Copenhagen tourist tax 2026: none, with 25 percent VAT inside the room rate

Copenhagen levies no tourist tax at all in 2026. What a visitor actually pays on a hotel room is Danish VAT, which the tax authority sets at 25 percent of the taxable amount.

Why there is no city tax

The city has wanted one. A June 2024 item before the Copenhagen city council states that under section 43 of the Danish constitution no tax may be imposed or collected without statutory authority, which means the city cannot introduce a visitor charge by itself. The same paper models what one would look like, at 1 euro per overnight stay in three of its four models, and a version scaled by district at 2.5 euros in the inner city, 1.5 euros in Vesterbro and 0.75 euros further out. None of that is in force.

What a stay costs in 2026

Because VAT at 25 percent of the base equals 20 percent of the price including VAT, a room advertised at 1,500 kroner per night carries 300 kroner of tax. Three nights at that rate is 4,500 kroner, of which 900 kroner is VAT already inside the price rather than added at the desk. Nothing further is charged for being a visitor.

What is still unclear

Whether parliament grants councils the power to charge visitors remains open, so the zero is a snapshot of 2026 rather than a guarantee for later trips.

Sources: kk.dk, info.skat.dk.

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