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Free Online ConsultationWhat Is the Accommodation Tax? Key Basics Every Minpaku and Ryokan Owner Should Know Before Filing
How the accommodation tax applies to minpaku (private lodging) and how the filing process works matters to everyone in this business — whether you operate under the Hotel Business Act or run a registered property under the Private Lodging Business Act (Japan’s “minpaku law”). In simple terms, this is a local tax levied on travelers who stay overnight, and the responsibility for collecting, filing, and remitting it falls squarely on the accommodation provider. As of 2024, a growing number of prefectures and municipalities have introduced this tax by local ordinance, and more are actively considering it. Since the tax rate, filing authority, and payment schedule all depend on which municipality your property falls under, don’t assume “this doesn’t apply to me” — always check with your local tax office or read the relevant ordinance directly.
What’s Taxable — and What’s Exempt
In principle, the accommodation tax applies to the “lodging fee a traveler pays to an accommodation facility.” This covers not only hotels, ryokan, and simple lodges operating under the Hotel Business Act, but increasingly minpaku properties registered under the Private Lodging Business Act as well. That said, there are some common exemptions worth knowing about.
Stays Below a Certain Price Threshold
Many municipalities exempt stays where the per-person, per-night rate falls below a set threshold. Tokyo, for example, exempts stays under ¥10,000 per person per night, and Osaka has a similar arrangement. That said, the exact threshold varies by municipality, so be sure to check the ordinance that applies specifically to your property’s location.
Certain Categories of Guests
Some municipalities also exempt stays covered under the Public Assistance Act, as well as stays for educational purposes such as school trips. These exceptions are spelled out in the ordinance itself or its enforcement rules, so whether they apply needs to be confirmed on a case-by-case basis.
Tax Rates — How They Differ by Municipality
Since the accommodation tax isn’t a national tax but a local one, there’s no single rate that applies nationwide — it varies from one municipality to another. Most areas that have already introduced it use a tiered system based on the per-person, per-night rate, typically ranging anywhere from around ¥100 to a few hundred yen (based on ordinances currently in effect as of 2024). Tokyo, for instance, applies a three-tier structure of ¥100, ¥200, or ¥300 depending on the price bracket, and Osaka follows a similar ¥100/¥200/¥300 tiered model. Since price brackets and tax amounts can be revised over time, we recommend regularly checking the official websites of your prefecture and municipality, as well as information on local taxation published by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
The Practical Steps for Filing and Payment
Registering as a Special Collection Agent
Typically, the accommodation facility acts as a “special collection agent” — collecting the tax from travelers on the municipality’s behalf and remitting it in a lump sum. This applies to properties registered under the minpaku law too: if the municipality where your property is located has adopted the accommodation tax, you’ll need to register as a special collection agent. Registration is handled through your municipality’s tax division, and while paperwork is often required, a growing number of municipalities now offer online applications as well.
Adding the Tax to the Lodging Fee — and Making It Clear
When collecting from guests, the basic rule is to clearly separate the lodging fee from the accommodation tax on any statement or invoice. For bookings made through OTAs (online travel agencies), some combinations of platform and municipality allow the platform to automatically collect and remit the tax — but this isn’t universal across all municipalities or services. You’ll need to check exactly which booking channels your property uses and build a workflow that avoids both double-collection and missed collection.
Filing Returns and the Payment Cycle
Most municipalities require filings either monthly or quarterly. The return typically needs to include the number of guests, lodging fees, and tax amounts collected during the period. Without well-organized records and booking data kept up to date, things can get chaotic right before a filing deadline. For properties Stay Buddy manages, we’ve standardized a workflow that exports stay data directly from the reservation management system to prepare filings — cutting down on manual entry and the errors that come with it.
A Real Problem We’ve Run Into: Double-Tracking Across OTAs
One issue Stay Buddy has actually encountered while taking on new properties is a mismatch between how different OTAs and municipalities handle the accommodation tax. At one property, Airbnb was set up to automatically collect and remit the tax for a specific municipality — but bookings made through Booking.com at that same property required manual handling by the property itself. The owner had assumed “the OTA takes care of all of it,” and it wasn’t until filing time that we discovered several months’ worth of Booking.com bookings had gone uncollected. Missed payments can trigger late-payment penalties and non-filing surcharges, so if you’re using multiple OTAs, make absolutely sure you know exactly what each platform is — and isn’t — handling on a channel-by-channel basis.
Watch Out for Regulatory Changes: What’s Ahead for the Accommodation Tax and Minpaku Filings
Given the trends coming out of the Japan Tourism Agency and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the number of municipalities adopting the accommodation tax is expected to keep growing, driven largely by the rise in inbound tourism. Several municipalities are already in the process of drafting ordinances, so even owners in areas that haven’t introduced the tax yet may need to prepare for it within the next few years. On top of that, municipalities that already have the tax in place sometimes revise their rates or exemption criteria, so it’s worth making a habit of checking for ordinance updates at the start of each fiscal year. Aligning this review with the renewal timing of your minpaku registration or your Hotel Business Act license is a good way to make sure nothing slips through the cracks.
Let Stay Buddy Help With the Tax Side of Your Minpaku Business Too
How you handle accommodation tax filing depends on your property’s municipality, the OTAs you use, your booking volume, and your price range. It starts with basic questions — “Does my municipality even levy this tax?” “Do I need to register as a special collection agent?” — and extends all the way through to preparing actual filings and managing payments. It’s an area where things can easily slip through unnoticed.
Stay Buddy provides full operational management for properties licensed under both the Private Lodging Business Act and the Hotel Business Act, and that includes support in navigating tax and administrative procedures like the accommodation tax as part of our standard service. For specific tax advice, we work in coordination with licensed tax accountants, while we handle the on-the-ground operational work ourselves.
Whether you’re just getting started with minpaku or you’re already running a property and feeling uncertain about your filing process, start with a free consultation and tell us where things stand. Just share your property’s location, operating format, and current licensing status, and we’ll help you sort out what needs to be done and in what order.
