Lisbon Tourist Tax: €4 a Night, Who Pays and Who Is Exempt
Every hotel, hostel and short-term rental in Lisbon adds the city tax to the bill. The amount, the exemptions that cover children, patients and new students, and what hosts must do with the money.
Lisbon’s municipal tourist tax (Taxa Municipal Turística) is €4 per guest per night, charged for a maximum of 7 nights per stay, so no guest pays more than €28 for one stay. Guests under 13 are exempt. Hotels, hostels and short-term rentals (alojamento local) collect it and pass it to Lisbon City Council (Câmara Municipal de Lisboa).
The rules below come from Lisbon’s General Regulation of Fees (Regulamento Geral de Taxas, Preços e Outras Receitas) as amended by Aviso 18684/2024/2, published in the Diário da República on 26 August 2024. They are current as of November 2026. Some older pages on the city’s own service portal still show the previous €2 rate.
How much is the tourist tax in Lisbon?
The overnight tax (taxa turística de dormida) is €4 per person per night. It applies to every guest aged 13 or older, whatever their nationality, place of residence, reason for the trip or booking channel. A Lisbon resident who books a hotel in the city pays it too.
| Stay | Tax per adult | Family of 2 adults + child aged 10 |
|---|---|---|
| 2 nights | €8 | €16 |
| 5 nights | €20 | €40 |
| 7 nights | €28 | €56 |
| 14 nights | €28 (capped) | €56 (capped) |
The rate doubled from €2 when the 2024 amendment took effect. In its economic justification the council calculated a cost-based value of €4.47 per night and chose €4 to keep the city competitive.
Where is the tax charged?
The tax is due for nights in any tourist accommodation inside the municipality of Lisbon. The regulation lists:
- hotels, pousadas and aparthotels;
- tourist apartments and turismo de habitação (manor-house stays);
- local lodging: houses, apartments, guesthouses and hostels;
- hotel boats and maritime-tourism stays.
Neighboring municipalities set their own rules, and several charge their own tourist tax at different rates, so check with the town hall (câmara municipal) of the place where you sleep.
Who is exempt from the Lisbon tourist tax?
Article 71 of the regulation exempts four groups. Each needs proof shown to the host.
| Exempt guest | Proof the host asks for |
|---|---|
| Guests under 13 (including on their 13th birthday) | ID document |
| Patients staying for medical care, for the treatment days plus one night, and one companion | Proof of the medical appointment or treatment, with dates |
| People placed in accommodation by the city council, Social Security (Segurança Social), AIMA or Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, for example after a civil-protection or social emergency | Document from that body |
| New higher-education students and research grant holders at the start of the academic year, for up to 60 consecutive days | Declaration from the university stating the start date of the year |
The student exemption helps people who arrive in September and stay in a hostel while they look for a room. Ask your university’s international office for the declaration before you book. For longer-term options, see our guide to renting an apartment in Lisbon.
How do hotels and short-term rental hosts collect and pay it?
Hosts add the tax to the guest’s bill and pay it to the city through the municipal online platform. The regulation makes them “responsible entities”, and they must:
- Register on the city’s tourist-tax platform within 30 days of starting activity.
- Charge the tax at check-in or check-out and show it on the invoice as a separate line, “Taxa Municipal Turística/City Tax”. A host may not invoice or accept payment for a stay without adding the tax.
- Submit a self-assessment form for each property by the 25th of the following month, even when no tax is due. Hosts exempt from VAT or filing VAT quarterly can choose quarterly returns.
- Transfer the money by the last day of that month, using the ATM (Multibanco) reference the platform issues within two working days.
- Keep proof of medical, emergency and student exemptions for 4 years.
When a booking platform has an agreement with the city, the tax is charged at the time of booking. Hosts keep a 2.5% collection fee. The tax itself is not subject to VAT. The wider rules for hosts are in our guide to local lodging rules in Lisbon.
Do cruise passengers pay a separate fee?
Yes. A sea-arrival fee (taxa de chegada por via marítima) of €2 applies to each passenger who disembarks from a cruise ship in transit at a Lisbon terminal. Passengers under 13 are exempt. It is shown on the port’s single invoice to the cruise line, not paid by passengers at the quay. The council set it 50% below its own calculation, citing the short stay of cruise visitors and the port’s investment in shore power for ships. An older airport arrival fee was repealed in 2018.
What does Lisbon spend the money on?
The regulation ties the tax to costs that tourism creates for the city. The justification groups them in two parts: spending aimed at tourism (promotion, signage, cultural programming and large events) and extra public services needed beyond what residents alone would require, such as policing and civil protection in busy areas, transport and roads, cleaning and green spaces. How much goes to each project is decided in the council’s budget each year, which is published on lisboa.pt.
Bottom line
A guest pays at most €28 per stay in Lisbon, and the check-in desk should never charge it to a child under 13. If you host friends or family who book a hostel when they visit, or you are a student arriving for the first semester, ask for the exemption up front with the right document, because the host cannot refund it later without proof.
FAQ
Do I pay the tourist tax if I live in Lisbon?
Yes, if you stay in a hotel, hostel or short-term rental in the city. The regulation charges every guest regardless of residence; only the four exemptions above apply.
Is the tourist tax included in the price on booking sites?
Sometimes. Platforms with an agreement with the city charge it at booking; otherwise the host collects it on arrival or departure and lists it separately on the invoice.
Does a long-term rental pay the tax?
No. A residential lease is not tourist accommodation. The tax applies to hotels, local lodging and similar stays, capped at 7 nights each.
What happens if a guest refuses to pay?
The host is not jointly liable for the tax. If a guest leaves without paying for the stay, the host does not have to hand the tax over, but must keep proof of a police complaint or insolvency.
