Finland’s €2.50 Tourist Tax Could Reach You

The program/policy

Finland’s Ministry of Finance started drafting a tourist tax on April 17, 2026 and the plan would let municipalities choose whether to charge it on short-term stays. It would cover hotels, holiday cottages and Airbnb-style rentals and it applies to both Finnish residents and foreign visitors, which, surprisingly, means expats and digital nomads don’t get a pass.

The draft aims for a moderate percentage of the room price, similar to city tourist levies in places like Paris, Venice and Seville. Municipalities would keep the money, honestly, so local governments get a direct new revenue stream tied to tourism pressure.

Who it affects

This mostly hits travelers booking paid short stays, not long-term residents. Still, if you move around Finland often or work remotely and hop between apartments, the added cost can stack up fast, weirdly enough, even when the nightly rate looks low.

Not every town will adopt it. That’s the catch.

What to do

The proposal still has to go through public consultation on Lausuntopalvelu.fi, then legislative work continues before any rollout. If the law passes on schedule, municipalities could decide in their 2028 budgets whether to start charging it that same year, so there’s no immediate nationwide fee to plan around right now.

Watch two things closely:

• Which municipalities opt in
• The final percentage rate
• Whether your stay type is covered

Helsinki already has its own separate city tourist tax of €2.50 per person per night, effective January 2026, so the capital is already testing what extra lodging costs feel like in practice. For travelers, that means Finland’s fee picture may get messier, not simpler, before it gets clearer and that’s worth tracking through visa updates.

Read our full Finland guide for the complete picture.