Tourist tax Mallorca in 2026: the ecotasa explained, plus Catalonia, Galicia and the Andalusia debate

The tourist tax Mallorca visitors pay is the Balearic ecotasa, officially the Impuesto sobre Estancias Turisticas (ITS), and it runs EUR 1.00 to EUR 4.00 per person per night in peak season (1 May to 31 October), with a 50 per cent reduction from the ninth night and full exemption for under-16s. Spain has no national tourist tax. Three autonomous communities now charge their own per-night levies: the Balearic Islands (the ecotasa, since July 2016), Catalonia (the IEET, since November 2012) and, since December 2024, Galicia (the IGET, with municipalities collecting surcharges from late 2025). Andalusia, where the Costa del Sol sits, has none, and the new regional government has pledged to block one.

How much is the tourist tax in Mallorca and the Balearics?

The tourist tax Mallorca visitors pay, officially the Balearic Impuesto sobre Estancias Turisticas (ITS, commonly called the ecotasa), is a regional levy of EUR 1.00 to EUR 4.00 per person per night in peak season, depending on accommodation category. The tax was introduced under Ley 2/2016 (BOE-A-2016-4175), effective from 1 July 2016, and applies on all four inhabited islands: Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera. Mallorca, as the island with the highest volume of tourists, generates the largest share of ecotasa revenue. The original 2016 rates ranged from EUR 0.25 to EUR 2.00 per night, but Ley 13/2017 (the 2018 Balearic budget law, BOE-A-2018-929) doubled them from 1 January 2018, producing the tariff that still applies in 2026. A proposed hike announced in March 2025 was postponed for lack of parliamentary support, and rates remain unchanged as of August 2026.

Balearic ecotasa rates in 2026 (per person per night, net before 10 per cent IVA)

Accommodation type	Peak season 1 May to 31 Oct (EUR)	Off-season 1 Nov to 30 Apr (EUR)
5-star hotel, 4-star superior	4.00	1.00
4-star hotel	3.00	0.75
3-star hotel or apartments	2.00	0.50
Holiday home with ETV licence	2.00	0.50
Agrotourism, rural hotel, interior tourism	2.00	0.50
Budget, hostels, camping	1.00	0.25
Cruise ship	2.00	0.50

The guest pays the gross amount, which includes 10 per cent IVA on the tax itself. From the ninth consecutive night in the same establishment the daily rate halves. Children under 16 are fully exempt. Cruise passengers are also liable unless their home port is in the Balearics, and the EUR 2.00 peak / EUR 0.50 off-season rate applies per passenger per port call. Stays longer than two months fall outside the tourist tax regime entirely, as they constitute long-term tenancy under the LAU rather than a tourist stay.

The off-season rate is 25 per cent of the peak rate, reflecting a 75 per cent bonification for low-season stays under Article 13.2(a) of Ley 2/2016. Revenue is ring-fenced into a sustainable tourism fund (Fondo de Turismo Sostenible) for environmental conservation, beach restoration and infrastructure, rather than going into the general regional budget. The accommodation provider remits the tax to the Agencia Tributaria de les Illes Balears (ATIB) using form 700, typically on a quarterly basis.

Why Mallorca dominates ecotasa revenue

Mallorca concentrates the largest share of Balearic tourist accommodation and visitor arrivals, from large hotel complexes on the Playa de Palma to holiday rentals (viviendas de uso turistico, or VUTs) in the interior. In peak season, a five-star hotel guest in Mallorca pays EUR 4.00 per night plus 10 per cent IVA (EUR 4.40 gross); an ETV-licensed holiday rental pays EUR 2.00 (EUR 2.20 gross). A couple staying seven nights in a five-star hotel faces EUR 61.60 gross in ecotasa alone. There are no municipal surcharges on the Balearic ecotasa, unlike in Barcelona where a city surcharge stacks on top of the regional rate.

What is a tourist tax in Spain?

A tourist tax in Spain is a regional levy, not a national one. It is charged per person per night on overnight stays in regulated tourist accommodation: hotels, apartments, holiday rentals, campsites, and in the Balearics, cruise passengers. The guest pays it as part of their bill; the accommodation provider collects it and remits it to the relevant tax authority. Neither the Spanish state nor the Agencia Tributaria runs a tourist tax. Each autonomous community that wants one must pass its own ley creating the impuesto, set its own rates, and manage collection.

Three communities have now done so. The Balearic Islands introduced the Impuesto sobre Estancias Turisticas (ITS, known as the ecotasa) under Ley 2/2016 (BOE-A-2016-4175), effective from 1 July 2016. Catalonia followed with the Impuesto sobre las Estancias en Establecimientos Turisticos (IEET) under Ley 5/2012 (BOE-A-2012-4730), in force since November 2012. Galicia joined them in December 2024 with the Impuesto Gallego sobre las Estancias Turisticas (IGET), created by Ley 5/2024, though its model is municipal rather than region-wide. Every other region, including Andalusia, Valencia, Madrid and the Canary Islands, has either rejected, postponed, or never tabled the idea. The Basque Country has approved a framework for 2027, and Asturias approved one in June 2026, but neither is yet collecting.

How does the Catalonia tourist tax work?

Catalonia introduced Spain’s first tourist tax in November 2012 under Ley 5/2012 (BOE-A-2012-4730), which created the IEET. The tax applies to all regulated tourist stays across the region, with higher rates in the city of Barcelona. In March 2026 the Catalan parliament passed Ley 2/2026 (BOE-A-2026-6642), which took effect on 1 April 2026 and roughly doubled the previous rates overnight. The law also redirected 25 per cent of the revenue toward housing policy, reflecting the political pressure of Barcelona’s housing shortage.

Catalonia IEET rates from 1 April 2026

Accommodation type	Barcelona city (EUR/night)	Rest of Catalonia to 31 Mar 2027 (EUR/night)	Rest of Catalonia from 1 Apr 2027 (EUR/night)
5-star hotel, grand luxury, luxury camping	7.00	4.50	6.00
4-star hotel and equivalent	3.40	1.80	2.40
Tourist-use dwelling (vivienda de uso turistico)	4.50	1.75	2.50
Youth hostel	1.00	0.80	1.00
Other camping and establishments	2.00	0.90	1.20
Cruise ship (over 12 hours in port)	4.00	3.00	4.00
Cruise ship (12 hours or fewer)	6.00	4.50	6.00

Barcelona adds a municipal surcharge (recargo) on top of the regional IEET. Under Article 34 bis of Ley 5/2017 (as amended by Ley 2/2026), the legal maximum is EUR 8.00 per night per category, but the Barcelona city council has set the actual surcharge at a flat EUR 5.00 per person per night across all accommodation types. This means a five-star hotel guest in Barcelona pays EUR 7.00 regional plus EUR 5.00 municipal, totalling EUR 12.00 per night. A tourist-use dwelling pays EUR 4.50 plus EUR 5.00, totalling EUR 9.50. Other Catalan municipalities gained the right to add their own surcharge of up to EUR 4.00 per night from 1 October 2026 under the new Article 34 ter, provided they sign a collection agreement with the Agencia Tributaria de Cataluna.

A key cap: only the first 7 nights of each stay are charged. From the eighth night onward the tax stops accruing, for both the regional IEET and the municipal surcharge. Travellers under 17 and those on subsidised public-administration programmes are exempt. The provider (hotel or host) is the tax substitute (sustituto), responsible for itemising the levy separately on each invoice, collecting it from the guest, and filing Model 950 with the Catalan tax authority on a semi-annual basis: 1 to 20 April for October-to-March stays, and 1 to 20 October for April-to-September stays.

Does Galicia have a tourist tax?

Yes. Galicia became the third Spanish autonomous community to create a tourist tax framework when the Galician parliament passed Ley 5/2024, de 27 de diciembre, de medidas fiscales y administrativas, published in the DOG on 31 December 2024. The law created the Impuesto Gallego sobre las Estancias Turisticas (IGET), but unlike the Catalan and Balearic models, the IGET does not set uniform region-wide per-night rates. Instead, it enables individual municipalities to create their own surcharges (recargos municipales), which they manage, collect and inspect entirely. The Xunta de Galicia explicitly stated that the IGET is not a general tax for all of Galicia, because the region’s tourism profile does not justify one.

Three Galician cities have activated surcharges so far:

• A Coruna has collected since September 2025. Five-star and four-star superior hotels pay EUR 2.50 per person per night, four-star to two-star superior pay EUR 2.00, one and two-star hotels pay EUR 1.50, tourist-use dwellings pay EUR 1.00, and cruise passengers pay EUR 1.50.
• Santiago de Compostela has collected since 1 October 2025, under an ordinance approved by the city council on 31 July 2025. Five-star and four-star superior hotels pay EUR 2.50, two to four-star hotels and superior pensions and VUTs pay EUR 2.00, one-star hotels and basic pensions pay EUR 1.50, and albergues, campings, tourist apartments and rural accommodation pay EUR 1.00.
• Vigo approved its ordinance definitively in May 2026, with entry on 1 October 2026. Five-star and four-star superior hotels pay EUR 2.00, four-star and three-star pay EUR 1.60, other hotels and pensions pay EUR 1.09 plus IVA (EUR 1.20 total), VUTs pay EUR 1.60, other accommodation pays EUR 0.80, and cruise passengers pay EUR 1.20. Vigo’s rates are approximately 27 per cent lower than Santiago and A Coruna.

All three Galician cities cap the tax at five nights per stay, meaning the sixth night and beyond are exempt. Minors, people with 65 per cent or higher disability, guests on social-programme subsidies, and stays in public albergues under the Xacobeo plan are exempt.

Does Andalusia have a tourist tax?

No. As of July 2026, Andalusia has no tourist tax and the political momentum for one has reversed. The regional government’s position has shifted significantly since the original debate, and the new coalition makes a levy less likely than at any point in the past two years.

In May 2024, the Junta de Andalucía’s tourism minister Arturo Bernal held a meeting with the Andalusian Federation of Municipalities (Famp) and business leaders. They agreed that introducing a tourist tax was “premature” and instead established a tourism sustainability observatory within Famp to gather data before deciding. Bernal stated that “it seems premature to us to talk now about creating a tourist tax without having data to back it up,” and said the observatory would analyse tax, financial and sustainability policies based on evidence.

In July 2025, the mayors of Málaga, Seville and Granada publicly backed a tourist tax at a forum in Granada. They argued that a levy could fund historic-centre rehabilitation and tourism services, and address tensions between visitors and residents. The mayor of Seville suggested using part of the revenue for neighbourhood renovation as a counter to “tourism phobia.” Despite this municipal support, no bill was introduced in the Andalusian parliament.

The decisive shift came in early July 2026, when a PP-Vox coalition government took office in Andalusia. Vox leader Manuel Gavira became vice president of the Junta and took charge of the tourism portfolio. Vox has explicitly pledged to block any tourist tax, with Vox MP for Málaga Antonio Sevilla stating that the idea “shows how badly some mayors manage their finances” and that new taxes would damage one of Andalusia’s most important industries. The coalition agreement contains only five measures on culture and tourism, none of which includes a tourist tax. This effectively overrules the July 2025 mayoral backing and makes an Andalusian levy unlikely for the duration of this legislature.

For Costa del Sol property owners and short-let hosts, the practical consequence is that there is no per-night visitor levy to collect, itemise or remit. Hosts must still comply with the VFT registration requirement under the February 2025 Decreto-ley 1/2025 and the 60 per cent community approval rule, but those are licensing regulations, not a tax on stays. See our Costa del Sol short-let rules 2026 guide for the full regulatory framework.

Which other Spanish regions and cities are considering a tourist tax?

The landscape has expanded beyond Catalonia and the Balearics. Several regions and cities have moved:

• Basque Country: The three foral administrations (Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa and Araba) approved their Normas Forales in 2026, setting a general entry date of 1 January 2027. The framework fixes a range of EUR 0.75 to EUR 5.00 per person per night depending on accommodation type, with municipalities setting the exact amount within that range. The tax is capped at five nights per stay. Municipalities with more than 750 tourist plazas may add a surcharge of up to EUR 7.50 total. San Sebastian pressed to activate its municipal rate ahead of the general start date, though the diputaciones ultimately chose a simultaneous 2027 launch for legal certainty.
• Asturias: The Asturian government approved a tourist tax framework in late June 2026. The planned structure is seasonal, applying only from June to September, with a five-night cap per stay. The government announced fiscal deductions of up to EUR 50 for Asturian residents who pay the tax when staying within the region, to avoid taxing residents for internal travel. Rates had not been formally published at the time of writing.
• Canary Islands: The archipelago’s first municipal tourist tax, approved by the Mogan (Gran Canaria) town hall in 2025, was annulled by the Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Canarias (TSJC) on 13 July 2026. The court declared the ordinance nula de pleno derecho and ordered the municipality to pay costs. The Canary Islands government has stated that no regional tourist tax will be introduced as long as it would have to include residents, citing the archipelago’s special fiscal regime (REF) and dependence on tourism.
• Valencia: Some city councils have imposed moratoriums on new tourist licences, but no regional tourist tax has been passed or proposed.
• Madrid: No regional tourist tax has been proposed.

The pattern is clear: cities and regions with overtourism pressure (Barcelona, Palma, Santiago, A Coruna, San Sebastian) push hardest, while regions whose economies depend on tourism arrivals are cautious about adding friction at the booking stage. The Andalusian case shows how regional government composition can reverse municipal momentum overnight, and the Mogan annulment shows that municipal enthusiasm can also run aground on judicial review.

How does Spain’s tourist tax compare by region in 2026?

Region	Tax name	Status (August 2026)	Peak rate range (EUR/night)	Night cap	Child exemption
Balearic Islands (Mallorca)	ITS (ecotasa)	Active since Jul 2016	1.00 to 4.00	50 per cent off from night 9	Under 16
Catalonia	IEET	Active since Nov 2012, rates doubled Apr 2026	0.80 to 7.00 plus surcharges	7 nights	Under 17
Galicia	IGET + municipal surcharge	A Coruna and Santiago active; Vigo from Oct 2026	1.00 to 2.50	5 nights	Minors
Basque Country	Norma Foral	Approved, entry 1 Jan 2027	0.75 to 5.00 (estimated)	5 nights	TBD
Asturias	Framework approved	Not yet in force	Seasonal (Jun to Sep)	5 nights	TBD
Andalusia	None	No tax, blocked by government	n/a	n/a	n/a
Valencia	None	No regional tax	n/a	n/a	n/a
Madrid	None	No regional tax	n/a	n/a	n/a
Canary Islands	None	Mogan municipal tax annulled by TSJC Jul 2026	n/a	n/a	n/a

What would a Costa del Sol tourist tax mean for property owners?

If Andalusia were ever to follow the Balearic, Catalan or Galician model, the most likely structure would be a per-person, per-night levy on regulated tourist stays, collected by the host and remitted to the regional or municipal tax authority. For a short-let host on the Costa del Sol, that would mean:

1. Collecting the tax from each guest at check-in or adding it to the booking price, then itemising it separately on the invoice.
2. Remitting it on a periodic basis (Catalonia uses semi-annual filing; the Balearics use quarterly; Galician municipalities manage their own).
3. Exempting children (under 16 in the Balearics, under 17 in Catalonia, minors in Galicia) and long-term tenants.
4. Applying seasonal or category-based rates, as all three existing models do.

The compliance burden would be modest compared to the existing VFT licensing and Modelo 210 tax filing obligations, but it would add one more administrative task. See our short-let rental tax compliance guide for the current tax filing framework that any future tourist tax would sit alongside.

How does Spain’s tourist tax compare internationally?

Spain’s regional tourist taxes are modest by European standards. Barcelona’s EUR 12.00 per night for a five-star hotel room (EUR 7.00 regional plus EUR 5.00 municipal) is among the higher city-level levies in Europe, comparable to Amsterdam’s 7.5 per cent room-rate-based charge. The Balearic ecotasa, at EUR 1.00 to EUR 4.00 per person per night, sits in the mid-range alongside Italy’s municipal tourist taxes (typically EUR 1 to EUR 5 per night). France’s local taxe de sejour runs from under EUR 1 to several euros per night depending on the municipality and accommodation grade. The Galician surcharges, at EUR 1.00 to EUR 2.50, are among the lowest in Europe.

The structural difference is that Spain’s levies are regional, not national, so they vary by community rather than applying uniformly. A property owner in Marbella faces none; one in Mallorca faces the ecotasa at EUR 1.00 to EUR 4.00 per person per night; one in Barcelona faces the IEET plus the municipal surcharge; one in A Coruna faces the IGET surcharge.

What should Costa del Sol owners monitor?

The Andalusia tourist tax debate has been effectively paused by the new coalition government. Three signals would indicate that a levy is moving closer:

• The Junta’s sustainability observatory publishing a formal recommendation or impact study.
• A draft law (anteproyecto de ley) tabled in the Andalusian parliament.
• A regional budget bill that includes projected tourist tax revenue.

Until one of those happens, or the coalition government changes, the status quo holds: no tourist tax in Andalusia. Property owners should ensure they are compliant with the existing VFT licensing regime and Modelo 210 rental income tax filing, which are the obligations that actually apply today. The tourist licence application process in Andalusia and the rental platform reporting rules under DAC7 are the compliance items that matter now, not a visitor levy that does not exist and is politically blocked.