Finland is preparing a new city tax for tourists – here’s how it would affect visitors
Finland is preparing to introduce a new tourist tax, also known as a city or tourist tax. In practice, this would be a municipal tax that local governments could levy on short-term stays—such as hotel stays, cottage rentals, or Airbnb accommodations.
The Ministry of Finance launched the legislative process for a regional tourist tax in April 2026. The goal is for the law to take effect no earlier than 2027, at which point municipalities could begin collecting the tax during 2028. The tax would be voluntary for municipalities: each municipality would decide for itself whether to take advantage of this new tax opportunity or not.
The tourist tax would be collected from tourists at the time of accommodation, typically either as a fixed amount in euros per night or as a percentage of the accommodation price. The accommodation provider would add the tax to the bill as a separate line item and remit the collected payments to the municipality, in the same way that is already done in many European cities.
The goal is to channel the tax revenue directly to the municipality, which can use it, for example, to improve tourism infrastructure, events, cleanliness, and safety. Municipalities for which tourism is a major industry see the tax as a potential source of significant additional revenue. On the other hand, some operators in the tourism and restaurant sectors have expressed concern that the additional cost could weaken Finland’s price competitiveness in the international market.
From the perspective of accommodation providers, it is important to note that the tourist tax would, in principle, apply to all short-term accommodations—including small operators and private Airbnb hosts—if a municipality decides to implement the tax. Therefore, business owners should start following the discussion in their own municipality now and prepare for the possibility that the structure of accommodation prices may in the future include a new “city tax” line item, for which transparent communication to customers will play a crucial role.