What this solves
Hotels quote "tax included" or "tax not included," but the tax itself varies by city and accommodation. Amsterdam is €3/night for hotels and €1.50/night for cruise passengers (different rate, different base). Rotterdam charges €2.20, Utrecht €3.20, Den Haag a sliding scale based on hotel star rating. Most cities waive the tax after 7 nights; some don't.
- City-by-city 2026 reference rates for 7 major destinations, with accommodation-type modifiers (hotel, hostel, B&B, vacation rental, cruise ship).
- Season variation is real but small. Some cities quietly raise rates by 5–10% in summer and around King's Day. The calculator exposes the variation.
- The 7-night cap applies in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Den Haag, and Eindhoven. Maastricht and Groningen do not cap.
The trip tax calculator
Set the city, nights, accommodation type, and number of guests. Add a second row if you're splitting the trip between cities.
How to read results
Pre-cap subtotal is what you'd owe if no city applied a cap. Cap savings is the discount from cities that stop charging after night 7 (per consecutive stay in that city). The effective total is what you actually pay. Hotels almost always collect this at checkout — confirm with the front desk if the booking channel showed "taxes included."
Rates are per guest, not per room. Two adults in one hotel room pay 2× the per-person rate. Children under a certain age are exempt in some cities (Amsterdam: under 4 exempt; Rotterdam: under 4; Utrecht: under 2) — this calculator does not model age exemptions; add them mentally.
Cruise rates are lower than hotel rates by design — cruise lines pay a discounted flat rate per passenger because the city wants the boats to keep coming. If you arrive by cruise ship and stay overnight in a hotel afterward, you pay the hotel rate for the hotel night.
Limitations
- Municipalities change rates yearly. Most publish in November for the next calendar year. The rates here are 2026 — for travel in 2027, expect 2–10% increases.
- Vacation-rental platforms collect tax differently. Airbnb and Booking.com sometimes include toeristenbelasting in the nightly rate, sometimes bill it as a separate line. The calculator assumes the standard rate; if your booking shows 0% city tax, double-check.
- Den Haag uses a star-rating system — actual rates differ slightly from 1★ to 5★ hotels. The calculator uses a midpoint.
- King's Day surcharge is rare but real. Amsterdam has applied an additional €1 surcharge during King's Day week in some years. Most cities don't, and the calculator doesn't model it.
FAQ
Why is Amsterdam's tourist tax so much higher than other cities?
Amsterdam uses tourist tax partly as a tourism-management lever. The €3 rate is one of the highest in Europe and is raised regularly. Smaller cities keep rates low because they want visitors — Den Haag's €2.95 and Eindhoven's €2.00 reflect that.
Is the 7-night cap per city or per trip?
Per city, and per consecutive stay. If you check out of your Amsterdam hotel after 5 nights and check back in 2 weeks later, the cap resets — you pay 5 more nights of tax. Some cities also distinguish "interrupted" stays; ask the hotel.
Do I have to pay tourist tax if I stay with friends?
No. The tax applies to paid accommodations only. Hosts are not required to register or charge tax on informal stays, though some cities (Amsterdam, in particular) require short-term rentals to register through platforms.
What about the cruise-passenger rate in Amsterdam?
€1.50/night per cruise passenger, applied to anyone sleeping on a ship in Amsterdam port. If you stay a hotel night afterward or before, that night is taxed at €3. The rates don't mix — the ship night is the ship rate, the hotel night is the hotel rate.
Sources
- Gemeente Amsterdam — Toeristenbelasting verordening 2026 (amsterdam.nl)
- Gemeente Rotterdam — Verordening toeristenbelasting 2026 (rotterdam.nl)
- Gemeente Utrecht, Den Haag, Eindhoven, Maastricht, Groningen — respective verordeningen 2026
- VVK (Vakantie Verkeer Nederland) summary of municipal toeristenbelasting 2026
Related tools
Tourist tax is on stays; VAT refunds are on shopping. Both nibble at the same trip budget.
Buffer the tax in EUR before you arrive.
If you prefer to keep city tax in cash for the hotel desk.
Most hotels take cards; know the surcharge landscape.