Accommodation Tax in Genoa 2026: rates, exemptions and requirements for those who rent

A tribute that weighs — and that grows

Anyone managing a short-term rental in Genoa — or considering doing so — must deal with an obligation that is not optional, not negligible, and which in recent years has acquired ever more significant economic weight: the tourist tax. This is not a second-order bureaucratic complexity: it is a tax obligation with precise deadlines, penalties for non-compliance, and a system of controls that the Municipality of Genoa has developed with particular determination.

This article is not a legal guide — for that you should consult a professional — but an analysis of the current regulatory framework, updated to 2026, with the figures needed to understand the real scope of the tax and its operational implications for those managing tourist apartments in the city.

Revenue soars: from 4 to 8 million in four years

Before going into technical details, it’s worth framing the phenomenon with aggregate data: they show how much the tourist tax has become structural in Genoa’s tourism economy.

In 2024, Genoa’s total tourist tax revenue rose from 5.1 million to 7.3 million euros, an increase of 44% compared to the previous year, when the tariff increase was already in effect. The data comes from the Local Authorities Research Center’s analysis of data from the Ministry of Finance, Bank of Italy, and ISTAT.

The growth in revenue is particularly evident when looking at recent years: in 2020 — the terrible year of Covid — revenues had fallen sharply, then gradually recovered in 2021 and 2022. The trend continued to strengthen: according to statements by the former Tourism Assessor Alessandra Bianchi (source: Genova24, August 2025), revenue grew from 4 million in 2022 to 8 million in 2025.

To put Genoa’s position in perspective compared to other major Italian cities, direct comparison is useful:

Source: Local Authorities Research Center (CSEL) using data from the Ministry of Finance, Bank of Italy, ISTAT – analysis by Genova24, August 2025. Values for individual cities are sector estimates; it is recommended to verify primary sources for updates.

Genoa is far from the volumes of Florence or Milan, but the +44% is the highest growth rate in the group: a sign that the combined effect of tariff increases (2023–2024) and tourism growth is producing significant effects on revenue. For those managing short-term rental properties, these numbers mean one thing: the Municipality is collecting more, monitoring more, and controlling more.

2026 rates by structure type

The rates in effect in Genoa in 2026 are those established by two resolutions adopted by the Municipal Council in the second half of 2023. With Resolution No. 2023-DL-204 of July 21, 2023, rates were updated for non-hotel structures and furnished tourist apartments (AAUT); with the subsequent Resolution No. DGC/2023/204 of November 30, 2023, the measure for hotel structures was updated.

Non-hotel structures and short-term rentals (AAUT)

The tourist tax rates for non-hotel structures provide: 3 euros per night per person for holiday homes, guesthouses, bed & breakfasts, vacation homes and apartments, other types of tourist accommodation and furnished tourist apartments; 2 euros per night per person for outdoor hospitality facilities, hostels, agritourism and marina resorts.

Hotel structures

The rates for hotel structures (in effect from March 1, 2024) provide: 1-star hotels 2 euros, 2-star 2.50 euros, 3-star 3 euros, 4-star 4 euros, 5-star and 5-star luxury 5 euros. The same rates apply to tourist resort hotels and inns.

To put Genoa’s positioning in context: Tourism Assessor Alessandra Bianchi explained that with this update, Genoa aligns with the rates of cities such as Naples, Milan, and Bologna, while remaining, for some structures, below the average of other comparable municipalities. The tariff update was the result of consultation with the tourist tax committee, which includes the Chamber of Commerce and trade associations, with the aim of aligning the measure with that of the main Italian destinations with similar tourism appeal.

The night limit and exemptions

The tourist tax is applied for a maximum of eight consecutive nights. This means that if a guest stays, for example, 15 consecutive nights in the same apartment, the tax is collected only for the first 8. If consecutive nights exceed 8, from the 9th onward the tax is not due. If consecutiveness is interrupted, the count restarts for subsequent stays.

Note: an earlier version mentioned a 7-night limit. Based on the official documents available — the Municipal Regulation (DCC No. 27/2021), the Municipality’s guide on smart.comune.genova.it and the sector sources consulted — the limit applied in Genoa is 8 consecutive nights. It is always recommended to check the updated version of the Regulation on the Municipality’s official website in case of subsequent changes.

The following are exempt from paying the stay tax: minors up to 14 years of age; persons staying in the city to undergo treatment at healthcare facilities in the Genoa area and one companion per patient; persons assisting patients admitted to municipal healthcare facilities, up to 2 companions per patient; members of state and local police forces, as well as the National Fire Brigade and Civil Protection who stay for exclusive service needs; subjects staying at the expense of the municipal Administration.

The municipal Regulation provides for additional exempt categories: among these, the person with a disability whose condition is certified in accordance with current Italian regulations, and the university student aged no more than 26 years enrolled at the University of Genoa.

For any exemption applied, the managers of accommodation facilities are required to keep receipts, invoices and statements issued by the guest for exemption purposes for five years, to enable inspections by the Municipality.

Practical procedures: TouristTax portal, deadlines and payments

The operational management of the stay tax in Genoa is organized on three distinct levels: collection from guests, periodic payment to the Municipality, annual declaration. These are three separate obligations, each with its own deadlines.

The TouristTax portal

The Municipality of Genoa provides accommodation facilities with management software that allows the insertion and online submission of data, both quarterly and annual, relating to the stay tax. This portal is called TouristTax and managers must register on the website (using Chrome or Firefox browsers). It is also possible to access the TouristTax portal through SPID credentials.

Quarterly deadlines: declaration and payment

The manager of the accommodation facility, as the tax responsible party, makes payment to the Municipality of Genoa of the stay tax due within fifteen days from the end of each calendar quarter. The operational deadlines are therefore: April 15, July 15, October 15 and January 15 of the following year.

On the same quarterly deadlines, managers must declare to the Municipality: the number of persons who stayed overnight during the period indicated, any number of exempt subjects, the tax due and the details of the payment, as well as any other information useful for the calculation.

The tax responsible party who, within each calendar quarter, needs to pay an amount equal to or less than 100 euros, may accumulate the payment with subsequent quarters until this threshold is exceeded, or as a single payment on the deadline of the fourth quarter if this threshold is not exceeded in the calendar year. A useful flexibility for facilities with low booking frequency.

The Airbnb case: automatic collection, but not total exemption

The Municipality of Genoa has signed with Airbnb one of the first agreements in Italy regarding the application, registration and payment of the stay tax. The agreement provides that Airbnb collects the tax at the time of new bookings and sends it directly to the Municipality on a quarterly basis.

However, accommodation facilities that use Airbnb retain only one obligation: to make a declaration of overnight stays in the appropriate section of the TouristTax portal and to keep all documents relating to the tax. The agreement with Airbnb simplifies cash flow, but does not eliminate the declaration obligation. Those who also use Booking.com or other channels — the rules are different — must manage collection and payment independently for those bookings.

Annual declaration and judicial account settlement

There is one often overlooked obligation: by January 30 of the following year, managers are required to submit the judicial account settlement. This is a summary document forwarded by the Municipality to the Court of Accounts to verify the regularity of the amounts paid. It is important to respect this step, as anyone who collects and pays a public tax is considered in all respects a tax accounting agent.

In addition to this is the annual declaration to the Revenue Agency: it must be sent electronically via the AdE portal with SPID or CIE and is mandatory even with zero stays. This is an obligation separate from the municipal declaration, introduced by the Recovery Decree 2020.

Inspections, penalties and Genoa’s battle against evasion

Genoa is not an ordinary Municipality when it comes to stay tax inspections. According to analyses by the Center for Studies on Local Authorities using SIOPE data, Genoa consistently ranks among the top Italian cities for recovery of stay tax evasion.

The data on evasion recovery speak clearly: Genoa has stood out over the years as a particularly active municipality in this area, with recovered amounts among the highest at the national level. In 2024, for example, Genoa was among Italian municipalities with the most significant results in recovering stay tax evasion, ahead of Milan, Prato and Turin. The most virtuous regions in this area proved to be Liguria, Campania and Emilia-Romagna.

How are inspections conducted? The Municipality produces lists of facilities that publish advertisements and compares them with the archive of accredited facilities that are in compliance with stay tax obligations, in order to identify non-compliant ones that do not submit declarations and do not pay the tax. In addition, the Municipality conducts inspections using data and information made available by the Revenue Agency, according to the methods provided by current regulations on combating tax evasion.

The penalties provided for by the municipal Regulation for missing or false declaration are of a financial nature. Missing or false declaration results in the application of an administrative financial penalty from 25.00 to 500.00 euros. In addition to this are penalties for those who do not publish identification codes: a penalty of 500 to 3,000 euros is provided for owners of accommodation facilities and lessors of AAUT who do not publish CITR or CITRA codes, or publish them incorrectly or non-existent. Regional Law No. 1/2024 further specified this sanctioning framework.

A significant judicial development in 2026 concerns jurisdiction in case of disputes: with ruling no. 1527 of January 23, 2026, the United Sections of the Court of Cassation established that the host is responsible for payment — obligated to remit the tax to the Municipality even if the guest refuses to pay it — and that disputes relating to the tourist tax fall under the jurisdiction of the tax judge and no longer the Court of Auditors.

The regional framework: L.R. 1/2024 and the Region-Municipalities agreement

The Genoa tourist tax is part of a regional regulatory context that underwent significant reorganization in 2024. During 2024, Regional Law no. 1/2024 came into force, the new Unified Text on tourist accommodation structures and short-term rentals, which regulates tourism supply, accommodation facilities and furnished apartments for tourist use (AAUT).

Regarding the allocation of tax revenue, the framework is governed by an existing Region-Municipalities agreement: by regional resolution, a significant share of the total sum — in agreement with industry associations — finances the promotion of hospitality, communication, events and services with strong tourism value (including IAT offices); the remaining part can be allocated to urban beautification, transport and infrastructure with tourism impact.

The Genoa Chamber of Commerce has signed agreements with several municipalities in the area aimed at consultation on the tourist tax, with the objective of ensuring that resources derived from the tax are used for tourism promotion and hospitality with the broadest possible inter-municipal horizon.

“The constant growth trend from 4 million in 2022 to 8 million in 2025 confirms our commitment to combating tax evasion through inspections of previously undeclared and registered structures.”

— Alessandra Bianchi, former Tourism Assessor of the City of Genoa, source: Genova24, August 2025

What does all this mean for a property owner in Genoa

The tourist tax is not a cost for the owner: it is an amount that passes through their management, collected from the guest and remitted to the Municipality. However, the related obligations — registration on the TouristTax portal, quarterly declarations, document retention for 5 years, judicial accounting statement, annual declaration to the Revenue Agency — require organization and punctuality. Penalties, while not astronomical, start from 25 euros and reach 3,000 euros for failure to publish identification codes.

The 2026 context adds further variables: the 2026 Budget Law has redefined the boundary between private and entrepreneurial activity for short-term rentals. Up to 2 properties, it is possible to apply the private fiscal regime (flat tax or ordinary taxation), complying with all legal obligations; the first property maintains the flat tax at 21%, the second rises to 26%. Beyond this threshold, you enter a regime that can configure the exercise of a business activity, with consequent additional obligations to be verified with a professional.

In this scenario, the management complexity of short-term rentals no longer concerns only rates and cleaning, but a series of tax and regulatory obligations that layer upon one another. Tourist tax, CIN, CITR, police notification, regional ISTAT statistics, flat tax: those without an organized structure risk missing one of these steps.

You can find an overview of our properties in the heart of Genoa to understand which types of property best respond to the city’s tourist demand. If instead you are evaluating whether and how to start a short-term rental activity on your property, and want to understand how the bureaucratic and tax side is managed professionally, the starting point is a conversation: we are available for a concrete discussion on professional management of your property.