Tourist tax for short-term rentals in France: who collects, who files

Tourist tax is paid per person and per night, in the towns that have introduced it. The guest owes it. Yet someone has to make them pay it before they leave, pay it over to the town and declare the stays. Who? It all depends on the route the money for the stay has taken.

Who collects, depending on where the money goes

The French local authorities code (code général des collectivités territoriales) gives the job of collecting to hosts, owners and intermediaries who receive the rent (article L2333-33). Since 2019, it has also required platforms that take payment on behalf of non-professional hosts to collect it. The French government’s guide to tourist taxes, in its June 2026 edition, sums up the cases as follows:

Your situation	Who collects
You rent directly, with no platform: your website, a bank transfer, a regular guest	You
Non-professional host, stay paid on a platform that takes payment for them	The platform, by law
Professional host, stay paid on a platform that takes payment for them	You, or the platform if you have mandated it
Platform that doesn’t take payment, just puts people in touch	You, or the platform if you have mandated it

“Professional” here has the meaning of article 155 of the French tax code: more than €23,000 of rental income a year for the tax household, and more than its other earned income. Both conditions must be met. Ask each owner, since the answer changes who collects.

On Airbnb, the matter is settled in towns that apply the tax “au réel” (based on actual stays): the platform has collected the tax on bookings made through it since 1 July 2018, additional taxes included, and pays it over. Its help centre says that the host, professional or not, has nothing more to do: no collecting, no paying, no filing. They just need to choose the right type of accommodation in their settings, since that determines the rate applied.

Some local authorities still ask for a declaration of these stays, though. Versailles Grand Parc, for example, asks hosts for a declaration “via a third-party collector” when a platform collects for them, and a €0 declaration for months with no guests. Your town’s rule is what counts: read its council decision or its host guide, often published on its filing portal.

The property manager who takes payment becomes the collector

A direct booking paid into the property manager’s account, a bank transfer from a client who returns every year, an employee’s stay paid by their company: in all these cases, the property manager is the intermediary receiving the rent. So it is up to them to make the guest pay the tax before leaving, even if the rent is paid later. They then pay it over to the town’s public accountant, on the dates the town has set, with the statement of stays.

The amount due is the rate in force on the date of the stay, not on the date of the booking. A stay booked in June for the following January is calculated at the January rate. If the town has changed its rates in the meantime, tax already collected is recalculated.

Platforms pay it over twice a year, by 30 June and 31 December at the latest. They may neither charge for this service nor keep any part of the tax.

The calculation for an unclassified furnished rental

A classified furnished rental, from one to five stars, pays a fixed rate per person per night, voted by the town. An unclassified furnished rental pays a percentage: between 1% and 5% of the cost of the night per person, excluding tax, capped at the highest rate the town has voted. The cost per person is calculated by dividing the price of the night by all the occupants, children included. Only the adults then pay.

Here is the example given in the government guide:

1. A couple and their two children rent an unclassified furnished property for €150 a night. The town has voted 5%, and its highest rate is €4.
2. Cost of the night per person: €150 divided by 4 occupants, i.e. €37.50.
3. Tax per person per night: 5% of €37.50, i.e. €1.88, below the €4 cap.
4. The children are exempt: the family pays €3.76 per night, i.e. €11.28 for a three-night stay.

On top of this come the additional taxes, calculated on the town’s share. The département can vote 10%: €0.19 more per adult in the example. The Île-de-France region has two, of 15% and 200%, and a regional tax of 34% applies in certain départements of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, the South-West and Occitanie. In Île-de-France, the same night therefore costs €5.92 per adult: €1.88 for the town, €0.28 and €3.76 for the two regional taxes, not counting the département tax if there is one.

The rate voted by your town can be found on the French public finances directorate’s tourist tax website, which lists each local authority’s decisions. Note it down with its date: rates can change every year.

What the return contains

When you collect, you pay the tax over with a statement detailing each stay. For each collection and each property, it shows:

• the date of collection and the start date of the stay;
• the property’s address and, if it has one, its registration number;
• the number of people and the number of nights;
• for an unclassified property, the price of each night;
• the amount collected and, where applicable, the reason for exemption.

Each additional tax must appear separately, next to the town’s share: the local authorities then pass each amount on to its beneficiary. The town sets the payment dates and how to file; many offer an online portal.

A month in property management, in practice

Take an ordinary month: forty stays. Thirty-two were booked and paid on a platform that collects for the owner. Five were booked directly and paid into your account. Three come from a platform that doesn’t collect for that particular owner.

The first thirty-two require nothing from you, unless your town wants a declaration “via a third-party collector”. The other eight are yours: the tax must have been paid by the guest before leaving, then it goes to the town, on the set date, with the statement of those eight stays.

Two habits prevent most mistakes. In the price of a direct stay, put the tax on a separate line: the guest sees what they’re paying, and you don’t confuse it with your income. And never count it in the owner’s income, or in the basis for your commission: it belongs to the town, it only passes through your accounts.

Frequently asked questions

Airbnb collects the tax: do I still have to declare it?

For towns that apply the tax based on actual stays, Airbnb’s help centre says no. Some local authorities still ask for a declaration of these stays “via a third-party collector”: follow your town’s rule, written in its council decision or its host guide.

Does a 17-year-old pay tourist tax?

No, minors are exempt. They do, however, count among the occupants when calculating the cost of the night per person in an unclassified property.

The rate changed after the booking: which one applies?

The one in force on the date of the stay. Tax collected at the time of booking is recalculated if the town has changed its rate in the meantime.

Sources

1. French local authorities code, articles L2333-26 to L2333-47, Légifrance (in French).
2. Practical guide “Les taxes de séjour”, June 2026 edition, sheets 6, 8 and 9, Directorate-General for Local Authorities (in French).
3. Tourist tax: new rules, rate scales and additional taxes, collectivites-locales.gouv.fr (in French).
4. Council decisions on tourist taxes, French public finances directorate (in French).
5. Collection and remittance of tourist tax in France, Airbnb help centre.
6. 2024 tourist tax guide, Versailles Grand Parc (in French).

Rules reviewed on 23 October 2026. Each town votes its rates and sets its dates: before filing, check your town’s council decision.

The OmniStay team