Must I pay French tourist tax if I stay in a region away from my home?

Reader Question: We have a second home in France, which we visit for six months of the year. Next time we go to France we want to visit other parts of the country as well. Will we have to pay the tourist tax, even if we have a visa?

France, along with a number of other countries, has implemented a ‘tourist tax’ (taxe de séjour), to help fight over-tourism and improve local services.

The rates of this tax are fixed by the municipal council and/or an intercommunal body (group of communes) and it comes in two forms – either flat rate, or ‘real time’. The authorities have to vote to levy it for it to apply, but most do so where tourism plays any significant role in the local economy.

As a guest, the tax is part of your bill, but it is passed on by the establishment to the local authority.

The flat-rate version means the hotel pays regular amounts worked out according to its comfort category, number of rooms and nights of opening. It then factors this expense pro rata into clients’ bills, which should be marked ‘taxe de séjour forfaitaire comprise’.

In the more common real-time version the taxe de séjour is added to each bill based on how many people are staying and for how many nights. It should be itemised.

The tax is levied by any establishment which offers accommodation to people overnight, including: hotels, hostels, gîtes, holiday lets including Airbnbs, chambres d’hôtes, campsites, pleasure ports and campsites.

However, the rates councils can charge are subject to certain limits and the amount is usually small. In more modest hotels it is often no more than around €1 per person, per night.

In places such as campsites, it can be as low as €0.25 per night.

There is typically a limit of around €5 per person per night for the most luxurious hotels.

However, in Paris and the wider Ile-de-France where the tax is collected not only by the city but by bodies for the region and the ‘Greater Paris’ area, MPs have voted to allow an additional 200% levy in 2024.

This means the most luxurious Paris hotels now charge €14.95 per person per night. This is still a small sum compared to the price of a room which could be thousands of euros per night.

Despite this the measure gave rise to anger in the hotel industry with some saying it would harm the city’s ability to compete with other capitals.

Rates differ around France and you can find the exact rates using this online tool.

Who pays the tourist tax?

The tax is not linked to a person’s nationality or residency status but to the location of their home.

If you can prove you live in the same commune (department does not count), you will be exempt, even if you have multiple residences in France.

A few other limited categories of people are exempt, such as certain council employees and beneficiaries of emergency accommodation or temporary rehousing. However the main exemption is for those under 18.

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