Florence city taxes-edited

You probably never met this kind of taxes just because you were not looking; they are fairly universal. In my last trips, I have paid 7 eur per person per day in Milan (that's double the amount of Siena) and 4 eur per person per day in Innsbruck. But in this case we got a fairly comprehensive public transport ticket for the lenght of the stay.

A tourist/city tax is a way to have visitors to a vacation destination contribute to local infrastructure and the preservation of cultural heritage.

In many EU countries, local municipalities or regions are free to decide whether to impose a tourist/city tax and how much it should be.

Rates (which may vary depending on the number of stars, the time of year, and the length of stay) can usually be found on the municipal website ... or you can ask about them here on the forum.

Specifically for Siena

Low-season rates (November 1 through February 28)

• Hotels up to 4 stars / B&Bs / vacation homes / apartments: €1.50 per person per night

• 5-star hotels / historic residences (with room rates > €200): €3.00 per person per night

• Campgrounds / Youth hostels: €1.00 per person per night

High season rates (March 1 through October 31)

• Hotels up to 4 stars / B&Bs / vacation homes / apartments: €3.00 per person per night

• 5-star hotels / historic residences (with room rates > €200): €5.00 per person per night

• Campgrounds / Youth hostels: €1.50 per person per night

Children under 12 are exempt from the tourist tax.

The tax applies to a maximum of 6 nights’ stay in the same month.

I too am a bit surprised about your surprise. In the Netherlands, tourist tax is usually a fixed amount per person per night. Amsterdam is a notorious exception, as they charge a tourist tax of 12,5% of the room rate. In 2027 this percentage will increase to 16%.
I was in Lisbon recently and they too charge a fixed rate per person per night. In their case €4 pppn.

Oops! I put Siena, when actually it is Florence that is per person. Sorry Siena!

Funny, this is our second visit to Florence. However, on our first visit 2 years ago, the B&B owner said he would give us a break if we paid cash. 800 euros for 4 nights, which was a deal compared to now.

However, on our first visit 2 years ago, the B&B owner said he would give us a break if we paid cash. 800 euros for 4 nights,

Black market !

“Oops! I put Siena, when actually it is Florence that is per person. Sorry Siena!”

In Siena the city tax is per person too. The rate depends on the star rating of the hotel and the time of year, but it’s definitely an amount per person per night.

Specifically for Florence

• Campsites, hostels, and 1-star/2-star hotels: €3.50 per person per night

• 3-star hotels, B&Bs, and short-term rentals / holiday apartments: €6.00 per person per night

• 4-star hotels: €7.00 per person per night

• 5-star hotels & luxury residences: €8.00 per person per night

Children under 11 are exempt from the tourist tax.

The tax applies to a maximum of 7 nights’ stay in the same month.

Tammy, I know it is a routine thing in many European countries (maybe all, but I am not that knowledgeable). However I have given up on trying to stay up with how it is charged or how I pay for it.

I feel like most times I pay for it rolled into my total cost - I think I rarely now pay it separately when I arrive, although sometimes I do. Occasionally a hotel asks for it when I arrive and occasionally when I leave. I feel like most times booking will tell you about it and then roll it in to your final price.

I remember my first independent trip in 2012, which started in Italy. We stayed in a b&b in Florence and they showed me how they had to account for it separately via a piece of paper filled out with my info. I knew about the tax before arriving, but it was one of those little views into regular life.

Most recently I had to pay it separately in Bratislava a couple of weeks ago. Upon leaving they asked if they could charge it to the card I had used to prepay with.

Now that it has dawned on you that you are paying it, you’ll notice it, and the language booking uses, more often. lol.

It has existed since 1910 in Italy. It was temporarily abolished in 1989 but reintroduced again in 2010 by the Berlusconi government which however gave discretion to the individual municipalities whether to apply it or not and for how much. Local governments like to squeeze money out of people’s pocket whichever way they can. Non resident visitors don’t vote, so they are easier to pluck.

What's different about Italy is that a good number of lodgings want to be paid the city tax in cash, rather than by credit card. Since the full amount of the city tax has to be passed through to the local municipality, some Italian lodgings aren't willing to eat the credit card fee they're charged on the tax. This reluctance may lead to separate display online of the city tax and the total of all other lodging costs. I think I've seen that on booking.com even when I'm making reservations while in Europe. Frequently the city tax is not paid until arrival at the hotel even if the basic lodging rate and VAT have been charged to the guest's credit card ahead of time.

“ Frequently the city tax is not paid until arrival at the hotel even if the basic lodging rate and VAT have been charged to the guest's credit card ahead of time.”

This is not limited to Italy only. It’s quite common in places where the city tax is calculated on a per person per night basis. The tax is calculated based on the number of people that actually stay in the hotel, and you won’t know that number for sure until they show up at the hotel. In addition to that, registered residents of the city don’t have to pay the city tax when they stay in a hotel in their own city. That’s why it’s much easier to charge the tax upon arrival at the hotel, instead of making a guess and potentially having to give money back.

Tammy: Same thing happened to us last month in Ostuni when the host suddenly wanted a cash payment for our four-day stay. What about the tourist tax we asked when paying. "My gift to you," he said.

I’ve encountered this type of tax in a couple of places in Italy. For wxample, I recall paying this on arrival when I checked into my hotel in Ferrara. I do recall that I knew about this when I made the reservation.

I stayed in 6 places in Italy in September this year.
Two were hotels where I paid the city tax upon checking in.
One was a bed and breakfast where we paid cash on checking out.
The others were apartments .
One had the city tax including in the booking payment, at the other two we paid the hosts in cash on arrival.
A receipt was given from every place.
Florence was the most expensive at E6 pp per night.
Santa Maria degli Angeli was the cheapest, at E3 pp per night.

However, on our first visit 2 years ago, the B&B owner said he would give us a break if we paid cash. 800 euros for 4 nights, which was a deal compared to now.

In that case, then no, you did not pay the city tax, but then, neither did he, or VAT.

“What about the tourist tax we asked when paying. "My gift to you," he said.”

No. The gift was from you to him. By paying cash the transaction is untraceable, so the host will be able to evade all taxes and save 10% VAT tax, the Tourist Tax (which he probably won’t pay either to the City), and also he will save 23% to 43% Income tax (depending on his tax bracket). Hopefully he said “Grazie Mille, Tammy”, where “Mille (=1,000) is the amount of euro in taxes he saved.

An interesting variation on who pays the taxes:

I recently returned from Colombia and the city/local taxes on hotel stays, which I believe is 19%, is only charged to Colombian residents/citizens and not to foreigners. I noticed a similar reduction on the taxes paid on airline tickets to/from Colombia based on your country of residence.