Amsterdam Tourist Tax 2026: The Real Cost of a Room Now

Amsterdam already runs Europe's highest percentage-based tourist tax at 12.5% of the room rate. On 23 August 2026, NL Times reported that the city's incoming coalition has locked in a path to nearly double that: 16% from 2027, climbing a percentage point a year to 20% by 2031 — on top of a national VAT hike that already landed this year. If you're pricing an Amsterdam trip for the Sep-Nov shoulder season or booking ahead for next year, the number on the hotel confirmation email is about to move, and it's worth knowing exactly how much and when.

Where the rate is going, and why it's happening now

PRO Amsterdam and D66, the parties that formed Amsterdam's new city coalition, presented their agreement on 3 June 2026 — "Your city is my city. Our Amsterdam" — with the tourist-tax escalation as a centerpiece, alongside closing a budget deficit and shifting funding away from residents (DutchNews). The schedule: 16% of the overnight room price in 2027, then up one percentage point every year until it hits 20% in 2031. The city expects the higher rate to raise roughly an extra EUR 75 million a year in tourist-only revenue once it's fully phased in.

That municipal tax stacks on a separate national change that already happened: the Dutch government raised VAT on short-stay accommodation from 9% to 21% effective 1 January 2026. Combine the two and the total tax load on an Amsterdam hotel room reaches roughly 41% by 2031, nearly double what it was a few years ago. On today's 12.5% municipal rate plus the new 21% VAT, a EUR 200-a-night room already carries well over EUR 60 in tax before you've bought a single coffee.

The tax you pay even if you never sleep there

If you're arriving on a river or sea cruise and Amsterdam is a stopover rather than an overnight stay, there's a separate levy: the Day Tourist Tax, which rose to EUR 15 per person per day in 2026, up from EUR 14.50 the year before, charged from age two and collected by the ship's operator rather than the passenger directly. It applies whether you're ashore for two hours or twenty-four.

The Airbnb math changed too

If a short-stay rental looked like the way around the hotel tax, that loophole narrowed this year. Amsterdam's standard holiday-rental permit still allows a home to be let for up to 30 nights a year citywide, but since 1 April 2026 the city cut that to 15 nights in designated streets across Centrum and De Pijp — the two districts with the heaviest tourist pressure — on top of the existing 4-guest cap and mandatory registration number. It's a narrower rule than a blanket city-wide change, so check the specific address before you book, not just the neighborhood name.

The tourist tax is charged on top of the quoted room rate, not included in it, on almost every Amsterdam hotel booking site — build it into your budget rather than treating the checkout total as final.

Booking the one ticket that actually sells out

None of the tax changes affect what's still the hardest reservation in the city: Anne Frank House. Per the museum's official ticket page, tickets go online only — there's no door sale — and release every Tuesday at 10:00 CEST for the week exactly six weeks later. An adult ticket is EUR 16.50, including a EUR 1.00 booking fee, and popular summer slots sell out within minutes of release. If Anne Frank House is the reason for the trip, set a calendar reminder for the Tuesday six weeks before you land, not the week before.

The other tickets that sell out before you land

Anne Frank House isn't the only Amsterdam museum where showing up on the day doesn't work. The Rijksmuseum sells its EUR 25 adult ticket online only, with a timed entry slot required for every visitor — under-18s enter free but still need to book a slot, and the museum itself is cashless. The Van Gogh Museum runs the same timed-entry-only system a few minutes' walk away on Museumplein; it doesn't publish a fixed release-window rule the way Anne Frank House does, but by its own account popular March-to-October slots can disappear weeks ahead, so it isn't a same-day plan either. If your itinerary depends on either museum, book both before you book the hotel, not after.

Entry rules: still simple, for now

The Netherlands is a full Schengen member, so the standard 90-days-in-any-180-day visa-free window applies to nationals of the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea and dozens of other visa-exempt countries — no separate Dutch permit needed for a short trip. The EU's long-planned ETIAS pre-travel authorisation, which would have added a small fee and an online form for visa-exempt visitors, is not yet required: the EU's own ETIAS site has dropped its previous late-2026 target, and eu-LISA — the agency building the system — told the Financial Times a 2026 launch is no longer realistic, per ETIAS.com's July 2026 tracking. A 2027 rollout is the working assumption; there's no confirmed date to build a trip around yet.

Getting online without adding to the bill

Unlike some EU countries, the Netherlands has no legal requirement to register ID against a prepaid SIM — but in practice, Dutch carriers and airport kiosks still ask for a passport before activating one, and a few outlets expect a local or EU bank account for anything beyond a basic prepaid top-up. With every other line item on an Amsterdam trip climbing, landing with data already active on a Netherlands eSIM skips the Schiphol kiosk queue and the passport-and-bank-account friction entirely — your home number stays free for calls and two-factor codes while data runs on the local network from the moment you land.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Amsterdam tourist tax already at 16% or 20%?

No — as of this trip-planning season the rate is still 12.5% of the room rate. The 16% rate is scheduled for 2027 and 20% for 2031, under the coalition agreement presented in June 2026; each year's rate still needs to go through the city's normal budget process before it takes effect.

Does the tourist tax apply to Airbnb and short-stay apartments, or just hotels?

It applies to hotels, apartments, B&Bs, holiday rentals and campsites alike — anywhere you pay to sleep overnight in the city, per the municipality's own tax categories.

Do I need to register for ETIAS to visit the Netherlands right now?

No. ETIAS has no confirmed launch date as of August 2026 and is not required for entry. Visa-exempt visitors can still travel under the standard Schengen 90/180-day rule with no pre-travel form.

Can I skip the tourist tax by staying outside Amsterdam and day-tripping in?

You'll avoid the Amsterdam-specific rate, since most nearby Dutch municipalities set their own, generally lower, tourist tax — but you won't avoid tourist tax altogether, since it's charged by nearly every Dutch city and town that takes overnight visitors, and you'll add commute time and a train or tram fare each way for every day you're in the city.

Is the Anne Frank House ticket price affected by the tourist tax hike?

No, the two are unrelated. Anne Frank House sets its own EUR 16.50 adult admission independently of the municipal tourist tax, which is charged only on accommodation and cruise-day visits, not on museum entry.