ItalyLoguePart of the BootsnAll Travel Network

Florence Hotel Tax: What it Costs & How to Avoid It

· Updated · BootsnAll

Florence charges every overnight visitor a city tax, the imposta di soggiorno. It started in July 2011, following Rome, and the city has raised it several times since. It is small next to what the rest of your trip costs, but it catches people out because it usually isn’t in the price you see when you book. You pay it to the hotel or host when you check in or out, and plenty of places still ask for it in cash.

Here is what the Florence hotel tax costs in 2026, who doesn’t have to pay it, and the few honest ways to pay less of it.

What You’ll Pay per Person, per Night

The rate depends on the type of lodging and, for hotels, the number of stars. Calling it a “hotel tax” undersells it: hostels, B&Bs, apartment rentals and campsites all pay. These are the rates the city has applied since 1 February 2025:

  • 5-star hotel: €8
  • 4-star hotel: €7
  • 3-star hotel: €6
  • 2-star hotel: €4.50
  • 1-star hotel: €3.50
  • B&Bs, holiday apartments and rooms for rent: €6
  • Hostels: €4
  • Campsites: €3.50

Farm stays (agriturismi, which Tuscany grades with sunflowers rather than stars) and residence hotels have their own lines on the city’s table. The city changes these figures every couple of years, so check the official Florence city tax page (in Italian) before you budget to the euro.

A note on hostels: plenty of places call themselves hostels without being licensed as one. The tax follows the license, not the sign over the door, so a “hostel” that is really registered as rooms for rent charges the €6 rate. Ask when you book.

The Rules That Change the Total

  • It’s per person, per night. A couple spending four nights in a 3-star hotel pays €48 on top of the room. A family of four in a 4-star for five nights, with kids aged 13 and 10, pays for three people: €105.
  • There’s a seven-night cap. You pay for up to seven consecutive nights. Night eight onward is free.
  • Children under 12 don’t pay.
  • Other exemptions cover people with severe disabilities plus one companion, up to two people assisting a patient admitted to a local health facility, and students enrolled at the University of Florence.
  • It’s separate from VAT. The 10% VAT on accommodation is already in your room rate. The city tax is extra.

For comparison, Rome charges more at the top end (about €10 a night at a 5-star in 2026) and taxes up to ten nights, with under-10s exempt. So if you’re splitting a trip between the two, Florence is the cheaper city to stay longer in, at least on this line of the bill.

How to Pay Less (or Avoid It)

Short of staying with friends, you can’t dodge it entirely if you sleep in Florence. You can shrink it.

  • Stay put. The cap counts consecutive nights, so one Florence base for ten nights pays for seven. Moving hotels halfway through can start the count again at the new place.
  • Drop a star. Going from a 4-star to a 2-star saves €2.50 per person per night, which adds up to €35 for a couple over a week, before you count the cheaper room.
  • Pick a licensed hostel. At €4 it pays less tax than a 3-star hotel, and many Florence hostels now have private rooms with their own bathrooms. Our Florence hostels guide has the options.
  • Don’t expect an apartment to save you tax. Holiday flats pay €6, the same as a 3-star hotel. They can still save money on food and space, especially for families.
  • Base yourself somewhere else. If Florence is one day on a longer Tuscany trip, sleeping in Siena, Lucca or Bologna and visiting Florence as a day trip means you pay their tax, not Florence’s. That only works if you want one day in Florence. Round-trip trains every day for a week cost more than the tax you’re trying to avoid, so for a proper visit, stay in the city and pay it.

Renting an Apartment in Florence in 2026

Apartments are where the rules have changed most. Florence stopped licensing new short-term rentals in its UNESCO historic center under rules that took effect on 31 May 2025, and in June 2026 the city extended the freeze to nine surrounding neighborhoods, through 2028. Flats that were already licensed can still be booked, so you’ll find them, just not new ones.

Two more things to check before you pay a deposit:

  • The CIN. Since 1 January 2025 every legal rental in Italy has to show a national ID code, the CIN, on the building and in every online listing. No CIN, no booking.
  • Check-in. Italy’s courts have ruled that an anonymous key box with no identity check isn’t allowed. Expect your host to meet you or to check your ID by video at the door, and plan your arrival time around it.

Wherever you stay, the host has to register your passport details with the police. They’ll copy or scan it and hand it straight back.

More about sleeping in Florence

photos, top to bottom, by: hotelkursaal&ausonia, mnmarkk