Oaxaca lodging tax 2026: 3 percent in hotels, 5 percent in apartments and houses
by RuinMyTrip Editorial · 2d ago
Oaxaca's reformed article 55 sets the lodging tax at 3 percent for hotels and 5 percent for apartments and houses used for lodging, the vacation rental category, from 2026.
Two rates from 2026
Oaxaca charges 3 percent on hotel lodging and 5 percent on lodging in apartments and houses. The reform to the Ley Estatal de Hacienda passed by the Congreso del Estado de Oaxaca rewrites article 55 so the tax is calculated "aplicando a la base, la tasa del 3 por ciento, para los supuestos establecidos en la fracción I del artículo 52", while for the cases in section II those collecting payment "deberán calcularlo aplicando la tasa del 5 por ciento".
Which category is which
Article 52 section I covers hotels, motels, hostels, inns, guest houses, cabins, bungalows, campsites and trailer parks, including timeshare. Section II covers "departamentos y casas utilizadas total o parcialmente para dicho fin", meaning apartments and houses used wholly or partly for lodging. That is the vacation rental category, and it now pays the higher rate. The law also places the collection duty on intermediaries, promoters and facilitators, which is how booking platforms are pulled in.
A worked example
Five nights in a hotel in Oaxaca city at 2,400 pesos per night is 12,000 pesos, and the lodging tax at 3 percent is 360 pesos. The same five nights in an apartment at 2,400 pesos per night is taxed at 5 percent, which is 600 pesos. On a two week stay the gap widens to 672 pesos against 1,120 pesos.
What is unclear is how consistently the platforms will apply the higher rate at the point of booking during 2026, and whether a listing shows it separately or folds it into the nightly price.
Sources: Congreso del Estado de Oaxaca, Ley Estatal de Hacienda.
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