Money & paymentsBy Clever Tourists · Published
Berlin charges a city tax (Übernachtungsteuer) of 7.5% of the net price of your room, in force since 1 January 2025. On a EUR 120 room with VAT it comes to about EUR 8.41 a night; breakfast and other extras are not taxed. The hotel or host owes the tax to the Berlin tax office and normally shows it as a separate line on your bill. Business trips have been taxed since 1 April 2024, and the former exemption for stays over 21 days ended on 1 January 2025. Sources are the Berlin Senate finance department's FAQ, a German tax-law explainer dated June 2026 and a Berlin travel blog. We spent 3 days in Berlin in July 2023, then moved on to Bremen, Frankfurt, Würzburg, Ulm and Munich (5 days).
Free toolConvert to your own currency at live rates →Live mid-market rates for all 17 currencies we used, so you can see what a price actually costs.• Rate: 7.5% of the net price for the overnight stay. The Berlin finance department states the rate was raised to 7.5% from 1 January 2025.
• Base: the price of the room itself with VAT stripped out. Breakfast, minibar, parking, wellness and other extras are excluded, so a hotel that bundles breakfast should show the room part separately.
• Who owes it: the accommodation provider, who calculates, files and pays it to the Finanzamt Marzahn-Hellersdorf. Guests bear the cost, usually as a line on the invoice.
• Covers: hotels, hostels, holiday apartments and private hosts offering paid short-term stays. From 2026 the old 10-bed threshold is gone, so small hosts are in the scheme as well.
There is no Germany-wide city tax. Each city decides, so Munich and Frankfurt have their own rules, and Berlin's applies only in Berlin.
Accommodation in Germany carries a reduced VAT rate of about 7%, so divide a gross price by 1.07 before taking 7.5%:
• EUR 90 gross: net about EUR 84.11, tax about EUR 6.31.
• EUR 120 gross: net about EUR 112.15, tax about EUR 8.41.
• EUR 200 gross: net about EUR 186.92, tax about EUR 14.02.
• EUR 150 including EUR 15 gross breakfast: the room is about EUR 135 gross, net about EUR 126.17, tax about EUR 9.46.
For a three-night stay at EUR 120 a night, that is about EUR 25. For a week at EUR 200 it is about EUR 98. If a booking site says the tax is "included", it means the provider has already folded it into the displayed total, so there is nothing more to pay. If it says "payable at property", expect it on the final invoice. Ask for an itemised bill listing the room, VAT, extras and city tax if you are unsure.
The rules are narrower than many guides suggest.
• Business travel: taxable since 1 April 2024. The earlier exemption for employer-certified trips only applies to bookings made under the old rules, according to the explainer we used.
• Long stays: the former exemption for stays over 21 days ended on 1 January 2025.
• School trips and study trips: may have special forms. Ask the accommodation.
• Cancelled bookings: a reservation cancelled in time with no fee generally attracts no tax, but cancellation fees need case-by-case treatment.
• Children and medical stays: the sources we read do not list them as exempt, so do not assume it; ask the property.
Berlin also waived the tax in January 2026 for hotel guests affected by a power cut in the south-west of the city. That was a one-off measure and is not a standing exemption.
Hotels show the tax as a separate item. Short-term rental platforms may show it in a fee breakdown or the host may list it in the house rules. Because the tax is on net room price, expect the figure to differ from 7.5% of the price you paid if breakfast or cleaning fees are included.
If you are comparing Berlin with other cities, remember that this tax is on top of the rate, not part of it. Our Germany trip cost guide puts accommodation in the context of the whole budget. Tipping at restaurants is separate: see tipping in Germany.
On arrival, the Berlin airport to city guide covers the transfer.
• Book with free cancellation and check the final invoice at checkout.
• Do not pay a host a separate city tax in cash without a receipt if the platform already collected it.
• Compare prices net of tax. A EUR 100 hotel and a EUR 90 apartment differ by only a euro or so in tax terms.
• If you are shopping for goods, the VAT refund for non-EU visitors is separate: see EU VAT refund for tourists.
• Check your phone plan before you go: Germany eSIM for tourists.
For safety information see is Germany safe to visit.
7.5% of the net price of the room, in force since 1 January 2025. On a EUR 120 room with VAT it is about EUR 8.41 a night.
No. Breakfast and other extras are excluded from the tax base. Only the room price, net of VAT, is taxed.
No. Business stays have been taxable since 1 April 2024, and the exemption for stays over 21 days ended on 1 January 2025.
The accommodation provider owes it to the tax office, but guests bear the cost, usually as a separate line on the invoice.
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