Turkey Tourist Tax Explained: 1% Hotel Tax Until 31 December 2026

Turkey has a tourist tax, but it is not a fee per person per night: it is an accommodation tax (konaklama vergisi) charged as a percentage of your hotel bill, and it stands at 1% until 31 December 2026. The normal rate is 2%. A Presidential Decision published on 1 May 2026 cut it to 1% for a limited period, and we found no decision extending the cut into 2027 as of 7 November 2026. If you are booking a 2027 trip, the safe assumption is that the 2% rate comes back on 1 January. For a €120 room the difference is €1.20 against €2.40 a night, so it is a small line, but it is worth knowing before you compare prices. Our private Istanbul city tour package from $699 per person includes all local taxes and service charges, with no deposit and payment on the tour.

Is there a tourist tax in Turkey?

Yes, but only in the form of the accommodation tax, and it applies to everyone who sleeps in a hotel, motel, holiday village, pension, apart-hotel, guesthouse or campsite. It started on 1 January 2023 at 2% after the Revenue Administration published its general communiqué on 14 December 2022, as EY reported at the time. It sits in Article 34 of the Expense Taxes Law (No. 6802). The accounting firm Cott Group lists the covered facilities, and EY says the rule applies to accommodation of any type, class or quality.

We found no separate per-night city fee for Istanbul in the sources we checked, so the accommodation tax is the one that appears on your hotel invoice. Museum tickets, the airport and public transport carry their own prices and have nothing to do with it.

What is the rate in 2026, and what happens in 2027?

Presidential Decision No. 11263 was published in the Official Gazette (No. 33240) on 1 May 2026. It lowered the rate from 2% to 1% and applies to 31 December 2026, according to Bloomberg Tax and Cott Group. Turizm Ekonomi reported on 2 May that the move was meant to support tourism during geopolitical tension and higher energy costs, and quoted hotel federation officials welcoming it as help with pricing.

The decision names an end date. It does not say what happens afterwards, and we found no later decision or hotel-industry announcement before 7 November 2026. So the rate for stays from 1 January 2027 is not settled. If nothing new is published, the law's 2% applies. That is our reading of the decision, not a statement from the tax authority, so check the Official Gazette or ask your hotel if you book very early.

Beyoğlu and Galata are among the districts where many visitors book boutique hotels, and the tax appears on those invoices in the same way as in a resort.

How much will you pay per night?

The tax is 1% or 2% of the accommodation charge before VAT, so you pay about €1 to €2 for every €100 of room price. The tax authority's guide, summarised by Regfollower after its 19 June 2026 update, states that the base is the service value excluding VAT. Foreign-currency charges are converted at the Central Bank buying rate on the day of service.

These figures are our own arithmetic on the net room rate, shown to make the scale clear. Your hotel adds VAT separately, and the final bill depends on how the hotel splits room, breakfast and extras.

Does it apply to all-inclusive hotels and package holidays?

Yes. The tax base includes services sold with the stay, such as food and drink, entertainment and pool, sports or thermal areas, and all-inclusive and half-board packages stay fully taxable. Cott Group's summary of the rules lists those extra services, and the Revenue Administration guide reported by Regfollower confirms that all-inclusive and half-board packages are taxed. The tax must appear separately on the invoice.

Only a few groups are exempt: students in student-only dormitories, pensions and camps, and diplomatic missions where reciprocity applies. A normal tourist has no exemption, whether staying in a cave hotel in Cappadocia, an Aegean resort or an Istanbul apartment hotel.

A cave hotel room in Cappadocia. Hotel types differ widely in price, but the tax is charged the same way on all of them.

Can you claim it back, and do you pay online or at the hotel?

No, the accommodation tax cannot be claimed back, because the Turkish tax-free scheme refunds VAT on goods bought in shops and does not cover hotel stays. Our tax-free shopping guide lists what does qualify, and hotels, meals, tours and transfers do not.

You pay it either with the booking or at check-out, depending on the hotel and the rate. Some online prices already include taxes, some do not. The simple habit is to check the booking summary for the words "taxes included" or "tax not included", and ask the front desk for the invoice with the tax line. Hotels pass the tax on to the tax office and to the guest through their normal billing.

What this means for your trip

For a week in a mid-range hotel, the tax is a few euros to a few tens of euros. It matters less than room category, season and cancellation terms. It matters more if you are comparing a quote that includes taxes with one that does not, so ask for the all-in price.

Our own packages state taxes in the inclusions. The 4 day Istanbul city tour package from $699 per person covers three nights in a mid-range hotel with breakfast, a full-day Old City tour, a Bosphorus cruise, airport transfers, lunch on tour days, entrance tickets and all local taxes and service charges. The 8 day Istanbul and Cappadocia package from $2,400 per person adds seven hotel nights, domestic flights, a Bosphorus dinner cruise, the Red and Green Tours in Cappadocia and a Turkish night show, again with all local taxes included. For a shorter plan without a hotel, the private Istanbul tour with a licensed guide costs $199 per group for one day.

The Bosphorus cruise is part of the 4 day package, so the fares and the tax on the hotel nights are already inside the package price.

If you are planning the rest of the budget, read our guides on exchanging money in Istanbul, tipping in Turkey and the Istanbul Museum Pass, and compare routes on our Istanbul tours, Cappadocia tours and Turkey tour packages pages.

Questions travellers are asking

Plan it with us

Tell us your dates and hotel level on WhatsApp at +90 545 307 67 88, and we will price a package with all local taxes included. There is no deposit; you pay on the tour.

• Private Istanbul city tour package, 4 days and 3 nights, from $699 per person
• Private Istanbul and Cappadocia tour package, 8 days and 7 nights, from $2,400 per person
• Best of Istanbul private tour with a professional guide, 1 to 3 days, from $199 per group

More: Istanbul tours, Cappadocia tours, Turkey tour packages and our tax-free shopping guide.

Sources: Presidential Decision No. 11263 as summarised by Bloomberg Tax (6 May 2026) and Cott Group, Turizm Ekonomi (2 May 2026), EY Tax News (5 January 2023), Revenue Administration guide of 19 June 2026 as summarised by Regfollower, checked 7 November 2026.