2026 rates of the Balearic Sustainable Tourism Tax (ecotasa): amounts by accommodation category, exemption for minors, 50 % reduction from the 9th night, and how to automate collection at check-in.
What the ecotasa is and what it funds
The Balearic Sustainable Tourism Tax (Impost sobre Estades Turístiques, ITS — known as the ecotasa) is a regional levy on stays at tourist accommodation in Mallorca, Ibiza, Menorca and Formentera. In force in its current form since 2016 and reframed by Law 2/2016 of 30 March, its proceeds go to the Sustainable Tourism Fund: environment, heritage, training of tourism workers, and research.
It is not optional and not bundled into the headline price: the guest bears the tax, the accommodation collects it and remits it to the Balearic Tax Agency (ATIB).
2026 rates by accommodation type
Rates apply per person and night based on the establishment category. The current table, in force in 2026:
- ✓5-star hotels, grand luxury, holiday cities, 5-star aparthotels and 4-star superior: €4.00/person/night in high season · €1.00/person/night in low season.
- ✓4-star hotels, 4-star aparthotels, other 4-star urban accommodation: €3.00/person/night high · €0.75/person/night low.
- ✓1-, 2-, 3-star hotels and aparthotels, hostels, pensions, guest houses: €2.00/person/night high · €0.50/person/night low.
- ✓Vacation rentals (ETV), tourist apartments, rural hotels, agro-tourism, interior tourism, all regulated short-term rental: €2.00/person/night high · €0.50/person/night low.
- ✓Hostels, refuges, campsites and camping grounds: €1.00/person/night high · €0.25/person/night low.
- ✓Cruise ships (more than 12 hours docked in a Balearic port): €2.00/person/day.
High season vs low season: what falls under each
The distinction matters: the rate quadruples from low to high. High season usually runs from 1 May to 31 October; low season, from 1 November to 30 April. The exact dates are set annually by ministerial order, so it is wise to check the BOIB each year.
In practice, a week-long stay in August at a vacation rental for 4 adults pays: 4 × 7 × €2.00 = €56.00. The same stay in February: 4 × 7 × €0.50 = €14.00.
Exemptions and reductions
- ✓Guests under 16 (15 included): 100 % exempt.
- ✓From the 9th continuous night at the same establishment: 50 % reduction on nights 9 and onward.
- ✓Stays subsidised by public-administration social programmes.
- ✓Force-majeure stays (declared natural catastrophes, public-health emergencies).
- ✓Crew of passenger ships when calling at port.
How to declare and remit
The accommodation is the substitute taxpayer: it collects the ecotasa from the guest and remits it to the Balearic Tax Agency (ATIB). The self-assessment uses form 700, usually quarterly (April, July, October, January), and monthly for large establishments.
Not collecting it from the guest does not relieve the accommodation of the duty to remit — as with other Spanish tourist taxes, if you do not pass it through on the invoice, it comes out of your margin.
The under-discussed point: vacation rentals owe it regardless of channel
A common confusion among new hosts: "I book through Airbnb so I do not have to collect the ecotasa." That is false. The obligation follows the activity (a registered ETV vacation rental), not the channel.
Airbnb, Booking and Vrbo collect from the guest the price you set. It is your responsibility to include the ecotasa in the price or charge it separately, and to remit it to the ATIB. If you do not — and the administration spots the activity, which it does because ETVs are registered with a visible number on every listing — you face a tax penalty for the unremitted amount plus interest.
How BookCheckin automates the ecotasa
BookCheckin computes the applicable ecotasa per booking based on location (the same regime across the four islands), accommodation category, number of guests, minors under 16, nights and season.
It applies the 50 % reduction from the 9th night and exempts minors. The amount is collected during online check-in alongside other charges, recorded against the booking, and ready for the quarterly self-assessment on form 700. The accommodation never calculates by hand.