How to collect tourist tax with a payment link

To collect tourist tax with a payment link, first calculate the legally applicable amount, subtract tax already collected for the booking, and send a one-time link for the remaining amount. Verify a completed payment before treating the tax as collected. Keep the calculation and payment record for your declaration. Collection timing depends on the location: Paris requires collection during the stay, not at reservation.

This workflow is for B&Bs, vacation rentals and small property managers with direct bookings. PayRequest’s Tourist Tax collection currently requires a connected Mollie account and a EUR payment page. It does not declare or remit tax to an authority.

Before you send a tourist tax payment link

Check the municipality, official accommodation category, stay dates and exemptions. A platform star rating is not an official accommodation classification. Confirm who collected tax for the particular booking: Airbnb explains its French collection arrangements, but a booking-channel name alone is not evidence for every destination.

Use the free tourist tax calculator to inspect supported rates and download a calculation. Amsterdam, Barcelona and Paris have different formulas and verified date ranges. Other municipalities require your own applicable rule; a simple percentage must not replace a capped French formula.

A worked Paris payment-link example

Assume an unclassified property inside Paris, three nights in 2026, four occupants including two exempt minors, and €600 of accommodation-only price excluding VAT. Nightly price, occupancy and exemptions stay unchanged.

The price per occupant per night is €600 ÷ 3 ÷ 4 = €50. The communal tax is 5% × €50 = €2.50, below the €4.90 communal cap. The separately rounded additions are €0.25 departmental, €0.38 SGP and €5 IDFM. Total per taxable guest per night: €8.13. For two taxable guests and three nights, the total is €48.78. If €10 was demonstrably collected elsewhere, request €38.78.

These are Paris’s 2026 rates, not a France-wide tariff. For changing prices, occupancy or exemptions, verify each night separately. The Paris portal specifies collection during the stay; PayRequest blocks creation and checkout of Paris tax links before the recorded arrival date.

Create and send the payment request

1. Create a free PayRequest account, complete setup and connect Mollie to your EUR payment page.
2. Open Tourist Tax and add the accommodation. Verify the address, category and separate VAT treatment before enabling collection.
3. Enter the booking reference, dates, all occupants, exemptions and applicable accommodation price. Record confirmed external tax collection and save the calculation.
4. When collection is permitted, create the one-time payment link from that stay. Use this dedicated workflow so the amount stays tied to the saved tax assessment.
5. Copy the link to the guest. Do not request card details by email or WhatsApp.
6. Check the linked transaction: a sent link or pending payment is not a paid transaction.

No booking-platform rules are overridden by creating a link. For platform reservations, confirm that an external collection request is allowed and needed. See the collection guide for responsibility and recordkeeping.

Message you can send to the guest

Replace every field. For the Paris example above, total is €48.78 and amount due is €38.78. Send during the stay, after confirming the actual occupants and exemptions.

Record payment without confusing it with remittance

Keep the booking reference, rule version, original calculation and linked paid transaction. PayRequest’s standard CSV groups stays by arrival month; its Paris register aid exports nights in the selected month, including earlier arrivals. The register aid contains calculated tax components. Whole-stay external collection and payment values repeat on each nightly row and must not be summed as monthly totals.

The host still reviews cancellations, refunds and actual collection dates, submits declarations and remits tax. Processing fees do not reduce the tax owed to the authority. Free has a 2% standard platform fee capped at €25 per payment; Premium is €5/month and Business €20/month, with 0% standard platform fees while active. Provider fees and commission-payment exceptions remain separate. Check current pricing.

Start with one booking

Explore Tourist Tax, calculate one supported stay and review the breakdown before creating an account. Keep a security-deposit authorization separate from the completed tax payment; the security deposit feature explains the distinction.

Editorial note: official sources and calculation tests checked October 12, 2026. The example is illustrative; no real guest payment or customer outcome is claimed. AI assisted writing and generated the conceptual cover illustration.