All information about the new accommodation tax.
As from 1 January 2014, the City of Berlin began levying an accommodation tax of 5% on the overnight room rate (excluding VAT and payments for other services such as minibar). Guests who booked their stay before 1 January do not have to pay the accommodation tax even if their trip to Berlin takes place in 2014.
Since the accommodation tax is an “indirect tax”, it will be added to the guest’s invoice and paid by the accommodation facility to the city.
Business travellers are exempt from the tax. However, they must provide plausible evidence for the professional nature of the expenditure to the enterprise providing the accommodation by the end of their stay at the latest. Guests who are unable to prove to the hotel the business nature of their trip have the option of applying for a refund of any retained tax on their overnight stay to the responsible fiscal office up to 4 months after their stay. At this point, the guest must present proof of the professional purpose of the accommodation expenditure.
Download proof formulars: