Lantarón approves the tourist tax that will levy overnight stays starting in 2027

The City Council of Lantarón has definitively approved the fiscal ordinance regulating the Tourist Stay Tax, which will levy taxes on overnight stays in hotels, guesthouses, apartments, campsites, agrotourism sites, rural houses, hostels, and tourist rental homes within the municipality. The agreement, initially adopted by the corporation’s Plenary on July 8, 2026, and made definitive as no claims were filed, is published in the Official Gazette of the Historical Territory of Álava (BOTHA) number 112, dated September 30, 2026, with the official reference 2026-02732. The regulation will enter into force the day following its publication and will take effect from January 1, 2027.

The ordinance is issued under article 22.1.d) of the Normative Foral Decree 1/2021, of September 29, which approves the consolidated text of the Foral Norm on local treasuries of Álava, and Foral Norm 13/2026, of June 10, which regulates the Tourist Stay Tax. The full text, spanning seven pages, is signed by the mayor, José Luis Salvídea Martínez, dated September 22, 2026, and its elevation to definitive status complies with article 70.2 of Law 7/1985, of April 2, Regulating the Bases of Local Regime.

Tax rates: from 0.50 to 4.50 euros per night

The tax is applied to each stay unit—each day or fraction of a day, with or without an overnight stay—in tourist accommodation establishments located within the municipal boundaries of Lantarón. The rates, expressed in euros per stay unit, are as follows:

• 5-star hotels or equivalent category: 4.50 euros.
• 4-star hotels: 3.50 euros.
• 3-star hotels: 1.50 euros.
• 2-star hotels: 1.00 euro.
• 1-star hotels and guesthouses: 0.75 euros.
• Tourist apartments and other tourist accommodation establishments: 1.50 euros.
• Campsites and other forms of camping, rural houses, and hostels: 0.75 euros.
• Agrotourism: 0.50 euros.
• Tourist rental homes, leased entirely or by room: 4.50 euros.

In any case, a maximum of six stay units per taxpayer and continuous stay will be computed. Stays of less than twenty-four hours will be considered a single unit.

Exemptions and parties liable for payment

The taxable persons, as taxpayers, are the natural persons who carry out the stay, while the owner of the establishment’s operation acts as a substitute for the taxpayer and is the one who must demand the tax before the end of the stay. Those who directly contract the stays or act as intermediaries in the reservation or collection will be jointly and severally liable.

The ordinance provides for six cases of exemption:

• Stays subsidized by social programs for tourism purposes from public administrations of the European Union or the European Economic Area.
• Stays of persons under eighteen years of age.
• Stays of persons with a disability of 65% or higher or grade II or III dependency, and those of one companion for each of them.
• Stays for studies at all levels up to the third university cycle, academic research, or talent programs from the public administrations of the Basque Country.
• Stays for health reasons and those of one companion per patient.
• Stays due to force majeure, including those resulting from works or accidents that prevent the habitation of one’s own home.

Quarterly self-assessment and municipal management

Taxpayer substitutes must electronically submit the self-assessment and make the payment on a quarterly basis, within fifteen calendar days of the month following the end of each quarter. Those operating several establishments may group the payment into a single self-assessment, and the establishments shall be identified by the code assigned from the Registry of Tourism Companies and Activities of Euskadi (REATE).

The powers of management, inspection, and collection, as well as the imposition of sanctions, correspond to the Lantarón City Council, applying the regime of infractions and sanctions of Foral Law 6/2005, of February 28, General Tax Law of Álava. The ordinance also empowers the Mayor’s Office to approve the self-assessment and responsible declaration forms.

The text establishes a transitional exception: the tax will not be required for stays for which the reservation was made prior to February 5, 2026.

The entry into force of the fee makes Lantarón one of the municipalities in Álava that apply the new foral tax on tourist stays, which will force the establishments in the municipality to adapt their reservation, invoicing, and self-assessment systems before January 1, 2027. For visitors, the increase per night will range between 50 cents and 4.50 euros depending on the type of accommodation, with a cap of six nights per continuous stay.

Source: Official Gazette of the Historical Territory of Álava (BOTHA), no. 112, of September 30, 2026, section II - Local Administration of the Historical Territory of Álava, pp. 1-7 (official reference: 2026-02732).