries on behalf of non-professional landlords must collect the tax and pay it over to the local authority, with a return detailing each property (article L2333-34 CGCT). When the guest pays for the stay through a major platform, that platform therefore handles collection. Platforms that are not payment intermediaries may also collect if the landlord authorises them to do so. Since 26 June 2024, those taking part in a national pilot scheme can file a single return for the whole country (economie.gouv.fr). Collection by the platform does not relieve you of vigilance. A written parliamentary question published in the National Assembly in February 2026 (no. 13144) notes late payments and incomplete returns by platforms, with missing registration numbers or addresses. Check that the listing shows the correct registration number, that the declared category (classified or not) matches reality and that the platform’s statements show the tax collected. For direct bookings, or those made through a channel that does not take payment, collection falls entirely to you, or to the concierge if the contract provides for it. In that case, the tax is added to the agreed price, appears on the invoice and is declared on the municipality’s portal, in the same way as the nights collected by the platforms.
Automatic collection by the platform only covers stays paid through it. A direct booking, an extended stay paid on site or a loyal guest welcomed off-platform must be the subject of separate collection and a separate return.
Returns are now made online in most tourist municipalities, on a dedicated portal, at a frequency set locally: monthly, quarterly or annually. In Paris, returns are monthly and payment quarterly, on the municipal portal in service since 1 April 2025 (economie.gouv.fr). In Saint-Tropez, the tax is declared online every month, on a platform in place since 1 January 2024, and the collection period runs from 1 January to 31 December. In Ramatuelle, the thirteen-character registration number has been compulsory since 1 January 2019, for main residences and second homes alike (town hall page, March 2026). The municipal number remains the reference pending the national online registration service, announced for the fourth quarter of 2026 (service-public.fr). Under delegated management, the chosen concierge can take charge of these returns, reconcile platform statements with actual nights and collect the tax on direct bookings, according to its offer and the contract signed with it; conciergerie.luxe introduces you to it but does not perform these services. Whatever the arrangement, keep the statements and returns: they are your evidence in the event of an inspection or an ex officio assessment, and they serve as a basis for checking, year on year, that the amounts collected genuinely track the property’s real activity. They also make it possible to correct a category or number error quickly before it repeats over a whole season.
Frequently asked questions about tourist tax on a holiday rental
Is the tourist tax payable by the owner?
Under the actual regime, no: it is paid by the guest, and the owner simply collects it and pays it over. Under the flat-rate regime, on the other hand, the host pays it based on the property’s capacity, whether or not it is passed on in the price.
Does Airbnb collect the tourist tax automatically?
A platform that takes payment on behalf of a non-professional landlord is required to collect and pay over the tax. Nevertheless, check on your statements that the tax appears and that the declared category is correct.
Do children pay the tourist tax?
No, minors are exempt. For an unclassified furnished let, however, they are counted in the number of occupants used to calculate the cost of the night per person.
Does classification lower the tourist tax?
Often, for a luxury property. A classified let pays a fixed rate per star, whereas a high-priced unclassified let generally reaches the municipality’s cap, often aligned with the rate for palace hotels.
Our guides help owners of high-end properties understand short-term rentals in France: regulations, tax, and choosing and overseeing a concierge company. They are for information only and do not replace advice from a legal or tax professional.