Tourist tax by municipality in Portugal: how it works

The municipal tourist tax (taxa municipal turística, TMT) is a charge per guest, per night, that some municipalities apply to anyone staying overnight in tourist accommodation, including short-term rentals (Alojamento Local, or AL). It isn't a national tax. Each council decides whether to charge it and sets the rate, the exemptions, the maximum number of nights and the age at which guests start paying.

So the honest answer to "how much is the tourist tax?" is always "it depends on the municipality and on the regulation in force at the time". More than 40 Portuguese municipalities already charge it, and in 2026 rates typically sit between about €0.50 and €4 per night.

As a host, you usually have three jobs: collect the tax from the guest, declare it on the council's platform (self-assessment) and pay it to the municipality by the deadline. Booking and Airbnb may have their own arrangements in some municipalities, so check case by case.

Each municipality writes its own regulation, but almost all follow the same basic structure. Once you know it, you can read any new regulation quickly:

• Per guest, per night: a fixed amount (for example €2) multiplied by the number of guests who have to pay and the number of chargeable nights.
• A cap on nights: almost every council sets one (often 7 nights, sometimes 3 or 5). Nights beyond the cap aren't taxed.
• Age exemptions: children are commonly exempt, but the cut-off age differs (you'll see 12, 13 or 16, depending on the council).
• Other common exemptions: stays for medical treatment (sometimes including a companion), people with a disability above a set degree, and other cases defined in each regulation.
• Seasonal rates: some municipalities, mostly in the Algarve, charge more in high season and less in low season.

Note the qualifiers: "often", "commonly", "some". None of this is universal. The same €2 rate can come with a 7-night cap in one council and a 3-night cap in another, and exempt under-12s in one place and under-16s in the next. That's why this guide gives examples rather than a definitive table.

The figures below come from public and municipal sources and reflect what was known for 2025-2026. They show the order of magnitude and shouldn't be taken as final: regulations change, and each council has the last word on its own tax.

Large cities:

• Lisbon: €4 per night as a reference, usually capped at 7 nights, with under-13s typically exempt. It's charged at check-in or check-out, and the host registers on the council's platform and self-assesses. Cruise passengers pay a separate tax.
• Porto: €3 per night (in force since late 2024), with children and young people up to 12 exempt. Amounts are declared on Porto's municipal tourist tax platform.
• Cascais and Sintra: between €2 and €4 per night, each with its own caps and age limits. Confirm with the council in question.

Algarve (many municipalities charge seasonal rates):

• Faro: around €2 in high season (March-October) and €1 in low season (November-February), with an exemption up to a certain age. Confirm the cap and the age with the council.
• Albufeira, Loulé, Portimão, Lagoa, Olhão: a similar seasonal model, typically €2 in high season and €1 in low season, with exemption ages between 12 and 16 depending on the council.
• Vila Real de Santo António: lower reference figures (around €1, with a reduction for campsites).

Autonomous regions:

• Madeira: several municipalities typically charge €2 per night, with a cap of around 7 nights.
• Azores (São Miguel): councils charge around €2 per night, with shorter caps (3 nights as a reference).

Whatever the municipality, the advice is the same: before you start collecting, read your council's regulation (or contact the council) and confirm the rate, the cap on nights, the exemption ages and the payment deadlines. Neither Turismo de Portugal nor the RNAL (the national register of short-term rentals) sets these amounts. The municipality does.

If your municipality charges the tax, the routine is usually a simple cycle, even though the platform and the deadlines differ from council to council:

• Register: enrol your short-term rental on the municipality's tourist tax platform (in Lisbon, for example, there's a deadline after you start operating).
• Charge the guest: add the correct amount (rate × guests who pay × chargeable nights, up to the cap) and show it clearly at booking or check-in.
• Declare and pay: file the periodic self-assessment on the platform and pay the municipality by the deadline.
• Handle exemptions: apply them correctly (age, medical reasons and so on) and keep proof where required.

One point confuses many hosts: who collects and pays over the tax can depend on the booking channel. Some municipalities have agreements with platforms (Airbnb, for example, collects and pays it directly in some cases), which changes what you have to declare yourself. Check the regulation and the platform's terms, because this is where tax ends up charged twice or never paid over.

When a booking comes through an OTA (an online travel agency such as Booking or Airbnb), the tax depends on the platform's rules and on how it shows the amount to the guest, if it shows it at all. On your own site, you decide: you can show the municipal tax as a separate line in the booking summary, with your council's rule, and even have a booking engine calculate it (nightly rate, cap, age exemption).

Guests see exactly how much tax they pay and why, with no surprises at check-in. You make fewer mistakes and do less manual work: with a booking engine, the site adds the right tax to each direct booking and keeps a tidy record for your self-assessment. Collecting the tax is still your legal responsibility, but a well-run direct channel makes it predictable.