From 1 November 2026, Carinthia's accommodation levy replaces the local and overnight-stay tax: €4.50 per guest per night (€3.60 levy plus a €0.90 infrastructure and mobility contribution), €4.00 at campsites. The guest pays; the host collects it and is liable. Every arrival and departure must be registered electronically within 24 hours.
Until now, each municipality charged its own local and overnight-stay tax (Orts- und Nächtigungstaxe). Under the Carinthian Accommodation Levy Act, a uniform state-wide accommodation levy takes its place; the old act expires on 1 November 2026. At the same time, guest registration becomes electronic only – the new act no longer provides for paper registration.
What your guests get in return is new, too: with the guest card they travel from arrival to departure day on regional and city buses as well as regional and long-distance trains throughout Carinthia and as far as Lienz. Postbus Shuttle and Nockmobil charge a comfort surcharge of €2 per person per trip. Children under 6 travel free without their own card.
In hotels, guesthouses, holiday apartments, apartments and mobile homes it is €4.50 per person per night. Of this, €3.60 is the accommodation levy and €0.90 the infrastructure and mobility contribution, which among other things funds guest mobility. At campsites where guests bring their own accommodation it is €4.00. The act provides for annual indexation to the consumer price index.
Example: Two adults and a twelve-year-old child stay seven nights. Only the adults pay: 2 × 7 × €4.50 = €63.00. The child is exempt but still receives a guest card.
The main exemptions under Section 3 K-AAG:
Guests must prove an exemption, for example with a disability card or a school confirmation; as the host, you record this in your records (Section 3(3) K-AAG). Anyone staying longer than three months without interruption pays no levy from then on. Important: exempt guests must still be registered.
The guest owes the levy. The host must collect it and is liable for its payment (Section 7 K-AAG). It falls due on the last day of the stay. The levy authority is the mayor: the municipality assesses the levy on the basis of your electronic registrations and requests payment from you. Your municipality will tell you how and when to pay.
If your internet or system fails, you may record on paper temporarily and register as soon as it works again – document when and for how long the outage occurred.
Failing to register, or registering late, is an administrative offence: up to €1,000 the first time, up to €2,000 for a repeat offence and up to €5,000 from the third offence, provided no more than three years lie between offences. If an inspection finds significant violations, an inspection fee is added: €250 if paid on the spot, otherwise €300 by official notice (Section 11 K-AAG).
For their own use, owners of holiday apartments pay an annual flat rate based on floor area. It covers you and your family:
The flat rate falls due on 1 March and must be paid by 15 March of the following year. If you also let the apartment, your guests pay the regular accommodation levy. The €3.60 portion already paid for guests in the same apartment is credited against the flat rate – up to its full amount. The €0.90 mobility contribution is not credited, and the flat rate itself does not include a guest card. A transitional rule applies for 2026: January to October under the old act, November and December under the new one.
Don't confuse it with the second-home levy: from 1 January 2027, municipalities may also charge a second-home levy (K-ZWAG 2027) of at most €24 to €130 per month depending on size. Homes let commercially or as private rooms to guests generally do not count as second homes – unless the owner reserves rights of use beyond normal letting. If the flat-rate accommodation levy is paid for a home, the second-home levy is reduced by 25 %. Whether and at what rate your municipality charges it is set out in its ordinance.
In the All-In and Signature packages, WÖRTHWHILE is the operator of your holiday home: we register your guests electronically, collect the accommodation levy, settle it with the municipality and show everything in your monthly statement. We update prices and listings on more than 50 platforms centrally. In the Basic package you remain the host; registration and the levy are then your responsibility.
More: Holiday rental management in Carinthia – services, packages and terms and Holiday rental management in the Nockberge.
Yes. From 1 November 2026, electronic registration applies to all hosts, including private landlords. There are no exceptions.
The registration and levy obligations still apply. Declining the card changes neither.
Your municipality is responsible for questions on the levy, its calculation and registration. Questions about the guest card are answered by your tourism region and, from 1 January 2027, by the new tourism association.
As of 17 October 2026. This article provides a general overview and does not replace legal or tax advice. The wording of the law is authoritative.
All sources accessed on 17 October 2026.
We take care of marketing, guest care, cleaning and accounting – with a Carinthian team on site. The initial consultation is free and non-binding.
