Kyoto Accommodation Tax 2026: How Much You'll Pay (Calculator + Examples)

Kyoto charges ¥200 to ¥10,000 per person, per night, based on the room-only price per person (before the 10% consumption tax, without meals).
A ¥22,000 room for two (tax included) means ¥400 each per night (about $2.53). Pay it at the lodging unless your booking already lists it as paid. Applies to lodgings inside Kyoto City only.

The short version: take your nightly room price, remove the 10% consumption tax and any meal charges, divide by the number of guests, and find your tier below. Multiply by guests and nights. The rates below have applied to every night from March 1, 2026, set by Kyoto City.

Dollar figures use US$1 = ¥158.40 (ExchangeRate-API, November 4, 2026), rounded.

Kyoto accommodation tax rates (from March 1, 2026)

Room price per person, per night (before 10% tax)	Same line if your price includes 10% tax	Tax per person, per night
Under ¥6,000 (under ~$38)	Under ¥6,600	¥200 (~$1.26)
¥6,000 to ¥19,999 (~$38 to $126)	¥6,600 to under ¥22,000	¥400 (~$2.53)
¥20,000 to ¥49,999 (~$126 to $316)	¥22,000 to under ¥55,000	¥1,000 (~$6.31)
¥50,000 to ¥99,999 (~$316 to $631)	¥55,000 to under ¥110,000	¥4,000 (~$25.25)
¥100,000 or more (~$631+)	¥110,000 or more	¥10,000 (~$63.13)

Until February 28, 2026 there were only three tiers: ¥200, ¥500 and ¥1,000. If you read an older article quoting those numbers, it is out of date.

Only lodgings inside Kyoto City pay this tax. It is a Kyoto City ordinance, so a hotel in a neighboring city such as Uji is not covered by it. If a hotel notice shows numbers that differ from this table, Kyoto City’s published rates and FAQ are the rule; ask the hotel how it calculated, or call Kyoto City’s accommodation tax desk (075-222-3156, weekdays).

Kyoto City says the tax depends on the night you stay, not the day you booked: if you booked early and paid the old amount, the hotel can charge you the difference.

Sources: Kyoto City, Accommodation Tax; Kyoto City FAQ on the 2026 rate change; Kyoto City Tourism Association (checked Nov 4, 2026).

What counts as the “room price”

The tax is based on the room-only charge plus service charges, not your full booking total. Kyoto City’s FAQ lists what is in and out:

Included: the room charge, cleaning, bedding, bathing, sleepwear, service charges.
Not included: meals and taxes such as consumption tax and the hot-spring bathing tax (入湯税). If your bill has a bathing tax line, it is a separate tax and not part of the base.
“Free” breakfast: if a plan includes meals with no separate meal price, Kyoto City’s handbook counts the whole rate as the room price.

Per person means the room price divided by the guests. Kyoto City’s handbook uses a ¥50,000 twin room: one guest pays ¥4,000 (¥50,000 ÷ 1), two guests pay ¥1,000 each, ¥2,000 total (¥50,000 ÷ 2 = ¥25,000). That is why a solo traveler can land in a higher tier than a couple in the same room.

Several rooms: each room is calculated on its own, with its own price and guests.
Price changes night to night: each night is judged on its own. A discount stated per night applies to that night; a lump discount for the whole stay is averaged over the nights.
Extra bed: in the handbook, a ¥7,000 extra bed for a third adult is added to the room total and split by three.

How to turn a US booking total into the number Kyoto uses

Start from the nightly price in Japanese yen if your booking shows it. A dollar price converted by your card will drift with the exchange rate.
If the price includes Japan’s 10% consumption tax, divide by 1.1. Example: ¥22,000 including tax becomes ¥20,000.
If breakfast or dinner is bundled, subtract the meal portion. Your confirmation or the front desk can show the split; the hotel decides it, not you.
Divide by the number of guests in that room who use bedding (see the kids rule below).
Read the tier from the table, then multiply by guests and nights.

Sources: Kyoto City FAQ, what is taxed; Kyoto City handbook for accommodation operators (PDF, March 2026 version) (checked Nov 4, 2026).

Worked examples in yen and dollars

These are made-up bookings to show the math, not real hotel prices.

Couple, mid-range hotel, 3 nights: ¥39,600 a night for the room, tax included, no meals. ¥39,600 ÷ 1.1 = ¥36,000 → ¥18,000 each → ¥400 tier. Total: ¥400 × 2 people × 3 nights = ¥2,400 (~$15.15).
Same room, solo traveler, 3 nights: ¥36,000 for one person → ¥1,000 tier. Total: ¥1,000 × 3 = ¥3,000 (~$18.94). One guest, more tax.
Family of 4, two adults and two kids, 2 nights: ¥44,000 a night tax included. ¥40,000 ÷ 4 = ¥10,000 each → ¥400 tier. Total: ¥400 × 4 × 2 = ¥3,200 (~$20.20). If one child instead shares a bed with no extra bedding and the room total stays the same, the handbook leaves that child out: ¥40,000 ÷ 3 = about ¥13,333 → ¥400 × 3 × 2 = ¥2,400.
Ryokan with dinner and breakfast, couple, 1 night: ¥132,000 total including tax, of which the ryokan lists ¥88,000 as the room portion including tax. Room only before tax: ¥80,000 → ¥40,000 each → ¥1,000 tier. Total: ¥2,000 (~$12.63). If you wrongly used the full ¥120,000 before tax, you would expect ¥4,000 each, double the real amount.
Luxury suite, couple, 1 night: ¥220,000 room only before tax → ¥110,000 each → ¥10,000 tier. Total: ¥20,000 (~$126.26).

Calculator

Room price per night, meals removed (¥):
Price includes 10% consumption tax
Guests using bedding: Nights:

Count one room at a time. Leave out a child sharing a bed with no extra bedding when the room price does not change; a separately charged baby cot is taxed on its own (¥200 for a ¥3,000 cot in Kyoto City’s example). Uses US$1 = ¥158.40.

Points, coupons and discounts: which price counts

A discount from the hotel itself lowers the tax. Points from a booking site do not. Kyoto City’s FAQ gives both examples:

Hotel discount: a ¥20,000 room that the hotel itself cuts to ¥15,000 is taxed on ¥15,000, so ¥400.
Booking-site points: a ¥20,000 room where you use ¥5,000 of booking-site points and pay ¥15,000 cash is taxed on ¥20,000, so ¥1,000.
The hotel’s own points count like a hotel discount, unless those points were bought with money (then they work like gift cards and the pre-point price counts).
A free stay paid for by someone else (a prize, for example) is taxed on what that third party paid. A truly free stay from the hotel has no tax.

What about Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors or credit card points?

Kyoto City’s FAQ does not name any loyalty program. Under its rule, what matters is whether the hotel itself granted the discount or whether a third party pays the hotel for the points. How a specific chain’s award night is treated is decided by that hotel; we could not find an official ruling on any named program.

Source: Kyoto City FAQ, Q3 (checked Nov 4, 2026).

Where you pay: hotel desk or booking site

Kyoto City says to pay at the place you stay. If you already paid the tax to a booking site or travel agency, you don’t pay it again. Hotels, ryokan and licensed home-share hosts collect it and pass it to the city.

Check whether your confirmation lists “accommodation tax”, “city tax” or 宿泊税. If it is listed as paid, you are done.
If it is not listed, or listed as payable at the property, plan to pay it at the lodging.
On a Japanese receipt the tax may appear as a separate line (宿泊税), as in Kyoto City’s sample receipt for operators.

For context on other extras you may see on bills in Japan, and why none of them are tips, see our guide to tipping and service charges in Japan.

Sources: Kyoto City FAQ, how to pay; Kyoto City guide for guests (PDF) (checked Nov 4, 2026).

Kyoto vs Tokyo

Tokyo’s tax is much lower for now, but it changes on April 1, 2027.

Tokyo today: ¥100 per person per night for ¥10,000 to ¥14,999, ¥200 for ¥15,000 or more, nothing under ¥10,000. Hotels and ryokan only.
Tokyo from April 1, 2027: 3% of the room price per person per night, nothing under ¥13,000, and it extends to simple lodgings and home-shares.
Kyoto: the fixed tiers above, on every type of lodging in the city.

Planning the trip between the two? Our Tokyo to Kyoto Shinkansen ticket guide covers fares in dollars and which side to sit on for Mount Fuji.

Sources: Tokyo Bureau of Taxation, accommodation tax; Tokyo Metropolitan Government press release, June 30, 2026 (checked Nov 4, 2026).

FAQ

Do kids pay Kyoto accommodation tax?

Kyoto City says the tax applies regardless of age whenever an accommodation charge arises for that guest. Its handbook adds two cases: a child sharing a bed with no extra bedding, when the room total does not change, is left out of the count; a baby cot charged separately (¥3,000 in the example) is taxed as that baby’s own stay, ¥200. The only exemptions listed are school trips and nursery-school events, which do not apply to tourist families.

Does it apply to Airbnb and home-shares?

Yes. Kyoto City says every guest at every lodging in the city pays, including home-shares. The host collects it, unless it was already included in what you paid the booking site.

I booked before the rate went up. Which rate do I pay?

The rate for the night you stay. Every night since March 1, 2026 uses the new tiers, and if you prepaid the old amount, the hotel can ask for the difference.

Can I pay it by credit card?

Kyoto City only says to pay at the lodging. Payment methods are up to each property, so ask at check-in.

Do I get it back with tax-free shopping?

No. It is a local tax on your stay, separate from the consumption tax refund on goods. See how tax-free shopping works since November 1, 2026.

Sources (checked Nov 4, 2026)

Kyoto City, Accommodation Tax (updated March 27, 2026); Kyoto City FAQ for guests, what is taxed (updated Sept 10, 2026); Kyoto City FAQ for guests, how to pay; Kyoto City FAQ, 2026 rate change; Kyoto City, rate revision section; Kyoto City guide for guests (PDF); Kyoto City handbook for operators (PDF); Kyoto City Tourism Association, Feb 26, 2026; Tokyo Bureau of Taxation; Tokyo Metropolitan Government, June 30, 2026; ExchangeRate-API, USD/JPY.

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