Buenos Aires tourist tax 2026: 1.50 US dollars per night per foreign visitor

Foreign visitors staying in the city of Buenos Aires pay 1.50 US dollars per night in 2026. The city government's own tourism page on the Derecho de Uso Urbano states that every foreign tourist over 12 years old pays a rate of 1.50 dollars for each night, and that the charge has applied since Law 6278 took effect on March 1, 2020.

How it is collected

The same page says the amount is charged when you check out, worked out from the type of accommodation and the number of nights, and paid using whatever method the property accepts. It applies across hotels, boutique hotels, apart hotels, temporary rentals and cruises, so a short term apartment booking is treated the same way as a hotel room. Nobody collects it at the airport.

A worked example

Two adults staying six nights in Palermo pay 1.50 dollars each per night, which is 18 dollars added at check out on top of the room rate. A family of two adults and one teenager over 12 staying ten nights pays 45 dollars. Because it is a flat per person amount, it weighs far more heavily on a cheap hostel bill than on a five star one.

What is still unclear

The page names no exemption beyond the age limit and does not say how the dollar figure is converted for a peso bill, so the exact amount charged at check out depends on the rate your accommodation applies that day.

Sources: turismo.buenosaires.gob.ar, turismo.buenosaires.gob.ar.

More on Buenos Aires: places, reviews and what travelers say went wrong.