Hong Kong hotel accommodation tax 2026: 3 percent on the room charge

Hong Kong charges a hotel accommodation tax of 3 percent on the room charge. The Inland Revenue Department states that with effect from 1 January 2025 the rate was adjusted from 0 percent to 3 percent, and that is the rate the department publishes for 2026.

What the tax covers

It applies to accommodation charges received by hotels or guesthouses, which the department defines as the sum payable by or on behalf of guests for accommodation received. Three exemptions are listed: a daily accommodation charge of less than 15 dollars, accommodation provided by a society not established or conducted for profit, and a hotel containing less than 10 rooms normally available for lodging guests.

What a stay costs in 2026

A room at 1,200 Hong Kong dollars per night carries 36 dollars of tax, so four nights adds 144 dollars. At 2,500 dollars per night the same four nights adds 300 dollars. Because it is a percentage rather than a flat nightly charge, it scales with the room, and it lands on the accommodation element rather than on meals or services billed separately.

What is still unclear

Hotels differ in whether they show the 3 percent as its own line beside a service charge or fold it into the headline rate, and the department page does not govern how a hotel presents it.

Sources: ird.gov.hk, ird.gov.hk.

More on Hong Kong: places, reviews and what travelers say went wrong.