You arrive in Verona, luggage and expectations in hand, and at check-in you're asked for a few extra euros on top of the price you booked. It's not a mistake: it's the tourist tax, a municipal levy that many visitors only discover at the last moment. Understanding how it works — before you arrive — avoids surprises and also clarifies a couple of important things for hosts.
What is the Verona tourist tax and who has to pay it
The tourist tax is a municipal contribution that every non-resident visitor pays for each night spent in an accommodation facility. It applies to hotels, B&Bs, guesthouses, farm stays and — a detail many people overlook — also to short-term rentals and holiday apartments.
The party liable for the tax is whoever stays overnight in the accommodation facility, including tourist rentals, and whoever stays in properties under a short-term rental agreement located within the territory of the Municipality of Verona. In plain terms: if you are not a Verona resident and you sleep here, you pay it as a guest. But it is the host who collects and remits it.
The tax is determined per person and per night, calculated according to the type of accommodation facility. The rate is defined, as a rule, in relation to the classification assigned, based on the characteristics and services offered.
Amounts range from 1.50 to 5 euros per person per night. At campsites and hostels the figure is lower, while at 4- and 5-star hotels it can reach the maximum ceiling of 5 euros. Registered tourist apartments apply an intermediate rate, which typically sits around 2.50 or 3 euros.
One important limit: the tax is applied for a maximum of four nights per person per month, with rates confirmed also for 2026. Those who stay longer during the same month do not accumulate the levy indefinitely.
Who is exempt and who is entitled to a reduction
Not everyone pays the full amount. The municipal regulations of Verona distinguish between full exemptions and partial reductions, and this is something every host needs to know in detail.
The following are exempt from payment:
- Minors within their fifteenth year of age, meaning throughout the full year of being 14 up to the day before turning 15.
- Residents of the Municipality of Verona (these are not tourists, obviously).
- Patients who need to undergo treatment or medical appointments at public or private healthcare facilities within the municipal territory, along with one accompanying person. Those assisting patients admitted to healthcare facilities, at a rate of one companion per patient. Parents or delegated companions assisting minors under eighteen who are admitted or awaiting admission.
- Those staying overnight at youth hostels or facilities managed by non-profit organisations (ONLUS).
- Guests whose overnight stay, linked to institutional events, is covered by the Municipality of Verona.
The following are instead entitled to a 20% reduction:
- Guests aged over 70. Young people aged between 15 and 25 (from their 15th birthday up to the day before turning 26). Members of groups of more than 25 people.
These reductions cannot be combined with one another. And note: exemption is not automatic. The traveller must demonstrate that they meet the required conditions, and the host is obliged to retain the relevant documentation. The form is completed by the guest, but it is the accommodation manager who must keep it for a period of 5 years from the date of submission of the annual declaration.
How remittance works for the host: practical obligations
The host, and not the guest, is the party responsible for collecting, declaring and remitting the tax to the Municipality of Verona. This is not a mere formality: it is a tax obligation structured around precise steps.
Guests staying at the facilities pay the tax to the host at the time of settling their accommodation. The host proceeds with collection, issuing a receipt, and then remits the amount to the Municipality.
Periodically, the host must report to the Municipality the data relating to stays completed, counting the number of persons subject to payment, those exempt, and calculating the total amount to be remitted. The first step is to request from the Municipality of Verona the credentials needed to access the Tourist Tax portal.
One operational detail that makes all the difference: the Municipality of Verona has not reached any agreement with holiday rental platforms. As a result, it is not possible to proceed with collection via Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking or other booking sites. The host must manage everything independently, unlike what happens in other Italian cities.
What happens if the host does not remit the tax
This is the point that few articles address with any clarity. Until a few years ago, failure to remit the tourist tax could constitute peculato — a criminal offence. The situation has changed.
The host is today a debtor in their own right towards the Municipality. This means that non-payment can no longer be framed as the criminal offence of peculato, since the host is not the custodian of public money, but a party subject to a tax obligation. This is a meaningful distinction: it falls under tax law, not criminal law.
The consequences remain serious nonetheless. In the event of a missing declaration, the penalty ranges from 100% to 200% of the amount owed. For late payments a penalty of 25% applies, which can be reduced if the situation is regularised within 15 or 90 days.
Those who discover the error late can limit the damage through voluntary disclosure (ravvedimento operoso): if payment is made within ninety days of the deadline, the penalty is reduced by half. In the event of a delay not exceeding fifteen days, the penalty is further reduced and equals one fifteenth for each day of delay.
On the documentation front, it is not sufficient to note exemptions verbally. The host must collect supporting documentation and retain it for any future checks.
How much is the tourist tax worth for Verona?
In 2025, the annual meeting for the distribution of the collected tax was held at the Sala Barbieri of the Municipality. A total of approximately 8,865,000 euros was collected, of which 45% comes from short-term rentals. A portion of this "treasure" is allocated each year to the Fondazione Lirica, the city's main tourist attraction. The levy, in short, directly funds Verona's operatic culture.
Does Airbnb collect the tax on my behalf?
No: the Municipality of Verona has not entered into any agreement with holiday rental platforms, so Airbnb, Booking and Vrbo do not remit the tax on the host's behalf. It is up to the host to collect it directly from the guest at check-in and remit it to the Municipality within the prescribed deadlines.
Does the tax change in high season?
No: in Verona the amount remains unchanged in both high and low season. There are no surcharges during the summer Opera Festival or other peak periods. The variable is the category of the facility, not the calendar.
If you are planning a stay in Verona and want to know exactly what you will find on your bill, The Verona Stay is transparent about every cost item from the moment of booking. Our apartments at Via Roma 21 — a few steps from the Arena — and the property near the Teatro Ristori are managed in full compliance with all regulatory requirements. No surprises on arrival.