Malta 2027 eco-contribution: €8 announced, €1.50 in force

The rate in force since 1 July 2026

€1.50 per night and per person aged 18 and over

€1.50 per night Cap of €22.50 per person and per visit Aged 18 and over Since 1 July 2026

The contribution is due for each night the accommodation is made available to you, whether or not you sleep there. The rate and the cap are on the Malta Tourism Authority page, consulted on 5 November 2026, and in its 2026 guidelines.

The €22.50 cap equals fifteen nights at €1.50. That is the euro amount to use for your calculation.

Key points

• The rate is €1.50 per night and per person. According to the MTA page, the contribution is subject neither to VAT nor to commission.
• The tax receipt must show the contribution separately from the accommodation charges.
• The cap is shared between Malta and Gozo for a single visit.

Gozo shares this cap with Malta, but it is often visited on a day trip. The excursion below, which according to the Viator listing is for drivers aged 21 and over, crosses the island by off-road buggy and includes a boat ride if the weather allows. It has no link with the contribution, which is paid at the accommodation.

Pixidia tip: keep the receipt that itemises the contribution until the end of your stay. It records the amount you paid, and it lets you justify the cap if you change accommodation along the way.

Gozo Full Day Buggy Tour with Boat Ride★ 4.67 · 66 reviewsPartner link €195 for two adults (€97.50 per person), checked on 5 November 2026 across 6 dates from 6 November to 5 December 2026 (30 dates available; prices for other dates not checked) €97.50 per person€195 for two adults, checked on 5 November 2026 across 6 dates from 6 November to 5 December 2026 (30 dates available ; prices for other dates not checked)

See dates

What is announced for 1 January 2027

2027 announcement (not yet voted): €8 per night in collective accommodation, €10 in short-term rentals

€8 or €10 per night Announced caps of €64 and €80 Announced to take effect 1 January 2027 No text adopted

The 2027 Budget, presented on 26 October 2026, plans to raise the contribution to €8 per night and per person in collective accommodation, meaning hotels, guesthouses and similar establishments, with a cap of €64 per person. For short-term rentals, the announced amount is €10, capped at €80 per person. These figures come from KPMG Malta (October 2026) and from the Maltese press of 26 October 2026.

The text is still to come. KPMG notes that implementation may require legislation, legal notices or implementing guidelines. We could only read the consolidated text of Cap. 473 up to its metadata, and no 2027 instrument had been found on the consultation date. Treat the €8 and €10 as a budget proposal, not as a rule that applies to your stay.

Key points

• According to the press, stays that end before the effective date would not be affected.
• Under-18s would still be exempt, according to MaltaToday and Rust Tourism News.
• The rise has not yet been confirmed or dated by any official text.

Pixidia tip: if your stay starts after 1 January 2027, check this page again when you book. The legal text, once published, will prevail over press figures.

Source: Malta Tourism Authority, environmental contribution for 2026; KPMG Malta, Budget 2027 and MaltaToday of 26 October 2026 for 2027, checked on 5 November 2026.

Derived calculation from the figures above, checked on 5 November 2026. The 2027 cap beyond the eighth night is not confirmed by text: it follows from the announced amounts.

For a single adult staying seven nights in a hotel, the bill would go from €10.50 to €56 if the announcement is adopted as it stands. For two adults, the total would go from €21 to €112. These figures are indicative: the cap applies per person and per visit, not to the group total.

Language schools: a point still open

Language schools are the most uncertain case. KPMG Malta, MaltaToday and Rust Tourism News refer to an exemption for the accommodation of these schools. On 28 October 2026, the Nationalist Party by contrast called for the removal of this exemption (MaltaToday). As early as October 2025, FELTOM was calling for exemptions or reduced rates for accredited students on long stays (Business Now). On the consultation date, no government response had been found. If you are booking a study stay, ask the school which regime applies to it.

Who pays, who collects and who answers for it

The traveller pays, the host collects, the licence holder answers for it

Liable: the traveller Collected by: host or operator Receipt required Proof of age possible

The person who collects the contribution is the holder of the accommodation licence. They may delegate collection, declaration and remittance to an operator registered with the MTA, provided they formally inform the authority. Responsibility, however, cannot be delegated: if the operator fails in its obligations, the MTA can hold the licence holder to them, with retroactive effect or not (MTA 2026 guidelines).

The MTA text does not explicitly settle collection by rental platforms such as Airbnb or Booking. One specialist blog claims that Airbnb collects and remits automatically, but its reliability is low and no official source confirms it. If you book through a platform, ask the host which system applies and check that the receipt itemises the contribution.

Key points

• The presumption works in favour of adulthood: a younger-looking traveller must prove their age.
• Accepted proof includes a passport (your own, or the mention in another traveller’s passport), an official identity document, a birth certificate or another document the MTA accepts.
• The contribution is subject neither to VAT nor to commission.

Pixidia tip: if you travel with a teenager who could be taken for an adult, carry an official identity document. Proof is what counts, never appearance.

How the contribution is collected, and who to contact

Declaration and payment go through the tools specified by the MTA or its appointed agent, with approved payment methods (2026 guidelines). When the amount is collected, at booking or on site, depends on the host and the platform. Your receipt, however, must itemise the contribution separately.

For a question about a receipt or the contribution, the MTA lists three contacts for travellers: [email protected], [email protected] and +356 2168 8890 (Notice to Guests 2026).

Cap, interruptions and combined stays

The cap of €22.50 per person and per visit applies to a whole visit. A visit is an uninterrupted stay in one or more licensed accommodations in Malta. An interruption of up to 15 days in unlicensed accommodation is not charged and does not restart the cap: your stay counts as a single visit.

Changing accommodation during your stay does not reset the counter. For the second and later accommodations, the overall €22.50 cap applies, provided you show the receipts from the earlier ones, according to the MTA 2026 guidelines. If you travel from Malta to Gozo, the cap is shared by both islands: the MTA page and the Notice to Guests 2026 both confirm it.

Derived calculation: the cap applies per person and per visit (MTA 2026 guidelines, consulted on 5 November 2026). The 2027 totals are indicative, as the text has not been published.

Depending on your profile

• Couple or solo traveller. The table above is enough to estimate the bill. Under the 2026 rate, the contribution stays below €25 per person for a two-week stay.
• Family with children. Under-18s pay nothing in 2026. Keep the identity documents of minors to hand, as the MTA may ask for documentary proof.
• Long stay. In 2026, the €22.50 per person cap is reached from the fifteenth night: a month in Malta costs no more than a fifteen-night stay. With the 2027 announcement, the €64 collective cap would be reached from the eighth night, according to a derived calculation that no text confirms.
• Small budget. A guesthouse counts as collective accommodation, while a flat rented short-term falls under the announced rental rate. Check the type of your accommodation before comparing prices.

Gozo, Comino and cruises: rules of their own

Side charges are not the accommodation contribution

Budget 2027 announces other measures, separate from the accommodation contribution. According to MaltaToday, visitors to Comino would pay €5, collected through the Blue Lagoon booking. Cruise passengers who disembark and re-embark on the same ship in Malta would be charged €10, but not those who start their cruise in Malta. None of these amounts is confirmed by an official text on the consultation date.

For the ferry to Gozo, MaltaToday reports that the adult fare for non-residents would rise from €4.65 to €11. The other announced fares, for children and vehicles, rest on a single press source, and the Gozo Channel fares page shows no 2027 fare. For an itinerary that links both islands, the three-day Malta itinerary, covering Valletta, Mdina and Gozo, sets out the order of visits.

Key points

• The cap on the accommodation contribution is shared between Malta and Gozo.
• The accommodation contribution is calculated per night and per person, not per trip or per vehicle.

Pixidia tip: do not confuse the ferry ticket, the Comino levy and the accommodation contribution. Only the contribution is calculated per night and per person, and it appears on your accommodation receipt.

A tax that has changed regime several times

The contribution was created in 2016 at €0.50 per night, with a cap of €5, in force on 20 June 2016 according to the former Forvis Mazars page. Revenue grew fast: €904,682 in 2016, €3.56 million in 2017 and €4.5 million in 2018, according to MaltaToday (9 April 2019). In July 2019, the minister announced tighter controls, with private holiday rentals then named as the main source of the shortfall (Lovin Malta).

The Budget 2026, presented in October 2025, planned to roughly triple the rate from 1 July 2026. The €1.50 regime took effect on that date, according to the MTA page. Do not mix these regimes: the €0.50 rate belongs to 2016, the €1.50 rate to 2026, and the €8 or €10 to a 2027 announcement.

Source: Forvis Mazars Malta, MaltaToday (9 April 2019 and 26 October 2026), Lovin Malta (10 July 2019), Malta Tourism Authority and metadata of Cap. 473 (consolidation as of 1 July 2026), checked on 5 November 2026.

What other guides don’t tell you

The points below appear in the MTA’s official texts or in the law. They are absent or vague in most of the guides consulted on 5 November 2026.

• The receipt must show the contribution separately from the accommodation charges. The obligation rests on Article 51 and the Thirteenth Schedule of the VAT Act (Cap. 406), according to the 2026 guidelines of the Malta Tourism Authority (consulted on 5 November 2026).
• Liability stays with the licence holder even if collection is delegated. Delegation to an operator requires prior formal notification to the MTA, according to the 2026 guidelines (MTA, consulted on 5 November 2026).
• An interruption of up to 15 days does not end the visit. In unlicensed accommodation, it is not charged and does not restart the cap (MTA, 2026 guidelines, consulted on 5 November 2026).
• Proof of age is regulated. Passport, official identity document, birth certificate or another document the MTA accepts (MTA, Notice to Guests 2026, consulted on 5 November 2026). Guides often stop at « under-18s exempt ».
• The multi-accommodation cap requires showing earlier receipts. The overall cap stays at €22.50 per person and per visit, according to the 2026 guidelines (MTA, consulted on 5 November 2026).
• The 2027 rate is not yet a legal text. KPMG Malta notes that its implementation may require legislation, legal notices or guidelines (KPMG Malta, consulted on 5 November 2026). The consolidated text of Cap. 473 could only be read at the level of its metadata: no 2027 instrument was found there (legislation.mt, consulted on 5 November 2026).