Amsterdam's council adopted a 2027 budget that lifts the tourist tax from 12.5% to 16% of the room price from January. The coalition's 20% goal has not been voted.
Cover image: A canal tour boat passes the houses on the Damrak in Amsterdam (2026 file photo) — photo by Tolga Bakı, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Amsterdam's city council has adopted a 2027 budget that raises the Amsterdam tourist tax from 12.5 per cent to 16 per cent of the room price from January 2027. The vote came late on Thursday afternoon, 12 November, the regional public broadcaster NH Nieuws reported. The governing parties, PRO and D66, hold a majority and voted for it. Opposition proposals to stop the rise failed, and the broadcaster says the increase is now fixed. It gave no vote count.
For hotels, tour operators and meeting planners pricing 2027 stays, 16 per cent is now the rate to plan on. The coalition's later steps to 20 per cent have not been voted.
What did the Amsterdam council vote on?
The vote was on the city's 2027 budget, which includes the higher rate. NL Times also reported that the budget passed with the rise to 16 per cent.
The rate itself is written into the city's tourist tax by-law. The one that set 12.5 per cent was adopted at the budget sitting of 8 and 9 November 2023 and applied from 1 January 2024, the municipal gazette shows. We did not find a 2027 by-law in the gazette on 13 November, and none of the reports we read mentions a separate vote.
Three opposition parties, VVD, CDA and JA21, tabled a motion to stop further rises. JA21 councillor Stef Keij proposed a flat €14.50 per person per night instead, arguing it would hit business travellers least. Neither won a majority, according to NH Nieuws.
Alderman Melanie van der Horst told the council that research shows a tax helps to reduce tourist numbers, NH Nieuws reported. The budget, presented on 17 September, shows tourist tax income rising from €275 million last year to almost €400 million in 2030, the broadcaster reported then.
How much will the Amsterdam tourist tax add to a 2027 hotel bill?
The city's tax page, in a copy archived on 5 November, gives the current rate as 12.5 per cent of the overnight price excluding VAT. Moving to 16 per cent raises the tax itself by 28 per cent, as our €200 example shows.
| Rate | Status as of 13 November 2026 | Tax on our example €200 room (before VAT), per night | Tourist tax rate plus 21% VAT rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12.5% | In force during 2026 | €25.00 | 33.5% |
| 16% | In the 2027 budget adopted on 12 November; due to apply from January 2027 | €32.00 | 37% |
| 20% | Coalition intention for 2031; not voted | €40.00 | 41% |
The last column simply adds the two rates, as the businesses' letter described below does. National VAT on hotel stays rose from 9 to 21 per cent this year, NH Nieuws reported on 9 November. As a percentage, the tax climbs with every rise in average daily rate, unlike the flat per-person charges in our guide to tourist taxes by country.
Is the 20 per cent Amsterdam tourist tax approved?
No. NH Nieuws describes the later rises as something the coalition "intends" to do. AT5 reported on the morning of the vote that PRO and D66 want 20 per cent by 2031, and said the city's levy is already the highest in Europe.
When we reported the plan for a 20 per cent rate by 2031 in August, the 16 per cent step was a proposal.
Why are hotels and event organisers objecting?
Businesses from the city's cultural, hospitality, congress and events sectors wrote to the city government before the vote, NH Nieuws reported on 9 November. They asked for an independent study of the combined effect of the VAT rise and the higher city tax, and for the increase to be suspended meanwhile. Their letter puts total tax on a hotel night at 21.5 per cent last year and 41 per cent in 2031.
Their fear is displacement: visitors sleeping outside the city, and congresses choosing other cities. Overnight stays rose from 22.9 million in 2024 to 23.7 million in 2025, against a city target of fewer than 20 million, AT5 reported, citing municipal research.
The industry is also in court. KHN, the Dutch hospitality association, says a collective case it began in 2025 against the previous rise in the tourist tax is still pending.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the Amsterdam tourist tax in 2027?
The rate is due to be 16 per cent of the overnight price excluding VAT from January 2027, up from 12.5 per cent. The city council adopted a 2027 budget containing the rise on 12 November 2026, NH Nieuws reported.
Has Amsterdam approved a 20 per cent tourist tax?
No. Only the rise to 16 per cent has been adopted, as part of the 2027 budget. The governing parties, PRO and D66, intend to reach 20 per cent by 2031, according to AT5, but those later steps have not been voted.
Who pays the Amsterdam tourist tax, and who collects it?
Overnight guests pay it on top of the room price. Accommodation providers charge it and pass it to the municipality, the city's tax page says. Cruise operators pay a separate day tourist tax, listed at €15 per passenger.
Is the tourist tax charged on top of Dutch VAT?
They are separate charges. The Netherlands raised VAT on hotel stays from 9 to 21 per cent in 2026, NH Nieuws reported, and Amsterdam calculates its tourist tax on the price excluding VAT. Added together, the two rates are 37 per cent in 2027.
Sources
- NH Nieuws, Amsterdam tourist tax rise from 2027 is fixed (in Dutch)
- NL Times, Amsterdam approves sharp tourist tax increase
- AT5, Amsterdam wants to raise the tourist tax (in Dutch)
- NH Nieuws, businesses' letter on the tax rise (in Dutch)
- NH Nieuws, Amsterdam's 2027 budget (in Dutch)
- City of Amsterdam, tourist tax rates (Internet Archive copy of 5 November 2026)
- Gemeenteblad van Amsterdam, Verordening Toeristenbelasting 2024 (in Dutch)
- KHN, lobbying and legal proceedings on the Amsterdam tourist tax (in Dutch)
