Many owners only find out about the tourist tax (taxe de séjour) once they start short-term letting, and sometimes too late. Yet the principle is simple: you do not pay it, your guests do. You simply collect it and pass it on to the local authority. On the French Riviera, where every town sets its own rules, it pays to know who collects it, how much it is and how to declare it, so you stay compliant.
In this article we cover the essentials: what the tourist tax is for, who really pays it, how the amount is set, the part platforms such as Airbnb play in collecting it, and what you need to declare and pay over. We deliberately keep amounts general, because they vary from town to town and with your property's classification. For exact rates, we point you to the relevant town halls (Nice, Cannes, Antibes, etc.).
What is the tourist tax for?
The tourist tax is revenue raised by towns and some groupings of tourist towns. The idea is that visitors help pay for the cost of hosting them: upkeep of public spaces, promoting the destination, facilities and events. In an area as busy as the French Riviera it is a major source of income for local authorities, which is why they keep a close eye on how it is collected.
It applies to anyone paying to stay in tourist accommodation: hotels, serviced residences, B&Bs (chambres d'hôtes) and, of course, furnished holiday lets (meublés de tourisme) let short-term. As soon as you let your apartment to visitors on the French Riviera, your guests are in principle liable, and it is up to you to make sure it is collected.
Who pays the tourist tax?
Owners are often relieved to hear this: the tourist tax is paid by the guest, not by you. You simply collect it. In practice, the tax is added to the nightly rate; you collect it from the guest (or the platform does it for you), then pay it over to the town.
The tax is usually charged per person, per night. Some people may be exempt (for example, under-18s in many towns). Exemptions are set locally, so check them with the town concerned. The key point for you is that the tax does not come out of your income: it simply passes through your hands.
How much is the tourist tax on the French Riviera?
There is no single rate: each town sets its own, within a national legal framework. The amount depends on several factors, which is why no one figure applies everywhere.
- The town. Nice, Cannes, Antibes, Cagnes-sur-Mer, Saint-Laurent-du-Var and Villeneuve-Loubet each set their own scale of rates, voted by the local council.
- The property's classification. A classified (star-rated) holiday let and an unclassified one are charged at different rates. For unclassified properties, the tax may be a percentage of the nightly rate, up to a cap.
- The time of year, in some cases. Some towns can vary their scheme.
That is why we do not give rates in this article: any figures would be approximate and soon out of date. Go straight to your town hall's website (Nice, Cannes, Antibes, etc.) or the local tourist office to find the exact rate for your holiday let, depending on whether it is classified or not.
| What affects the amount | Check with… |
|---|---|
| The town where the property is | Town hall / local tourist office |
| Classification (classified or unclassified) | Town hall + classification body |
| Calculation method (flat-rate or actual) | Town hall |
| Applicable exemptions | Town hall |
Airbnb, Booking and other platforms: what they do
Good news for most owners: if you use a major platform such as Airbnb or Booking, it will usually collect the tourist tax for you and pay it straight to the local authority. The guest pays it when they book, so for those stays you have nothing to pay over yourself.
Automatic collection by the platforms has made life much easier for owners. But watch out for two things:
- Direct bookings. If you also take bookings directly (your own website, word of mouth or any channel that does not collect the tax), you must collect it from the guest and pay it to the town yourself. The responsibility is entirely yours.
- Checking. Even when the platform collects the tax, it is ultimately your job to make sure it is applied correctly to your property. Settings can be wrong (declared classification, rate applied).
Put simply, platform collection takes most of the work off your hands, but you remain responsible overall. This is one area where professional management gives real peace of mind.
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Declaring and paying over the tax
So what you need to do depends on how you take bookings. Here is how to stay on top of it.
- List your booking channels. Platforms that collect the tax automatically on one side, direct bookings on the other.
- For platforms that collect the tax, check from time to time that it is actually being charged and paid over, and that your property is set up correctly (classified or not).
- For direct bookings, collect the tax from the guest (per person, per night, minus any exemptions) and pay it to the town following its own procedure and deadlines.
- Keep a register. It is wise to keep a record of nights, guests and amounts collected, in case of an inspection.
Each town sets its own rules for declaring and paying over the tax (how often, which forms, which online portal). Again, your town hall's website is the first place to look.
Tourist tax, declaration and registration number: three different things
The tourist tax is just one of the rules for short-term letting, and it should not be confused with the others. Before you collect any tax, you must have declared your holiday let and obtained a registration number from your town. In Nice, you must also follow the change-of-use rules: a main residence can be let for up to 120 days a year, while a second home needs a change-of-use authorisation from the very first night.
These steps are separate but go hand in hand: the declaration and registration number make your listing legal, while the tourist tax helps fund local tourism. We walk through the whole process in our 2026 guide to holiday let declarations and change of use, and cover the rules specific to Nice in our article on Airbnb regulations in Nice in 2026.
Does the tourist tax hurt your returns?
Hardly at all, and that is worth stressing. Because the guest pays the tax, not you, it does not eat into your margin. The only indirect effect is a slightly higher total price for the guest. And per night, the amount is small next to Riviera prices: in summer 2026, the homes we manage averaged €177 a night in Nice, €184 in Antibes and €134 in Cannes ("Saison 2026 Azur" report, Lodgify).
What really drives your returns is something else: your occupancy rate (84% of open nights across our portfolio in summer 2026, far less in winter), your average nightly rate, the quality of your listings and how smoothly the property is run. These are the levers where a good holiday rental management company makes the difference. To estimate what your property could earn, try our rental income simulator.
Handing over management, tourist tax included
For many owners, keeping on top of the tourist tax (checking platform collection, handling direct bookings, keeping the register, paying on time) is one of the time-consuming chores that make letting a hassle. It is exactly the kind of detail we handle as part of our all-inclusive service.
At Azur Hébergements, we run every aspect of your holiday let on the French Riviera: listings on several platforms, guest check-in, cleaning, pricing, regulatory compliance and the tourist tax. Our commission is 20% of rent collected, excl. VAT (24% incl. VAT) for holiday letting (from 8% excl. VAT for a bail mobilité, the French furnished mobility lease of 1 to 10 months), with no hidden fees. You receive the income; we take care of the rest. Find out more on our short-term rental management page, or get in touch for a personalised estimate for your property.
Key takeaways
Your guests pay the tourist tax, not you: you only collect it. The amount depends on the town and your property's classification, so check the exact rate with your town hall. The big platforms usually collect and pay it over for you, but you are still responsible for getting it right, especially on direct bookings. Finally, do not confuse it with the town hall declaration and the registration number, which are separate obligations and come first.
For a wider look at what a Riviera property can earn, read our analysis of how much a holiday let on the French Riviera earns.
Tourist tax rates, procedures and exemptions are set locally and change over time. Always check the current rules with your town hall (Nice, Cannes, Antibes, Cagnes-sur-Mer, Saint-Laurent-du-Var, Villeneuve-Loubet) and the Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur.
Find out more about our holiday rental management in Antibes and how we handle the tourist tax for you.
