Travel
Mallorca Tourist Tax: What You Pay per Night and What Spain Is Now Deciding
The Mallorca tourist tax remains at 2 euros per person per night in high season. VAT on holiday villas is now under discussion. Here is what is settled, what is open and when Spain decides.
Anyone booking a villa in the Balearics will, sooner or later, come across the Mallorca tourist tax. The name is an informal one. Officially it is the Balearic tax on tourist stays, in Spanish the Impuesto sobre estancias turísticas, and on the island most people simply call it the ecotasa. This autumn a second question has joined it: Spain is planning to apply VAT to holiday villas. This article reflects the position as of 23 October 2026.
The Mallorca tourist tax is officially the Balearic tax on tourist stays
Its basis is Balearic Law 2/2016 on the tax on tourist stays. The law places the charge expressly on the people who make the stay, which is to say on you as the guest. The revenue goes into a fund for sustainable tourism, which pays, among other things, for the protection of the islands' natural landscape and the care of their historic heritage.
Two charges may therefore apply to your villa holiday. The tourist tax is a Balearic levy in its own right, and its rates are fixed. The planned VAT is a matter for the Spanish state, entirely separate, and has yet to be decided. We set out both for you without political comment: what is settled, what remains open and when the decision is due.
Mallorca tourist tax 2026: the rates that apply to your holiday villa
According to the law and the government's own calculator, the Mallorca tourist tax for holiday flats and holiday villas is as follows:
| Period | Amount per person per night |
|---|---|
| High season (1 May to 31 October) | 2 euros |
| Low season (1 November to 30 April) | 0.50 euros |
| From the ninth night in the same property | half the rate (1 euro or 0.25 euros) |
| Children under 16 | 0 euros |
If you would like the exact figure for your own dates, the official calculator of the Balearic government is available online.
High season costs four times as much as low season
Between May and October you pay 2 euros per person per night, from November to April 0.50 euros. A winter or early spring visit therefore costs a quarter of the summer rate. For a couple staying a week, that comes to 28 euros in summer and 7 euros in winter.
From the ninth night, the rate is halved
If you stay more than eight nights in the same property, the rate falls by half from the ninth night onwards: 1 euro in high season, 0.25 euros in low season. The first eight nights are charged at the full rate.
Children under 16 pay no tourist tax
Children and young people under 16 are exempt. For families this makes a noticeable difference, particularly in our family fincas, where several generations often stay together.
The announced rise in Mallorca's eco tax never came into force
You may have read about higher rates over the past year. Those reports refer to a plan that was never implemented.
The March 2025 plan was withdrawn in April
In March 2025 the Balearic government announced that it would raise the ecotasa in June, July and August, and in return exempt January and February altogether. By April 2025 it had withdrawn the plan, as Economía de Mallorca reported.
Tourism minister Jaume Bauzà has again ruled out an increase
In September 2026 the tourism minister, Jaume Bauzà, once more rejected an increase. His position, according to Ara Balears, is that the tax should be better managed rather than raised.
What this means for you: some older articles still quote the rates that were proposed at the time. They do not apply. The Mallorca tourist tax remains unchanged, at the amounts shown in the table above.
Planned VAT on holiday villas: the position on 23 October
The real news this autumn concerns not the Mallorca tourist tax but VAT. Spain intends to charge 10 per cent VAT (IVA) from 1 December 2026 on furnished flats and houses let to the same tenant for no more than 30 nights. A final decision has not yet been made.
Holiday villas in Spain are currently exempt from VAT
At present, letting a holiday flat or villa in Spain is exempt from VAT, provided the owner offers no hotel-style services. Cleaning and laundry during the stay are typical examples, as is an on-site restaurant. Where such services are added, 10 per cent is already payable today.
A decree, a rejection and a second attempt
How the situation developed:
- 29 September 2026: the Spanish government approves Real Decreto-ley 26/2026, with 10 per cent VAT on stays of up to 30 nights from 1 December 2026.
- 2 October 2026: Congress rejects the decree with 172 votes in favour and 178 against, and it is revoked (press release from Congress).
- 6 October 2026: following the dissolution of parliament, the government approves the same content again as Real Decreto-ley 29/2026, published in the official state gazette BOE on 7 October and in force since 8 October.
- Article 7 contains the same rule: 10 per cent VAT from 1 December 2026 on stays of up to 30 nights. The exception is where the owner lives permanently in the property being let.
The decision is scheduled for 12 November
Because parliament has been dissolved and new elections will be held on 29 November 2026, the decree must be confirmed by the Standing Committee of Congress (Diputación Permanente). This is also set out in the Spanish government's announcement. According to Ultima Hora, the vote is scheduled for 12 November 2026. It is not our place to predict the outcome.
In the Balearics, according to Ultima Hora, the rule affects 26,143 registered holiday rentals. Habtur, the association of holiday rental owners, has criticised the wording as unclear, above all on the question of what counts as a hotel-style service.
Owners may face a surcharge on property tax
The decree also allows municipalities with a stretched housing market to add a surcharge to the property tax (IBI) on holiday accommodation: up to 50 per cent, up to 100 per cent where the same owner holds two or more properties, and up to 150 per cent from four properties. This concerns owners, not you directly as a guest.
Two possible outcomes and what each means for your booking
The decision is still pending. Depending on the result, the following applies to your holiday on Mallorca or Ibiza.
If the decree is confirmed, VAT applies from December
Should the Standing Committee confirm the decree, 10 per cent VAT will apply from 1 December 2026 to the letting of furnished accommodation for up to 30 nights. This affects stays this coming winter as well as the 2027 season.
If the decree is rejected, nothing changes
Should the Standing Committee reject it, the existing exemption remains. VAT will then continue to apply only where the owner offers hotel-style services.
There is no transitional rule for stays already booked
The decree contains no transitional provision on VAT for stays that have already been booked. What this means for any individual booking depends, first of all, on the outcome of the vote.
Our advice: if you are planning for the winter or for 2027, ask for the total price and how taxes are shown within it. A reputable provider will answer clearly. For other points worth checking, see our guide on how to book a finca on Mallorca safely and with confidence. For a sense of how sought after villas on the island are at present, read renting a luxury villa on Mallorca: demand in 2026.
A worked example: how much tax a week in a villa involves
An illustration, not a specific villa: a family of four adults and two children under 16 spends seven nights in a holiday villa. The week costs 7,000 euros.
Mallorca tourist tax for a family in July and in December
In July the high season rate applies: 4 adults times 7 nights times 2 euros comes to 56 euros. In December it is 4 times 7 times 0.50 euros, which is 14 euros. The two children pay nothing in either case.
VAT on a villa costing 7,000 euros
If the decree is confirmed and the owner passes the VAT on, 10 per cent would add 700 euros. If the exemption remains, this item does not apply.
| Item (example) | July | December |
|---|---|---|
| Tourist tax, 4 adults, 7 nights | 56 euros | 14 euros |
| Tourist tax, 2 children under 16 | 0 euros | 0 euros |
| VAT at 10 per cent, if confirmed and passed on | 700 euros | 700 euros |
To put this in perspective: the tourist tax remains a modest item within the cost of a holiday on Mallorca. VAT, depending on the outcome, would be a considerably larger one. In this example it would be more than twelve times the tourist tax in July, and fifty times in December.
Ibiza tourist tax: the same rates apply across the Balearics
If you are considering Ibiza: the tourist tax applies at the same rates on Mallorca, Ibiza, Menorca and Formentera. The Ibiza tourist tax is therefore also 2 euros per person per night in high season and 0.50 euros in low season, and children under 16 pay nothing. The planned VAT applies throughout Spain, and so to villas on Ibiza as well.
The same considerations therefore hold for the cost of a holiday on Ibiza as for Mallorca. You will find a selection among our villas in southwest Ibiza, and we introduce our evening favourites in Ibiza villas with sunset views. If you are still deciding between the islands, our comparison of Mallorca, Ibiza, Menorca and Formentera may help.
Mallorca tourist tax: frequently asked questions
Who pays the tourist tax on Mallorca?
You do, as the guest, per person per night. Children and young people under 16 are exempt.
When is the tourist tax due?
The tax arises at the start of your stay and is calculated for each night. You pay it to the owner, who collects it before the end of your stay and passes it on to the Balearic authorities. This is set out in Articles 9 and 10 of Law 2/2016.
Will VAT make my booked holiday more expensive?
That depends on the vote, which the press reports is scheduled for 12 November 2026. The decree contains no transitional rule for stays already booked. Ask how your total price is made up.
Do children pay the tourist tax?
No. Children and young people under 16 pay no tourist tax.
Has the eco tax on Mallorca gone up?
No. The plan of March 2025 was withdrawn in April 2025, and in September 2026 the tourism minister, Jaume Bauzà, again ruled out an increase.
Talk to us about the total price of your villa, personally and without obligation
In brief: the tourist tax on Mallorca is fixed at modest rates and has not been raised. Spain is expected to decide on VAT for holiday villas on 12 November. We will update this article as soon as the result is known.
If you have a particular villa in mind and would like to know how its total price is made up, Florian will advise you personally. Browse all our villas on Mallorca and Ibiza or send us an enquiry without obligation. We know every house, and we take the time to answer your questions.
