Tourist tax / accommodation levy
Accommodation levies cover all taxes and dues charged on top of the overnight stay — tourist tax, city tax, accommodation tax, or the Swiss accommodation levy. Definitions are versionable, scoped per subsidiary, and post to accounting on their own.
Overview
Accommodation levies are managed under Settings → Accommodation levies . Multiple levies can run in parallel for the same subsidiary – for example a tourist tax and an additional city tax in the same municipality.
If no active levy is configured for a subsidiary, no related fields appear in the reservation or on the invoice. As soon as a levy is activated, all related elements and invoice blocks are shown automatically.
Creating a levy
When creating or editing an accommodation levy, the following fields are available:
- Name – for example “Tourist tax summer” or “City tax”
- Subsidiaries – multi-select; leaving the field empty makes the levy valid in all subsidiaries
- Valid from / to – date window for rate versioning. When a rate changes at year-end, the previous entry can run until December 31st and the new one start on January 1st – the application picks the correct version per night automatically.
- Calculation mode – see next section
- Adults only – when enabled, the levy applies exclusively to guests from adult categories (typical for the Swiss accommodation levy)
- Active – inactive levies are ignored
Calculation modes
Two calculation modes are available and cover the most common models:
Flat amount per person and night
Classic tourist tax model: each guest category receives a fixed amount per person and night. The rate table (see next section) is only used in this mode.
Example:
Adults 3.00 €, Child 6–16 1.50 €, Child under 6 free.
Percentage of room price per night
The levy is calculated per room and night as a percentage of the overnight price – independent of the person count. This model is common for municipal city taxes.
Example:
6 % net on a room price of 100 € yields 6 € per night.
For the percentage mode an additional choice determines whether the percentage refers to the net or the gross overnight price. Breakfast, miscellaneous items, and the levy itself are never part of the calculation base – only the pure overnight stay including price modifiers.
Rates per guest category
In flat amount per person and night mode, a rate table is maintained below the levy – one row per guest category. Each entry holds:
- Guest category – which category the rate applies to
- Price per night – the amount charged per person and night. 0.00 means exempt; the entry remains and appears in reports.
- Report group – optional label for grouping in official statements (for example “Non-liable persons” or “Children 6–16”). Multiple categories can share the same report group.
In the percentage modes this table is hidden, as it has no function there. The percentage and the calculation base are stored directly in the main form.
Tax rate and revenue account
To make sure accommodation levies post cleanly to the accounting journal, two accounting fields can be set per levy:
- Tax rate – the VAT charged on the levy itself. Frequently 0 % or non-taxable, in some constellations also 7 %. The selection is limited to the tax rates of the active chart of accounts.
- Revenue account – the account in the accounting journal where the levy's revenue is posted. A dedicated account per levy is recommended so tourist tax and city tax appear separately in the DATEV export.
- Amount includes VAT – marks whether the stored rate is already gross or still net
The values are applied automatically to every invoice position arising from this levy. No manual maintenance per booking is required.
Levies in the reservation
As soon as at least one active levy is configured for the subsidiary, the reservation's price area shows a dedicated block with a live preview of all applicable levies per category and night.
Example of the tourist tax preview in the price area of a reservation:
The option Waive accommodation levies can exclude the levy for an individual booking – for example for official business stays with an exemption. The option applies to all levies on that reservation at once.
The levy type and its rates are not maintained inside the reservation but centrally in the Accommodation levies area – this keeps all bookings consistent.
Presentation on the invoice
Accommodation levies appear on the invoice in their own block – separate from accommodation and miscellaneous items. Each levy and each category produces its own position with a transparent description (“Tourist tax – Adults, 3 nights × 2 persons”).
When multiple levies apply simultaneously (such as tourist tax and city tax in the same municipality), they appear as two separate blocks with their own subtotals. The DATEV export posts each levy to its configured revenue account.