Is there a tourist tax in Spain? The Catalonia and Balearics model, the Andalusia debate and what property owners need to know (2026)

Spain does not levy a national tourist tax. Two autonomous communities, Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, charge their own per-night levies on tourist stays, and a handful of city councils add municipal surcharges. Andalusia, where the Costa del Sol sits, has none, though a public debate is building. For a property owner or short-let host on the Costa del Sol the practical answer is simple in 2026: there is no per-night visitor tax to collect or remit, but the Catalonia and Balearics models are the templates any future Andalusian levy would draw from.

What is a tourist tax in Spain?

A tourist tax in Spain is a regional levy, not a national one. It is charged per person per night on overnight stays in regulated tourist accommodation (hotels, apartments, holiday rentals, campsites, and in the Balearics, cruise passengers). The guest pays it as part of their bill; the accommodation provider collects it and remits it to the regional tax authority. Neither the Spanish state nor the Agencia Tributaria runs a tourist tax. Each autonomous community that wants one must pass its own ley creating the impuesto, set its own rates, and manage collection.

Only two communities have done so: Catalonia (the Impuesto sobre las Estancias en Establecimientos Turisticos, or IEET, created by Ley 5/2012) and the Balearic Islands (the Impuesto sobre Estancias Turisticas, or ITS, known colloquially as the ecotasa, created by Ley 2/2016). Every other region, including Andalusia, Valencia, Madrid and the Canary Islands, has either rejected, postponed, or never tabled the idea.

How does the Catalonia tourist tax work?

Catalonia introduced Spain’s first tourist tax in November 2012 under Ley 5/2012 (BOE-A-2012-4730), which created the IEET. The tax applies to all regulated tourist stays across the region, with higher rates in the city of Barcelona. In March 2026 the Catalan parliament passed Ley 2/2026 (BOE-A-2026-6642), which took effect on 1 April 2026 and roughly doubled the previous rates overnight. The law also redirected 25 per cent of the revenue toward housing policy, reflecting the political pressure of Barcelona’s housing shortage.

The rate structure from 1 April 2026 is set by Article 34 of Ley 5/2017 (as amended by Ley 2/2026). The BOE consolidated text publishes the exact tariffs.

Catalonia IEET rates from 1 April 2026

Accommodation type	Barcelona city (EUR/night)	Rest of Catalonia to 31 Mar 2027 (EUR/night)	Rest of Catalonia from 1 Apr 2027 (EUR/night)
5-star hotel, grand luxury, luxury camping	7.00	4.50	6.00
4-star hotel and equivalent	3.40	1.80	2.40
Tourist-use dwelling (vivienda de uso turistico)	4.50	1.75	2.50
Youth hostel	1.00	0.80	1.00
Other camping and establishments	2.00	0.90	1.20
Cruise ship (over 12 hours in port)	4.00	3.00	4.00
Cruise ship (12 hours or fewer)	6.00	4.50	6.00

Barcelona can also add a municipal surcharge (recargo) of up to EUR 8.00 per night per category, set by the city council. Other Catalan municipalities gained the right to add their own surcharge of up to EUR 4.00 from 1 October 2026, provided they sign a collection agreement with the Agencia Tributaria de Cataluna.

The provider (hotel or host) is the tax substitute (sustituto), responsible for itemising the levy separately on each invoice, collecting it from the guest, and filing Model 950 with the Catalan tax authority on a semi-annual basis: 1 to 20 April for October-to-March stays, and 1 to 20 October for April-to-September stays. Travellers under 17 and those on subsidised public-administration programmes are exempt.

How does the Balearic ecotasa work?

The Balearic Islands introduced the ITS (commonly called the ecotasa) under Ley 2/2016 (BOE-A-2016-4175), effective from 1 July 2016. The tax applies on all four inhabited islands: Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera. Unlike Catalonia, the Balearic system has a high and low season, a long-stay discount, and no municipal surcharges.

Balearic ecotasa rates in 2026 (per person per night, net before 10 per cent IVA)

Accommodation type	Peak season 1 May to 31 Oct (EUR)	Off-season 1 Nov to 30 Apr (EUR)
5-star hotel	4.00	1.00
4-star hotel	3.00	0.75
3-star hotel or apartments	2.00	0.50
Budget, hostels, camping	1.00	0.25
Holiday home with ETV licence	2.00	0.50
Agrotourism / rural hotel	2.00	0.50

The guest pays the gross amount, which includes 10 per cent IVA on the tax itself. From the ninth consecutive night in the same establishment the daily rate halves. Children under 16 are fully exempt. Cruise passengers are also liable unless their home port is in the Balearics. Stays longer than two months fall outside the tourist tax regime entirely, as they constitute long-term tenancy under the LAU rather than a tourist stay.

Revenue is ring-fenced into a sustainable tourism fund (Fondo de Turismo Sostenible) for environmental conservation, beach restoration and infrastructure, rather than going into the general regional budget.

Does Andalusia have a tourist tax?

No. As of July 2026, Andalusia has no tourist tax and no draft law has been tabled. The regional government’s position has shifted over time but has not crossed from debate into legislation.

In May 2024, the Junta de Andalucia’s tourism minister Arturo Bernal held a meeting with the Andalusian Federation of Municipalities (Famp) and business leaders. They agreed that introducing a tourist tax was “premature” and instead established a tourism sustainability observatory within Famp to gather data before deciding. Bernal stated that “it seems premature to us to talk now about creating a tourist tax without having data to back it up,” and said the observatory would analyse tax, financial and sustainability policies based on evidence.

In July 2025, the mayors of Malaga, Seville and Granada publicly backed a tourist tax at a forum in Granada. They argued that a levy could fund historic-centre rehabilitation and tourism services, and address tensions between visitors and residents. The mayor of Seville suggested using part of the revenue for neighbourhood renovation as a counter to “tourism phobia.” Despite this municipal support, no bill has been introduced in the Andalusian parliament, no rate has been proposed, and the regional government has not committed to a timeline.

For Costa del Sol property owners and short-let hosts, the practical consequence is that there is no per-night visitor levy to collect, itemise or remit. Hosts must still comply with the VFT registration requirement under the February 2025 Decreto-ley 1/2025 and the 60 per cent community approval rule, but those are licensing regulations, not a tax on stays. See our Costa del Sol short-let rules 2026 guide for the full regulatory framework.

Which other Spanish regions are considering a tourist tax?

Beyond Catalonia and the Balearics, the debate has surfaced in several regions but has not produced legislation:

• Valencia: Some city councils have imposed moratoriums on new tourist licences, but no regional tourist tax has been passed or proposed in the Valencian parliament.
• Basque Country: The Basque parliament approved a tourist tax framework in 2024, but implementation has been gradual and no uniform per-night rate applies across the region as of mid-2026.
• Canary Islands: Academic and political discussion has continued for years, but the archipelago’s fiscal regime (the REF, Regimen Economico Fiscal) and its dependence on tourism have so far prevented a levy.
• Madrid: No regional tourist tax has been proposed.

The pattern is clear: cities with overtourism pressure (Barcelona, Palma, San Sebastian) push hardest, while regions whose economies depend on tourism arrivals are cautious about adding friction at the booking stage.

What would a Costa del Sol tourist tax mean for property owners?

If Andalusia were to follow Catalonia or the Balearics, the most likely model would be a per-person, per-night levy on regulated tourist stays, collected by the host and remitted to the regional tax authority. For a short-let host on the Costa del Sol, that would mean:

1. Collecting the tax from each guest at check-in or adding it to the booking price, then itemising it separately on the invoice.
2. Remitting it on a periodic basis (Catalonia uses semi-annual filing; the Balearics use quarterly).
3. Exempting children (under 16 in the Balearics, under 17 in Catalonia) and long-term tenants.
4. Applying seasonal or category-based rates, as both existing models do.

The compliance burden would be modest compared to the existing VFT licensing and Modelo 210 tax filing obligations, but it would add one more administrative task. Hosts who already use automated check-in or property management software (which can calculate and add the tax automatically) would face minimal friction. See our short-let rental tax compliance guide for the current tax filing framework that any future tourist tax would sit alongside.

How does Spain’s tourist tax compare internationally?

Spain’s regional tourist taxes are modest by European standards. Barcelona’s EUR 7.00 per night for a five-star hotel room (before the optional municipal surcharge) is among the higher city-level levies in Europe, comparable to Amsterdam’s 7.5 per cent room-rate-based charge. The Balearic ecotasa, at EUR 1.00 to EUR 4.00 per person per night, sits in the mid-range alongside Italy’s municipal tourist taxes (typically EUR 1 to EUR 5 per night). France’s local taxe de sejour runs from under EUR 1 to several euros per night depending on the municipality and accommodation grade.

The structural difference is that Spain’s levies are regional, not national, so they vary by community rather than applying uniformly. A property owner in Marbella faces none; one in Palma faces the ecotasa; one in Barcelona faces the IEET plus a possible surcharge.

What should Costa del Sol owners monitor?

The Andalusia tourist tax debate is active but has not produced legislation. Three signals would indicate that a levy is moving closer:

• The Junta’s sustainability observatory publishing a formal recommendation or impact study.
• A draft law (anteproyecto de ley) tabled in the Andalusian parliament.
• A regional budget bill that includes projected tourist tax revenue.

Until one of those happens, the status quo holds: no tourist tax in Andalusia. Property owners should ensure they are compliant with the existing VFT licensing regime and Modelo 210 rental income tax filing, which are the obligations that actually apply today. The tourist licence application process in Andalusia and the rental platform reporting rules under DAC7 are the compliance items that matter now, not a visitor levy that does not yet exist.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and individual circumstances differ. Verify current requirements with an independent lawyer (abogado) or tax advisor (gestor/asesor fiscal) before acting.