Portugal Tourist Taxes 2026: €174M Collected, No Official List of Who Charges and Rates From €1 to €4

No national tax, and no national list

A council that wants a tourist tax writes a regulation, approves it in the Câmara and the Assembleia Municipal, and publishes it in the Diário da República. The regulations we read cite the Constitution (articles 112 and 241), the local finance law (Lei 73/2013), the local government law (Lei 75/2013) and the general local tax law (Lei 53-E/2006). The last matters because it requires a rate to be justified by a cost study, and the Lisbon and Setúbal files we read include one. We found no statutory ceiling on the rate in the legal basis of any regulation. We could not open the consolidated text of Lei 73/2013, so a lawyer should confirm that before anyone writes that no cap exists.

The variation between councils is the evidence that no common rule applies. Night caps are 3 in Sintra, Coimbra, Évora and Amarante, 4 in Braga, 5 in Setúbal, Maia, Almada, Loulé and Óbidos, 7 in Lisbon, Porto and Cascais, and 14 in Vila do Conde. Children are exempt below 13 in Lisbon, Porto, Sintra, Albufeira and Portimão, below 14 in Maia, below 16 in Faro, Loulé, Olhão, Coimbra, Évora and Braga, and adults only pay in Setúbal. The accommodation operator collects the tax, and in Lisbon keeps a 2.5% commission. Booking platforms collect only where a council has signed a protocol with them.

The framework is not about to change. A new local finance law, the natural place for a national rule, was called “pouco realista” for 2027 by the prime minister on 2 June 2026, and the Observador report on that statement does not mention the tourist tax. Porto’s then mayor, Rui Moreira, proposed a state-level municipal tourist tax in a 2024 budget submission. We found no sign it was adopted.

The count of councils charging is therefore a press tally. Lusa counted 40 on 1 January 2025. Postal reached 42 by June 2025, Diário de Notícias 43 in August 2025 and 46 for the full year. The Anuário Financeiro dos Municípios, relayed by ECO, counted 15 councils in 2023 and 31 in 2024, while Diário de Notícias counted 33 for 2024 and later implied 35 when it reported 11 more in 2025. A commercial guide for landlords listed 49 in August 2026. Each count is plausible and none can be audited.

From €94 million to €174 million in a year

The CFP’s July 2026 report on local government finance gives the best national series: €94 million in 2024 and €174 million in 2025, an increase of 85% (derived from its two figures). The report attributes its table to the local accounts system and the CFP’s own calculations, and gives no municipality count. Diário de Notícias reached €176 million for 2025 by surveying councils directly, with 39 of 46 responding, so the two series agree within about 1%.

Two forces drove the jump. The number of councils charging roughly tripled on the press counts, from 15 in 2023 to 46 in 2025. And the two largest raised their rates: Lisbon doubled from €2 to €4 on 1 September 2024, and Porto went from €2 to €3 on 1 December 2024.

Lisbon’s own series, relayed by Lusa, runs €11.35 million in 2016, €36.08 million in 2019, a pandemic trough of €9.91 million in 2021, €40.24 million in 2023 and €49.51 million in 2024 from overnight stays, or €49.88 million with the cruise levy. The 2019 doubling is the cleanest test of the rate effect. The rate went from €1 to €2 on 1 January 2019 and revenue rose from €18.55 million to €36.08 million, up 94.5% (derived), so almost the whole rate rise reached the till.

For 2025 we found no council outturn. Diário de Notícias reported €82.2 million from overnight stays and €981,493 from the cruise tax, about €83.2 million together (our sum), up 66.8% on 2024 and below the €87.5 million budget target. If nights had stayed level, moving from 2024’s mix of eight months at €2 and four at €4 to €4 all year would have lifted revenue by about 50% (derived, assuming even monthly nights). The council has not published taxed nights, so the other 17 points cannot be explained from outside.

Porto’s series is steadier. Revenue was €10.4 million in 2018, €15.1 million in 2019, €5.7 million in 2020, €4.8 million in 2021, €14.9 million in 2022, €19.2 million in 2023, €20.9 million in 2024 and €32.3 million in 2025, up 54.5%. The rate rose 50% on 1 December 2024, so taxed nights grew only about 3% (derived). We use the council’s €32.3 million. Diário de Notícias printed €30.2 million with the same +55% growth, which would imply a 2024 base near €19.5 million, not the council’s €20.9 million, so the two use different scopes.

Lisbon and Porto together took about 89% of national revenue in 2022 and about 66% in 2025 (derived, mixing council, CFP and survey sources). The early national totals are surveys of responding councils, which probably understate the true total and so overstate the early shares. Even so, the direction is clear. The tax is spreading faster than it is growing in the capital.

Lisbon and Porto: €4, €3 and a rise in motion

Lisbon charged €1 from 1 January 2016, €2 from 1 January 2019 and €4 from 1 September 2024, under a notice published in the Diário da República on 26 August 2024 after the Assembleia Municipal voted on 23 July. The cap is 7 nights per guest per stay, so the most any visitor pays is €28 (derived). Nationality and residence do not matter, and a Lisbon resident sleeping in a Lisbon hotel pays. Exemptions cover children under 13, medical stays with one companion, people placed by the Câmara, Social Security, AIMA or Santa Casa, and higher-education students and researchers for up to 60 days. The mayor said in February 2026 that Lisbon would keep €4. Our Lisbon tourism statistics article shows what that rate sits on top of: 15.7 million municipal nights in 2024 and an airport at its ceiling.

Porto charged €2 from 1 March 2018 under Regulamento 63/2018, and €3 from 1 December 2024, for guests over 13 and up to 7 consecutive nights. Exemptions cover medical stays, displacement, disability of 60% or more, pilgrims in hostels and people placed by social-support bodies. Mayor Pedro Duarte said on 25 February 2026 that he wanted €4 “this year” to fund free public transport for residents by 2027. On 25 September 2026 Observador reported that the Câmara would vote on starting the revision procedure, that the proposal states no rate, and that a 10-working-day consultation would follow. The mayor had said in July that Porto might reach Lisbon’s €4, and in 2025 that it could reach €5, a remark we found only in that Observador report. We found no vote result and no new rate in force. Our Porto tourism statistics article carries the nights behind the revenue.

The Porto metro area is a mosaic. Vila Nova de Gaia charges a “Taxa da Cidade” of €2.50, reported in July 2026 to be rising to €3. Matosinhos charges €2 from 1 January 2025 plus €2 per cruise passenger. Maia charges €2 for guests over 13 up to 5 nights since 13 January 2024, and Póvoa de Varzim €1.50 since 1 January 2023. Vila do Conde charges, with stays capped at 14 nights, but we could not find its rate. Gondomar, Espinho, Valongo and Paredes appear on no list we read.

The ring around Lisbon

Cascais charges €4 a night for up to 7 nights, double its former €2. The council notice appeared in the Diário da República on 16 December 2024, after the Assembleia approved it on 25 November, and we derive an entry into force of 2 January 2025 from its clause. That settles a conflict in our earlier Sintra and Cascais visitor statistics: Dinheiro Vivo’s August 2025 account is right and the 2024 date printed in March 2026 is wrong. The revenue fits. First-half 2025 receipts rose 68% to €2.3 million, which at double the rate implies roughly 575,000 taxed nights against 685,000 a year earlier, a fall of about 16% (derived from the rounded +68%).

Sintra charges €2 for guests aged 13 and over, up to 3 nights. It started at €1 on 1 March 2019 and doubled on 29 March 2023. It raised €258,000 in the second half of 2022, about €1.1 million in 2023 and €550,461 in the first half of 2024, and we found no later figure. Mafra, which includes Ericeira, charges €2 from May to October and €1 from November to April, for up to 7 nights, as it has since 2019. Oeiras charges €1 from 15 August 2024 and expected about €200,000 a year. Setúbal charges adults €2 for up to 5 nights from September 2024, and Almada charges €2 for up to 5 nights, with an electronic platform launched on 2 June 2026. Sesimbra has a draft regulation, and Tomar has a proposal that exempts pilgrims. Seixal, Amadora, Palmela, Montijo, Alcochete and Torres Vedras appear on none of the 2025 lists, which is absence of evidence rather than proof.

The Algarve: seven of sixteen

Seven of the Algarve’s 16 councils charge: Albufeira, Faro, Lagoa, Loulé, Olhão, Portimão and Vila Real de Santo António. Two lists published on 21 August 2026 agree on the seven. Lagos, Tavira, Silves, Vila do Bispo, Aljezur, Monchique, Castro Marim, Alcoutim and São Brás de Alportel do not. Our Algarve tourism statistics article asks how much the region depends on British visitors, and the tax map shows how unevenly the region charges.

Albufeira is the largest. It charges €2 from April to October for guests aged 13 and over, up to 7 nights, under Regulamento 488/2024, with collection from 21 May 2024. Guides that give it a winter rate of €1 are copying Faro and Loulé. Jornal Económico reported €3.62 million for the first half of 2025, up 144.9%, without naming its source. That covers only three taxed months, since the season starts in April. The mayor forecast €7 to 8 million for 2025 in September 2025, and we found no full-year outturn. His statement that 2024 produced “four million and something” can be read as 2024 receipts or as exempted early bookings, and we could not settle which.

Faro charges €2 from March to October and €1 from November to February for guests aged 16 and over, up to 7 nights, with Faro residents exempt, under a regime in force from 1 November 2024. Loulé charges €2 with a €1 winter rate from November to March, for guests aged 16 and over and up to 5 nights, also from 1 November 2024. Its expected revenue was €4.6 million in one report and about €3.4 million in another. Lagoa has charged since 13 April 2024 and Portimão since 14 March 2024, when it reported €1.2 million for the first half of 2025. Olhão has charged since 2023. Vila Real de Santo António has charged a flat €1 all year since 2016, the first in the region, and raised €907,000 in 2022. Several guides place it in the €2 and €1 seasonal group, and the evidence does not support that.

One figure to drop is the Lagos rate. A rate of €1.50 from March to October circulates for Lagos. It was an AMAL proposal reported in January 2019 and never adopted. No Algarve regional total exists. The nearest figure, about €8.5 million for six councils in 2024 from the Anuário Financeiro, cannot be reconciled with the council figures above, so we do not use it.

The North, the Centro and the Alentejo: a patchwork

North of Porto the rates are low and the caps short. Braga charges €1.50 for guests aged 16 and over, up to 4 nights, and went year-round in July 2025. It raised €175,000 in the first half of 2025. Viana do Castelo charges €1.50 from May to October and €1 otherwise, Caminha charges the same seasonal pair, and Amarante charges €2 from April to September and €1 otherwise for up to 3 nights. Terras de Bouro, the Gerês council, charges €1 from May to October, and its start is 13 June 2025 on Observador’s account and 20 June on the council’s own FAQ. A figure of €1.50 from May to October circulates for Guimarães, and our own earlier research notes carried it. The only primary document is a 2020 draft regulation, and Guimarães appears on none of the lists from 2022 to 2026, so we drop it. Our Norte article gives the nights behind these rates.

In the Centro, Coimbra has charged €1 for guests aged 16 and over, up to 3 nights, since 5 April 2023, and raised €726,000 in 2025. The council voted on 20 July 2026 to double it. We found no Assembleia vote and no start date. Aveiro’s council approved €3 for guests aged 16 and over, up to 7 nights, on 21 May 2026, with a cost estimate of €1.62 million on 452,018 stays, about €3.58 a stay. Figueira da Foz charges €2 from April to September and €1.50 otherwise, and raised about €639,000 in 2024. Nazaré begins charging €1 on 1 September 2026, with over-65s exempt. Peniche has charged €1 since April 2024, and Óbidos €1 since 1 December 2018. Tomar has a €2 proposal, and a €2 tax for Fátima’s Ourém planned for 2027 is something we could not verify. In the Viseu district no council charged as of June 2025.

The Alentejo has one: Évora, €1.50 for guests aged 16 and over, up to 3 nights, since 1 August 2025. The council expected at least €600,000 a year and has published no outturn. We found no tax in Grândola, Sines, Odemira, Elvas, Beja or other councils, but we checked them against lists rather than council by council. Our Alentejo article covers the Comporta coast, which has no tax so far.

Madeira and the Azores

Madeira’s municipalities agreed in January 2024 to charge €2 a guest per night for up to 7 nights, each writing its own regulation. Ten of the 11 now charge, and Porto Moniz does not. The starts were staggered, which is why a claim that six councils began in January 2025 does not hold, and our own Madeira tourism statistics article repeated it. Santa Cruz began in 2016 at €1 and moved to €2 by 2022. Ponta do Sol began on 1 June 2024 under Edital 443/2024, which resolves the 2024 reports that named it a non-joiner. Funchal began on 1 October 2024, Ribeira Brava on 5 October 2024, Porto Santo on 1 February 2025 and São Vicente on 13 May 2026. Machico, Calheta, Santana and Câmara de Lobos began between mid-2024 and early 2025 on secondary sources.

Funchal is the one that matters for revenue and the one with no published outturn. The council approved a rise to €4, for overnight stays and for sea arrivals, on 1 October 2026. A public consultation ran from 8 to 23 October, and the new rate would start on 1 January 2027 after the Assembleia Municipal votes. The “€14 million” attached to the tax is a budget-stage estimate whose reading differs between outlets. Porto Santo is the only Madeira council with a clean recent number: €861,578 in 2025 against 429,139 nights reported by the council, which is €2 a night to within 1%. Madeira residents pay on Porto Santo, which is not true in the Azores.

In the Azores only São Miguel has a municipal tax. Ponta Delgada, Lagoa, Ribeira Grande and Vila Franca do Campo began on 1 January 2025, and Povoação and Nordeste followed later in 2025 on dates we could not confirm. The rate is €2 a night for up to 3 nights, and Azorean residents are exempt. The association of Azorean councils projected about €10 million a year. The island raised almost €3.2 million in 2025, about 32% of the projection, of which Ponta Delgada raised €2.3 million. In the first half of 2026 the island raised €1.24 million, and the five smaller councils together raised roughly €0.25 million (derived). A regional tax approved in April 2022 was revoked in December 2022 and, by RTP’s account, never took effect. Our Azores tourism statistics article covers the Ryanair exit that thins the nights behind these receipts.

Cruise passengers pay in four places

The claim that cruise passengers pay nothing in Portugal is false. Four levies exist, all charged to passengers who disembark on a call rather than to overnight guests. They are small beside the overnight tax: Lisbon’s €981,493 in 2025 is about 1.2% of its tourist-tax total (derived). They are also the area where outturns lag. The Azores regional ecotaxa billed €382,479 on 127,493 passengers in 2025 and had received €266,277 by May 2026, leaving €116,202 outstanding. Our Madeira cruise statistics article sets out the passenger counts behind Funchal’s levy.

The full list, as far as the evidence goes

The two tables below set out every council for which we found a rate or a start date, grouped by region, and the map that follows counts them. Each row comes from a regulation in the Diário da República, a council page or press reporting, as the data sources list names. Where sources conflict the cell says so. Rows without a revenue figure are councils that have published none that we could find.

Does the revenue match the nights?

Revenue divided by the rate gives a minimum number of taxed nights. Exemptions and night caps only reduce taxed nights below real nights, so the result is a floor. Where the floor exceeds the nights INE counts, either the tax is catching nights INE does not see or the revenue includes arrears. Where it sits close to the INE figure, the tax and the survey describe the same nights.

Lisbon and Porto both show floors well above INE’s count: at least 1.28 times in Lisbon and 1.5 to 1.6 times in Porto. Diário de Notícias printed 19.6 million Lisbon nights for 2025, but that cannot be taxed nights, because €82.2 million at €4 requires at least 20.55 million. Coimbra and Porto Santo sit near 1.0. The pattern fits a story in which the tax reaches small rentals that INE’s survey misses, but that explanation is our inference, and INE’s coverage rule for small rentals was not re-verified for this article. Timing and arrears could also contribute. The test that would settle it is cheap: Lisbon and Porto hold taxed nights by accommodation type and have not published them.

Where the money goes

The claim that tourist-tax revenue is spent on tourism is only partly true. We found no general legal requirement to ring-fence the money. Porto and Matosinhos state in their regulations that it cannot be earmarked, and the legal logic in the local tax law is cost recovery. Lisbon is closest to a ring-fence through its Fundo de Desenvolvimento Turístico, and its announced uses include about €8 million a year of urban cleaning, a €7 million transfer for Web Summit in 2024 reported by Diário de Notícias, and a proposed €750,000 transfer to the Associação Turismo de Lisboa for Christmas lights in May 2026, whose vote result we did not find. Porto wants the extra euro for free resident public transport. Funchal’s mayor says its revenue covers waste, water and sanitation. The Azorean cruise ecotaxa is the one levy with an environmental purpose in its law, and the 2026 regional budget gave it no revenue line.

How Portugal compares

The median Portuguese council charges €2, which is cheap beside Rome and Barcelona and in line with Croatia. Lisbon’s €4 is mid-range. What differs is the design. Portugal charges a flat amount per person, the same for a hostel bed and a five-star room, where Rome and Greece scale by star rating and Amsterdam by price. The claim that Portugal has one of Europe’s lowest tourist taxes is therefore true of the median council, misleading for the capital, and wrong about the structure.

What this means for travellers, businesses and analysts

Travellers pay at the property, usually at check-out, and the amount depends on the council, not the hotel. Plan on €4 a night in Lisbon and Cascais, €3 in Porto, €2 in most of Madeira, the Algarve’s big resorts and São Miguel, and €1 to €1.50 in much of the north and centre. Lisbon’s maximum is €28 a stay, and Albufeira charges nothing from November to March. Cruise passengers pay at Lisbon, Matosinhos, Funchal and the Azores. Rates for Funchal and Porto may rise in 2027, so check the council’s regulation before booking. Our Lisbon travel guide covers the rest of what changed in the capital.

Tourism businesses and investors should read the tax as a pass-through with a compliance cost. There is no common rule, so a group operating in several councils meets different rates, seasons, ages and caps, and the 2.5% collection commission we found applies in Lisbon. The revenue side matters for councils’ appetite: €174 million a year gives local governments a reason to add and raise rates, and the pending changes are Porto’s revision, Funchal’s €4 from 2027, Coimbra’s €2, Aveiro’s €3 and Évora’s first full-year outturn. A national rule would change the assessment, and none is on the table. The tax-implied nights in Lisbon and Porto suggest INE’s hotel statistics undercount small rentals, which matters to anyone underwriting from official occupancy.

Journalists and analysts can cite these figures: the CFP’s €94 million (2024) and €174 million (2025), Diário de Notícias’ €176 million with 39 of 46 councils responding, Lisbon’s annual series from €11.35 million (2016) to €49.51 million (2024), Porto’s €32.3 million in 2025, Cascais at €4 from January 2025, Évora as the only Alentejo council, four cruise levies, and the Azores cruise ecotaxa billed against received. They should not repeat a list of “every municipality”, Lagos at €1.50, a winter rate in Albufeira, a Guimarães tax, Funchal’s €14 million as receipts, the São Miguel €10 million, six Madeira councils in January 2025, or Cascais at €1. The series finding this adds is that the Porto gap between tax-implied nights and INE nights, 1.6 times, also appears in Lisbon at no less than 1.3 times. Asking both councils for taxed nights by accommodation type would turn an inference into a measurement.