What is Kurtaxe, and why does every Swiss commune charge something different?

If you've booked a hotel room or a short-term rental in Switzerland, you've likely seen a small extra line on the bill: Kurtaxe, taxe de séjour, or tassa di soggiorno, depending on the region. It's a per-person, per-night charge, and unlike VAT, there's no single national rate — it's set independently by each of Switzerland's roughly 2,100 communes.

Why it varies so much

Switzerland's tourist tax is a municipal instrument, not a federal one. Each commune decides its own rate through its own regulation (often called a Kurtaxenreglement or règlement sur la taxe de séjour), which is why a resort town can charge close to CHF 8 per person per night while a city a short drive away charges under CHF 4 — and why a neighbouring commune can charge nothing at all.

What the money is generally used for

Tourist tax revenue is typically earmarked for the local tourism infrastructure — trail maintenance, local transport, tourism-office operations, and promotion — rather than going into the commune's general budget. The exact allocation is set out in each commune's own regulation.

Who actually pays it

The overnight guest pays it, usually added to the accommodation bill. The accommodation provider — a hotel, or a short-term rental host — is generally responsible for collecting it from guests and remitting it to the commune or tourism office on a schedule the commune sets.

Where to check the current rate for a specific commune

Because rates and rules sit at commune level and can change, the most reliable approach is to check the specific commune's own published regulation or contact its tourism office directly. This site tracks a set of the highest-traffic tourist communes and re-checks each one's published source on a schedule — see the commune pages for current figures and direct links to each source.