VAT on Overnight Stays Rises to 21%: What It Means for Rental Owners

If you rent out a vacation home, B&B or apartment in the Netherlands, a significant cost increase is coming on 1 January 2026: VAT on overnight stays rises from 9% to 21%. That's more than a doubling of the VAT rate on lodging — and it affects almost every rental owner in the country. Combined with tourist tax that has been climbing for years and the commission platforms charge, it puts serious pressure on your margin.

What exactly is changing?

At the moment, overnight stays still fall under the reduced VAT rate of 9%. From 1 January 2026, that advantage disappears: lodging moves to the standard rate of 21%. The increase applies to vacation homes, B&Bs, hotels and glamping. Only traditional camping — a pitch for a tent or caravan — remains under the reduced 9% rate.

For you as a rental owner, this means you must remit 21% VAT on every stay instead of 9%. That 12 percentage-point difference has to come from somewhere: either you pass it on to your guest, or you absorb it yourself.

What does the VAT hike actually cost?

A quick example makes it clear. Say you rent out a stay for €200 (price excluding VAT):

• ✓Under the old rate (9%): the guest pays €218
• ✓Under the new rate (21%): the guest pays €242
• ✓Difference: €24 more per night — over 11% more expensive for the guest

For a week-long stay, that difference adds up to more than €150. If you don't pass the VAT on in full to avoid scaring off guests, you effectively pay that difference out of your own pocket — and your margin shrinks accordingly.

Fewer bookings due to higher prices

The increase affects not only your margin but also demand. Research by the Dutch Ministry of Finance projects the VAT hike could lead to roughly a 6% drop in bookings nationwide. In some tourist regions, where guests are more price-sensitive, demand could fall by as much as 30%.

The reason is simple: higher prices put guests off, especially for holidays that suddenly cost a few hundred euros more. Many rental owners therefore face a tough choice — raise prices and risk fewer bookings, or keep prices the same and accept a smaller margin.

And then there's tourist tax too

The VAT hike comes on top of another cost that has been rising for years: tourist tax (toeristenbelasting). This is a municipal levy on overnight stays that you, as the rental owner, collect and remit to the municipality. Of the 342 Dutch municipalities, 320 now levy tourist tax, and the rates climb every year:

• ✓+8.1% in 2024 versus the previous year
• ✓+11.3% in 2025
• ✓+9.7% in 2026: the national average reached €2.79 per person per night
• ✓In five years, tourist tax has risen by more than 30%

In the big cities, guests pay far more. Amsterdam now charges 12.5% of the overnight price (around €18.44 per person per night for an average stay) and plans to raise that step by step to 20% by 2031. VAT and tourist tax combined make a stay considerably more expensive for your guest.

What does this mean for you as a rental owner?

The stacking of higher VAT and rising tourist tax puts serious pressure on your business. A few concrete consequences:

• ✓Higher costs for guests, which may reduce your occupancy rate
• ✓If you pass the VAT on in full, guests may be put off; if you absorb it yourself, your margin shrinks
• ✓More administration: filing VAT returns at the new rate and collecting and remitting tourist tax
• ✓Platforms like Booking.com don't share your burden — they simply take their commission from your selling price

In short: your fixed costs go up, but the platforms you work with don't share the pain.

How do you protect your margin?

VAT and tourist tax are fixed — there's little you can do about them. But there is one major cost you can control: the platform commission. Booking.com, Airbnb and similar platforms often charge 15% or more commission per booking. On a €200 night, that's €30 or more straight to the platform — on top of all the taxes.

Owners who attract direct bookings through their own website pay no platform commission at all. That saving goes a long way toward offsetting the higher VAT without having to raise your rates dramatically. Guests also tend to appreciate booking directly: no middleman, direct communication, and often a slightly better price.

With Mikaflow you can set up a complete booking system on your own website — including online payments, automatic confirmations and a calendar that keeps itself up to date. Guests book directly with you, no middleman. You keep more from every booking and rely less on the big platforms.

Conclusion

The VAT increase on overnight stays from 9% to 21% is one of the biggest changes for rental owners in years, effective 1 January 2026. Combined with rising tourist tax, renting out becomes noticeably more expensive for both you and your guest. But there's one side of the equation you can control: your commission costs. The more direct bookings you attract, the less you hand over to platforms — and the more room you have to absorb the higher VAT.

Curious how Mikaflow helps you get more direct bookings? Try it free for 14 days, no credit card required.