Accommodation tax (konaklama vergisi) is not a tax that concerns only the room price and becomes fixed on the reservation date. Facility services that are offered and sold together with an overnight stay may also fall within its scope. Because the rate changed in 2026, the date on which the service is provided is also important. For the period from 1 May to 31 December 2026 the rate applies at 1%; the earlier rate of 2% should not be spread across the whole year.
Legal nature of the tax and how it differs from other obligations
The subject of accommodation tax is not determined only by the name of the room fee in the contract. The overnight stay and the on-site services provided with it are examined in light of the date the service is performed and the invoicing relationship.
Which services provided with an overnight stay or accommodation are subject to accommodation tax?
Overnight stay services offered at hotels, motels, holiday villages, pensions (pansiyon), aparthotels, guesthouses, campsites and similar establishments are the core subject of the tax. The name of the establishment or its tourism certificate alone is not decisive. Food, drink, entertainment and similar on-site services sold together with an overnight stay are also assessed within the relevant package. [1; Law No. 6802, Article 34]
Day-use services offered without an overnight stay, and transactions that are separate and independent from accommodation, are not accepted as falling within the same scope. However, opening an artificially separate invoice line does not change the legal nature of a package that is in reality sold together. The contract, booking conditions, pricing and actual service are examined together.
Providing accommodation at a campsite is not the same as staying overnight in one’s own vehicle outside an establishment. Special exemptions exist for student dormitories and certain diplomatic services; their scope and documentation are checked separately.
Which date determines the 2026 rate?
Under Presidential Decision No. 11263 the 1% rate applies between 1 May and 31 December 2026. The guide describes the temporary period together with the general 2% rate. The fact that the establishment prepared its price list at the beginning of the year, or that the guest paid in advance, does not by itself tie a later service to the old rate.
The taxable event is the provision of the service. Receiving an advance does not by itself show that the accommodation service has been completed. For services that straddle the rate-change date or spread across more than one period, the performance and period records should be examined separately. Future 2027 reservations should not be carried over unconditionally at the temporary rate valid until the end of 2026. [1; Presidential Decision No. 11263]
Tax base and relationship with value added tax
The tax base for accommodation tax is the price excluding value added tax (KDV) paid in return for the service. The tax is shown separately on the invoice and is not included in the VAT base. These two rules do not mean that VAT will never be calculated; the VAT on the accommodation service applies under its own provisions.
In the simplified example, the accommodation tax on a service with a tax base of 20,000 TL during the temporary 1% period is 200 TL. VAT is calculated separately; the 200 TL accommodation tax is not added to the VAT base. In the example, the services included in the price must have been correctly identified beforehand.
Where a service is provided free of charge or requires a comparable price, the absence of a price does not automatically produce a zero tax result. The statutory comparable-price provision and cases of non-taxable use are assessed separately. Staff housing and a commercial guesthouse are not the same situation.
Invoicing and payment relationship between the travel agency, the accommodation establishment and the customer
In contracts between the travel agency (acente), the establishment and the customer, the accommodation price and the way the tax is shown must be clear. Whom the establishment invoices for the service, the agency’s own commission and the other services in the package are assessed together. Whether the tax is agreed inside or outside the price does not by itself change who the statutory taxpayer is.
In case of cancellation and refund, a document link should be established between whether the service took place, the refund made to the customer and the tax correction. It is not appropriate to assume a tax refund in the accounts merely because the amount has not been refunded to the customer.
Comparing reservation, invoice and collection records in the monthly accommodation tax return
The taxation period is monthly. Declaration and payment are generally made by the 26th day of the following month; holiday and special time-limit provisions are checked separately. The fact that a business whose liability continues has no taxable transaction in the relevant period does not by itself remove the declaration obligation.
| Record | Check |
|---|---|
| Reservation | Package scope, dates and advance payment |
| Accommodation | Check-in, check-out and performance of the service |
| Invoice | Tax base excluding VAT, rate, separate tax line |
| Agency | Contract and invoice chain |
| Refund | Cancellation, payment to the customer and return correction |
Does being a foreign guest provide an exemption?
Not by itself. The provision of the service in Türkiye and the subject of the tax are important. Special provisions, such as the diplomatic exemption, are subject to separate conditions.
If breakfast and the room are written as separate lines, does breakfast fall outside the scope?
If breakfast is part of a package sold together with accommodation, merely using a separate line does not change the result. The actual contract and service relationship are the basis.
Day-use and separate services
For accommodation tax, the existence of an overnight stay is as important as the name of the establishment. Merely providing a day-use pool, restaurant or meeting service is different from the same services being offered as part of an overnight stay package. The scope of services sold for a single price together with an overnight stay should be tracked from the reservation and the sales contract.
Splitting an invoice into separate lines does not automatically remove a single accommodation package from the tax. Equally, it is not right to add to the accommodation tax base every service that the establishment independently provides to third parties. The nature of the service, whether it is included in the package and who provides it are assessed together.
Free accommodation, staff and exemption documents
For free or discounted accommodation, the comparable price and the real purpose of the transaction are checked separately. Providing a free night to a customer, providing accommodation to establishment staff and a recognised statutory exemption do not rest on the same reasoning. The special exemptions for student dormitories and guesthouses and the diplomatic exemptions apply subject to their scope and document conditions.
An oral statement of diplomatic status is not sufficient. The exemption document should be linked to the identity of the service recipient and the scope of the service on the invoice. The agency’s intermediary role does not by itself change the exemption right or the establishment’s documentation responsibility.
Advances, cancellations and period-end control
The advance received for a reservation and the performance of the accommodation service may fall on different dates. The transaction to which the rate change applies is assessed by the taxable event date of the service. Services performed outside the period of the temporary 1% rate in 2026 cannot be taxed at that same rate.
It must be determined whether a cancellation fee, no-show charge, price difference or refund is really the consideration for an accommodation service. At month-end reconciliation, the reservation system, the overnight stays actually realised, the agency notification and the invoice total are compared together. Treating all advances received as service income, or excluding all advances even after the service has been completed, leads to different declaration errors.
Decision to make and file to prepare before acting
Link the reservation, advance, accommodation date and invoice. Separate the amount collected by the agency from the tax liability of the establishment; do not add accommodation tax to the VAT base. Explain cancellations, free services and period transitions with separate records.