Tourist Tax for Alojamento Local: Who Collects It, How Much, and How to Explain It

published 28 September 2026

Of all the obligations that come with running an Alojamento Local (AL), Portugal's short-term rental regime, the tourist tax is the one that changes most from place to place. There is no national tourist tax: each municipality decides whether to charge one, how much, from what age and for how many nights. An owner with properties in two municipalities can face two entirely different sets of rules. This guide explains the common logic and summarises the rates published by the councils themselves for some of the municipalities with the most short-term rentals.

A Municipal Tax, Not a National One

The municipal tourist tax (taxa municipal turística de dormida) is created by each council's own regulation. That regulation sets the rate, the exemptions, the maximum number of nights and how the money is passed on to the council. So before you open an AL, the first step is to check the website of the council (câmara municipal) where the property sits and search for "taxa municipal turística".

Despite the differences, almost every regulation follows the same pattern:

The tax is charged per guest, per night, not per booking.
There is a cap on nights per stay, after which it stops being charged.
There is a minimum age; children below it do not pay.
The operator of the property charges the guest and pays it over to the council.

Who Collects It and How It Is Paid Over

The guest pays, but the host charges the tax and then declares it and hands it over to the municipality. In practice, that means three tasks:

Register on the council's tourist tax platform. In Lisbon, for example, initial registration must be done within 30 days of starting the activity.
Charge the guest the right amount, taking into account ages, nights and exemptions.
Declare and pay over the amounts on the platform, at the frequency and within the deadlines set in the regulation. In Faro, for example, nights and tax collected must be recorded by the 15th of the month following collection. In Sintra, amounts are due within 10 business days of the payment reference being issued.

If you take bookings through platforms, check whether the platform collects the tax for you in that municipality or whether it is up to you. Either way, the operator remains responsible towards the council.

Rates in Selected Municipalities

The figures below come from the councils' own websites and regulations and were in force when this article was published. Regulations change often; always check the current version before applying it.

Municipality	Rate per night	Night cap	Who pays
Lisbon	€4	7 per person per stay	Aged 13 and over
Porto	€3 (since 1 December 2024)	7 consecutive	Exempt up to and including age 12
Sintra	€2	3 consecutive	Aged 13 and over
Cascais	€4 (fee table in force since 1 January 2025)	7	Under-13s excluded
Faro	€2 March to October; €1 November to February	7 consecutive	Aged 16 and over
Albufeira	€2, due April to October	7 consecutive	Aged 13 and over

A few notes:

Porto: the regulation in force since 1 December 2024 makes clear the tax is per night, not per booking. Payment can be requested at the start, during or at the end of the stay.
Faro: since the 2024 regulation, the tax applies all year round, with a lower rate in the low season.
Albufeira: under Regulation No. 488/2024, the tax is only due from April to October inclusive.
Other municipalities: many councils, particularly on the coast and in the Algarve, have their own tax. If yours is not listed here, look for the regulation on the council's website.

Common Exemptions

Exemptions vary too, but some appear in almost every regulation:

Children below the municipality's minimum age.
Stays for medical treatment, often extended to one or two companions, with supporting documents.
People with a disability rating of 60% or more, in municipalities such as Porto and Faro, also with proof.
Displacement situations or people housed by public bodies.

As a rule, an exemption needs a document. Keep a copy: it is your justification if the council asks about nights declared as exempt.

How to Tell Your Guests

The tourist tax rarely causes trouble when guests know about it before they arrive. It causes friction when it comes as a surprise at check-in. Some good practices:

Mention the tax in your listing and in the booking confirmation, with the amount per person per night and the night cap.
Show the calculation with a concrete example: "2 adults, 4 nights: 2 × 4 × nightly rate".
Explain how and when it is paid: before arrival, at check-in or at the end of the stay, and by what means.
Issue a receipt: some councils, such as Sintra, specify the wording that should appear on the invoice or receipt for the tax. Check your municipality's rules.
Translate the explanation. Many guests know the concept as "tourist tax", "taxe de séjour" or "tasa turística", but do not realise the rate differs between Portuguese municipalities.

Not to Be Confused With Other Obligations

The tourist tax is separate from reporting foreign guests to SIBA and from the complaints book. The council may ask you for overnight-stay figures to check the tax, but that does not replace any of the other obligations.

How ciceroni Helps

ciceroni does not collect or pay over the tourist tax; that remains the host's job. Where it helps is communication. Each stay gets its own digital guide, sent before arrival in Portuguese, English, French and Spanish, where the host can explain their municipality's tax, how much it is and how to pay it. If guests have questions, the AI concierge answers on WhatsApp or in the guide, at any hour, using only what the host wrote, and passes anything it does not know to the host. ciceroni is free during launch.

FAQ

Is the tourist tax the same across Portugal?

No. Each municipality decides whether to charge a tourist tax and sets the rate, minimum age, night cap and exemptions. Always check the website of the council where your property is located.

Who pays the money to the council, the guest or the host?

The host. The operator charges the tax to the guest and then declares and pays the amounts to the municipality, through the council's platform and within the deadlines in the regulation.

Do babies and children pay the tourist tax?

Generally not. All the municipalities covered here exempt children below a minimum age, but that age varies: in Lisbon, Sintra and Albufeira the tax applies from age 13, in Porto children up to and including 12 are exempt, and in Faro it applies from age 16.

Is the tax charged for every night of the stay?

No. There is a cap on nights per stay, which also varies: 7 nights in Lisbon, Porto, Cascais, Faro and Albufeira, and 3 nights in Sintra.

Sources

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