🏨 Essentials
The city tax, and booking a hotel
Vienna's city tax rose to 5% of the room price in July 2026 and is set to reach 8% in July 2027. Check whether the rate you are quoted includes it.
How the Ortstaxe works
Every overnight stay in Vienna carries the city tax, the Ortstaxe. According to the City of Vienna:
- Until 30 June 2026 — 3.2% of the accommodation price, after VAT and breakfast were deducted and a further 11% flat deduction.
- From 1 July 2026 — 5%, and the 11% deduction no longer applies.
- From 1 July 2027 — 8%.
It is calculated on the room price without VAT and breakfast. Minors in school or apprenticeship, students studying in Vienna, and stays longer than three months are exempt.
What it means in practice
On a luxury room the tax is no longer a rounding error. Booking sites often show it separately from the room rate, so compare total prices, and for a stay that crosses 1 July 2027, expect the higher rate to apply to the nights after it.
When hotels cost most
Prices climb sharply around the Opera Ball (4 February 2027), New Year's Eve, the Christmas-market weeks and large congresses. For those dates, book early; for the rest of the year, a flexible rate is usually the better bet.
Where to stay
The Innere Stadt puts you on foot from the Hofburg, the Opera and the coffee houses; Neubau and Josefstadt are quieter and residential; in Wieden you are a short walk from Karlsplatz and the Belvedere. See where to stay and the districts.
