Tourist tax in Cataluña: everything you need to know

By iButlers28 September 2025

If you have a holiday rental property or rural accommodation (a traditional farmhouse, rural holiday home or farm stay) in Cataluña, this measure directly affects you. Since 2012, the tax on stays in tourist establishments has been in force, charging each person over 16 years old for every night of their stay.

💡 Collect your tourist tax directly through the check-in form

With iButlers, you can collect tourist tax from the guest in a simple, legal and automated way.

🚀 Available in the next few days

✅ Start automating here

💶 How much is payable?

For holiday rental properties and rural accommodation, the regulations set the following rates per person per night:

Holiday homes / Rural tourism: 1,00 €
Maximum of 7 nights per stay and per person.
People over 16 years old pay; under-16s are exempt.

Practical examples:

Couple in a holiday home in Girona, 3 nights:
1 € x 2 people x 3 nights = 6 € in total.
A group of 4 in a rural farmhouse in Lleida, 10 nights:
1 € x 4 people x 7 nights (max.) = 28 € in total.

💡 In Barcelona city, there is an additional municipal surcharge on top of the regional rate. Since 1/10/2024, it has been 4,00 € per person per night (in addition to Catalonia’s general tourist tax).

🏙️

Barcelona · Tourist property

Couple · 3 nights
(1,00 € regional tax + 4,00 € BCN surcharge) × 2 people × 3 nights = 30,00 €

🌆

Barcelona · Holiday apartment

Group of 4 · 7 nights
(1,00 € regional tax + 4,00 € BCN surcharge) × 4 people × 7 nights (max.) = 140,00 €

⚠️ Please note: possible increases in the tourist surcharge

The Generalitat de Cataluña has approved a decree-law that provides for doubling the tax rates, although its implementation has been postponed until April 2026.

In Barcelona, an increase in the municipal surcharge is being considered, from the current 4 € to 8 € in 2028, with gradual increases (5 € in 2026, 6 € in 2027…).

👉 Remember: this is not yet in force; it is a planned measure that could change.

🙅 Who does not have to pay?

Not all guests have to pay the tax. The regulations provide for several exemptions:

Children under 16 years old.
Stays funded by public authorities' social programmes.
Stays for health reasons and accompanying persons with supporting documentation.
Trips by students under 25 on programmes organised by educational institutions.

👉 Guests must present supporting evidence at the time of the stay in order to qualify for the exemption.

📑 How do you administer it?

As the owner or manager, you must collect the tax from the guest at check-in.

💡 Collect your tourist tax directly through the check-in form with iButlers.

You must then file the tax return with the Agència Tributària de Catalunya (ATC):

Using Form 950 (quarterly self-assessment).
Dates: 20 April, 20 July, 20 October and 20 January of the following year.

iButlers bookings dashboard on mobile and desktop.

💡 iButlers, the best solution

Automate compliance with Royal Decree 933 2021 and the GDPR without complications. We collect only the data required by law, without storing copies of documents.