Tourist tax in Portugal — every municipality explained (2026)
The definitive 2026 guide to Portugal's municipal tourist tax for Alojamento Local hosts — who charges it, how much, exemptions, how to collect and declare, plus a full municipality table.
If you run an Alojamento Local in Portugal, the municipal tourist tax (taxa municipal turística) is the piece of bureaucracy hosts underestimate the most. Every câmara sets its own amount, its own exemptions, and its own declaration portal — and if you miss a declaration, the fine usually lands on you, not the guest.
This is the 2026 pillar guide: how the tax works nationally, a full table of the municipalities that charge it, the exemptions you must apply automatically, how to collect it from OTA guests, how to declare and pay, and the mistakes that trigger inspections.
What is the municipal tourist tax?
It's a per-person, per-night fee that some Portuguese municipalities charge on paid overnight stays. It is not VAT, it is not part of your AL rate, and it is not collected by the state — it belongs to the local câmara and funds municipal tourism infrastructure.
Legally it sits under each municipality's own regulamento, authorised by the Lei das Finanças Locais. That is why there is no single national rate: each câmara votes its own.
Who has to charge it
Not every municipality charges one. As of 2026 the tax is active in ~30 of Portugal's 308 municipalities, but that set includes almost every major tourist destination — Lisboa, Porto, Cascais, Sintra, most of the Algarve, all of Madeira (except Porto Moniz), and a growing list of inland towns.
If your property is in a municipality with an active taxa, you are required to collect it from every paying guest who is not exempt, regardless of whether the booking came through Airbnb, Booking.com, or direct.
The 2026 municipality table
Rates below reflect the situation in July 2026. Always confirm on your câmara's website before your next declaration — several municipalities have revised rates in the last 18 months.
Notably absent in 2026: Coimbra, Aveiro, Guimarães, Viana do Castelo, most of the Azores (Ponta Delgada is the exception, at €2/night), and Porto Moniz on Madeira.
Exemptions you must apply automatically
Almost every municipality includes the same core exemptions. Apply them at check-in — do not wait for the guest to ask:
- Children 12 and under — always exempt.
- Residents of the municipality (fiscal address) — always exempt.
- Guests staying for medical treatment and one accompanying person, with proof.
- Guests displaced due to natural disaster or professional/study reasons documented by employer/school.
- Long stays beyond the cap (usually 7 nights, sometimes 3 or 5) — you charge only up to the cap.
The rest of the room-nights that fall outside the exemption are chargeable. A family of four with two kids under 12 staying five nights in Lisboa pays for 2 adults × 5 nights × €4 = €40, not €80.
How to collect from OTA guests
Booking.com now collects the municipal tourist tax on your behalf in most Portuguese municipalities and remits it to you (or directly to the câmara, depending on the market) — you'll see it as a separate line on the reservation. Airbnb, Expedia and Vrbo are rolling out similar collection in select cities, but for now you should assume the tax is not included in their payouts unless the reservation clearly shows it. When it isn't collected by the OTA, you charge the guest at check-in — cash, card terminal, or a Stripe/SumUp payment link.
Always double-check each reservation before check-in: OTA collection rules change frequently, and charging a guest twice is worse than missing it once.
Best practice:
1. Show the tourist tax as a separate line on every booking confirmation.
2. Ask for it at the same moment you take the passport for SIBA.
3. Issue a recibo (receipt) — some câmaras require you to keep them for 5 years.
If a guest refuses to pay, the liability sits with you as the operator. Every câmara audits AL operators, not guests.
How to declare and pay
Each câmara runs its own portal. The three patterns:
- Lisboa & Porto: monthly declaration via the câmara's dedicated portal, payment by SEPA direct debit or Multibanco.
- Madeira (Ecotaxa): monthly declaration to Serviço de Finanças da Região Autónoma da Madeira; 2.5% commission retained by the operator.
- Algarve municipalities: most use a seasonal declaration (April–October), some are moving to monthly.
Deadlines are almost always the 10th of the month following the stay. Miss it and you get a formal notificação with 15 days to declare, or the câmara issues an estimated assessment plus interest.
Fines and inspections
Fines follow the municipal regulamento and typically range from €100 to €5,000 per infraction. What triggers inspection:
- Not appearing in the municipal portal despite an active AL registration.
Chave AL — SIBA, tourist tax and INE compliance for Alojamento Local. Pricing · Guides · Glossary