On a €40,000 serviced week in Greece the government takes €5,200 in VAT, in France or Italy €4,000, in Portugal €2,400, and on a plain unserviced let in much of Europe nothing at all. The accommodation VAT rate, and whether your villa even triggers it, decides a five-figure line on the invoice. The 2026 rates, country by country, with the tourist taxes that land on top.
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The number that matters first: the spread runs from zero to 20 percent, and the rate alone is only half the story. Across most of Europe a bare furnished rental is exempt, while a serviced villa with a chef, daily cleaning, and a staffed reception crosses into the taxable band. So the same house can carry VAT or not, depending on how it is let. Confirm the model before the rate.
Outside Europe the word changes but the effect does not. The United States levies a transient occupancy tax of roughly 10 to 15 percent, and Caribbean islands charge accommodation taxes plus per-person tourism levies. The figures below are the 2026 rates from each jurisdiction's tax authority, with the recurring traps named underneath.
2026 accommodation VAT rates on serviced or professional villa lets, with the tourist or occupancy tax charged separately. The apex column is the effective government take on a €40,000 serviced week, the worst case for that market.
| Country | Accommodation VAT | Tourist / occupancy tax on top | Take on a €40k serviced week (apex) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal (mainland) | 6% | Municipal tax, €1 to €4 / night | about €2,420 |
| France | 10% (serviced; exempt if plain) | Taxe de séjour, varies by commune | about €4,030 |
| Italy | 10% (serviced; private lets via 21% income flat tax) | Imposta di soggiorno, varies by comune | about €4,030 |
| Spain (mainland) | 10% (serviced; exempt if plain) | Regional tax where it applies (e.g. Balearics) | about €4,000 |
| Greece | 13% (professional lets) | Climate fee €15 / night, Apr–Oct | about €5,305 |
| Croatia | 13% (vs 25% standard) | Sojourn tax, per person per night | about €5,300 |
| Switzerland | 3.8% special lodging rate | Kurtaxe (visitor's tax), per night | about €1,520 |
| UK | 20%, only above the £90k threshold | No national bed tax in England | about €8,000 |
| United States | No VAT; transient occupancy tax | County TOT, often 10 to 15% | about €4,000 to €6,000 |
| Caribbean (BVI, Bahamas) | 10% accommodation tax | Per-person tourism levy | about €4,000 plus levy |
Rates from each jurisdiction's 2026 tax authority: service-public.fr and impots.gouv.fr (France), AADE (Greece), Agencia Tributaria (Spain), HMRC and gov.uk (UK), the Federal Tax Administration (Switzerland), and the Croatian Tax Administration. The apex figure assumes the let is serviced and fully taxable. A plain unserviced let in France, Italy, or Spain can be exempt.
The country table looks like ten different systems, but three patterns run through all of them. Learn the patterns and you can predict the tax on a market this guide does not list.
The core European rule. A villa let as a plain furnished property, keys and nothing more, is usually VAT-exempt. Add three or more hotel-style services, breakfast, regular cleaning, linen changes, a staffed reception, and it becomes parahôtellerie in France, a serviced let in Spain, a hotel-equivalent in Italy, and the accommodation VAT applies. A fully staffed estate almost always crosses the line.
Several countries only charge VAT once the operator is a business. Greece treats anyone letting three or more properties as professional, so agency stock carries 13 percent while a single owner may not. The UK charges 20 percent only above £90,000 of turnover, so a small owner is below it. Italy dropped its registration threshold to two properties from January 2026. The same villa can be taxed or not depending on who lets it.
VAT is not the only government charge. Most destinations add a tourist or occupancy tax on top: France's taxe de séjour, Italy's imposta di soggiorno, Greece's climate crisis resilience fee at €15 a night, Croatia's sojourn tax, and the United States' county occupancy taxes. They are small against the rate but real at checkout, and some are charged per person rather than per villa, so a large group pays more.
Two changes worth knowing. Spain has legislated VAT on all short-term tourist rentals from July 2028, services or not, which will end the exemption for bare lets there. Italy's lower registration threshold from 2026 pulls more owners into the VAT net. Across Europe the clear trend is to tax short-term lets more heavily, so the exemptions in this guide are worth less each year.
Each example shows the government take on a real-shaped booking, VAT plus the tourist tax, so you can see what the rate means in cash.
Headline: €40,000 agency-managed week, fully staffed.
VAT at 13 percent = €5,200. Climate fee €15 a night = €105 for the week.
Government take: €5,305, about 13 percent on top of the rate. The highest among the European markets here.
Headline: €40,000 week with chef and daily housekeeping.
VAT at 6 percent = €2,400. Municipal tourist tax €2 a night per adult, eight adults = €112.
Government take: €2,512, under 7 percent. The lowest serviced-let load in this guide.
Headline: €40,000 week, keys only, no staff or services.
No VAT, because a bare furnished rental is exempt. Only the taxe de séjour applies, a few hundred euros at most.
Government take: a few hundred euros, near zero as a share. The same house, fully serviced, would add €4,000 in VAT.
Three things to settle before you sign, in order of how much money they move.
Ask whether the quote is gross or net. The single most expensive ambiguity in villa booking. A net quote that adds 13 percent VAT later is a €5,200 surprise on a €40,000 week. Get it in writing that the figure includes all taxes, or that it does not and by how much.
Understand what triggers the VAT. If you do not need a fully staffed house, a self-catered villa with an independent chef booked for a few dinners can stay on the exempt side of the line in France, Italy, and Spain. The staffing decision is also a tax decision.
Budget the tourist tax per head. On a large group, a per-person nightly tax adds up. Twelve adults for a week at €4 a night is over €330, separate from VAT. It will not change your decision, but it should not surprise you at checkout either.
It depends on the country and on whether the let includes hotel-style services. In most of Europe a plain furnished rental is VAT-exempt, but a serviced villa with a chef, cleaning, and reception is taxed at the local accommodation VAT rate, which ranges from 6 percent in Portugal to 20 percent in the UK.
Among the markets we cover, the UK at 20 percent, though it only applies once the operator passes the £90,000 registration threshold. Greece is 13 percent, Croatia 13 percent, France, Italy, and Spain 10 percent on serviced lets, and Portugal the lowest at 6 percent on the mainland.
Either, depending on the quote. A consumer-facing platform usually shows a VAT-inclusive figure. A management company quoting net to a broker may add VAT separately, so always confirm whether a number is gross or net before you sign, because 10 to 20 percent is a large surprise.
Not VAT, but occupancy and accommodation taxes that work the same way at checkout. US counties levy a transient occupancy tax, often 10 to 15 percent. Caribbean islands charge accommodation taxes such as 10 percent in the BVI and the Bahamas, plus per-person tourism levies.
Most European systems exempt a bare furnished rental from VAT but tax a let that adds three or more hotel-style services, such as breakfast, regular cleaning, linen changes, and a staffed reception. The moment a villa is fully staffed it usually crosses into the taxable band.
Yes, toward more tax. Spain has legislated VAT on all short-term tourist rentals from July 2028 regardless of services, and Italy lowered the threshold at which a host must register for VAT to two properties from January 2026. The direction across Europe is to bring short-term lets into the VAT net.
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