Porto Santo Tourist Tax 2026: A Complete Guide for AL Hosts
Porto Santo, in Portugal’s Madeira archipelago, applies a Municipal Tourist Tax, known in Portuguese as the Taxa Municipal Turística or TMT, to paid overnight stays in hotels, tourist developments and Alojamento Local properties.
The tax entered into force on 1 February 2025 and remains applicable in 2026. Accommodation operators are responsible for calculating and collecting the tax from guests, declaring the amounts to the Município do Porto Santo and transferring the money through the municipality’s online tourist-tax platform.
Porto Santo tourist tax at a glance
Rule | Porto Santo requirement |
|---|---|
Tax amount | €2 per person, per night |
Maximum | 7 consecutive nights per person and stay |
Maximum per chargeable guest | €14 per stay |
Minimum age | Guests aged 13 or older |
Applies throughout the year | Yes |
Applies to residents of Portugal | Yes |
Applies to foreign visitors | Yes |
Started | 1 February 2025 |
Declaration | Normally monthly |
Where to declare | Porto Santo Municipal Tourist Tax platform |
Payment | Usually through a Multibanco reference issued by the municipality |
The tax applies regardless of the guest’s nationality or normal place of residence. The deciding factors are the guest’s age, the number of consecutive nights and whether an exemption applies.
How much is the Porto Santo tourist tax?
The rate is:
€2 for each chargeable guest, for each paid night, up to a maximum of seven consecutive nights per stay.
This means that the maximum tourist tax for one chargeable guest during one uninterrupted stay is €14, even when that guest remains at the accommodation for longer than seven nights.
The basic calculation is:
Number of chargeable guests × taxable nights × €2
Only the first seven consecutive nights of the stay are taxable.
Porto Santo tourist-tax calculation examples
Example 1: Two adults staying for three nights
Two adults stay in an AL property for three nights.
2 guests × 3 nights × €2 = €12
The total tourist tax is €12.
Example 2: Two adults and two children staying for five nights
The guests are:
Two adults
One child aged 12
One child aged nine
Both children are under 13 and are therefore exempt.
2 chargeable guests × 5 nights × €2 = €20
The total tourist tax is €20.
Example 3: Three adults staying for ten nights
Although the reservation is for ten nights, the tax is limited to seven nights per person.
3 guests × 7 nights × €2 = €42
The total tourist tax is €42, not €60.
Example 4: A child turns 13 during the stay
A guest is 12 when checking in but turns 13 during a seven-night stay. The municipality’s guidance says the tax becomes payable from and including the guest’s 13th birthday, but only for nights falling within the first seven nights of the stay.
For example, when the birthday occurs on the fourth night:
1 guest × 4 remaining taxable nights × €2 = €8
Hosts should verify the guest’s date of birth using an identification document or equivalent record.
Example 5: The guest leaves and later starts a new reservation
A guest stays for three nights, leaves the accommodation, and later returns for a separate seven-night reservation.
The seven-night limit starts again because the stays were interrupted:
First stay: 3 × €2 = €6
Second stay: 7 × €2 = €14
The total is €20 for that guest.
Who must pay the Porto Santo tourist tax?
The tax applies to guests who:
Are 13 years old or older
Stay in paid tourist accommodation located in the municipality of Porto Santo
Do not qualify for one of the recognised exemptions
It applies to hotels, tourist apartments, hostels, guest houses, rooms and registered Alojamento Local establishments. It also applies regardless of whether the reservation was made directly, through Airbnb, Booking.com or another channel.
A short “day-use” stay may also generate the tax when it is invoiced as an overnight stay.
Porto Santo tourist-tax exemptions
Guests under 13 are exempt. The municipal regulation also recognises several exemptions where appropriate evidence is supplied.
Exemption | Evidence or condition |
|---|---|
Children under 13 | Date of birth |
Medical treatment | Proof of consultation, examination, treatment or equivalent medical appointment |
One medical companion | Applies alongside the person receiving medical care |
Disability of at least 60% | Valid proof of the level of incapacity |
One companion of the person with a disability | Applies alongside the qualifying guest |
Eviction or similar displacement | Documentary proof of the circumstances |
Temporary placement by public social services | Placement by state or municipal bodies |
People displaced by conflict | Confirmation from the responsible services |
Complimentary accommodation offered by the establishment | Documentary proof that the stay was offered and not remunerated |
A medical exemption may apply to the patient and one accompanying person, including circumstances where the patient does not sleep at the accommodation for health-related reasons during the relevant medical period.
Hosts should retain documents supporting exemptions and other relevant declarations for four years. Because medical and disability documents contain sensitive personal information, they should be collected and stored in accordance with data-protection requirements.
How should a Porto Santo AL host collect the tax?
The person or company operating the accommodation is responsible for calculating and collecting the tax from the guest.
The municipality allows the tax to be collected:
At the beginning of the stay
During the stay
At check-out or at the end of the stay
The operator may choose the most suitable moment, but the tax must be added to the amount charged for the accommodation.
For remote or self-check-in properties, it is sensible to notify guests before arrival and explain that the tax is a mandatory municipal charge.
Suggested message for guests
Porto Santo applies a Municipal Tourist Tax of €2 per guest aged 13 or older, per night, for a maximum of seven nights. The tax is collected by the accommodation and transferred to the Município do Porto Santo. Any applicable exemptions must be supported by the required documentation.
The regulation establishes when the tax may be collected but does not prescribe one specific guest-payment method. The operator can therefore organise collection through the payment options normally available to the accommodation, while ensuring that the amount is properly documented and invoiced.
How should the tourist tax appear on the invoice?
The tourist tax must be clearly separated from the accommodation service.
It can either:
Appear as an independent line on the accommodation invoice; or
Be included in a separate invoice or receipt.
The invoice-receipt should be issued in the name of the person or organisation that made the reservation and should expressly indicate that the tourist tax is not subject to VAT. A single document may be issued for a family or group when requested by the guests.
The tourist tax collected is municipal revenue. It is not revenue belonging to the host and does not form part of the accommodation’s taxable income.
Registering an AL on the Porto Santo tourist-tax platform
After receiving an RNAL registration number, an AL operator normally has 30 consecutive days to register the operator and accommodation on the Porto Santo tourist-tax platform.
Tourist developments must register within 30 days of receiving their valid opening title. New establishments must also be added to the operator’s platform account within the relevant period.
Where an operator manages several registered properties, each RNAL or RNET establishment must be correctly added and identified. The municipality recommends giving establishments distinct names inside the platform so that they can be differentiated.
How to declare the Porto Santo tourist tax
The normal process is:
1. Collect and record the tax
Record the number of chargeable guests, taxable nights, exemptions and amount collected for every reservation.
2. Submit one declaration for each property
A separate declaration must be submitted for each registered accommodation establishment. Operators cannot combine several AL properties into one declaration.
3. Submit the declaration by the deadline
The standard deadline is the last day of the month following the month in which the tax was collected.
For example:
Tax collected during | Standard declaration deadline |
|---|---|
January | Last day of February |
February | Last day of March |
June | 31 July |
November | 31 December |
A declaration is still required when the property had no taxable stays. In that case, the operator submits a zero declaration for the relevant period.
Can declarations be submitted quarterly?
An operator who is exempt from VAT or who submits VAT returns quarterly may request the quarterly declaration regime.
The current consolidated municipal regulation lists these deadlines:
Period | Deadline |
|---|---|
January to March | 30 April |
April to June | 31 July |
July to September | 31 October |
October to December | 31 January of the following year |
The quarterly option applies for a full calendar year and a change of regime must be requested from the municipality at the beginning of the year through the platform.
Where and how do hosts pay the Câmara Municipal?
Declarations are submitted through the official Porto Santo Municipal Tourist Tax online platform. After the municipality processes the declaration, it makes a Multibanco reference or equivalent payment information available to the operator.
The declared amount must then be transferred to the Município do Porto Santo within 10 business days from the date on which the payment reference or equivalent information is made available.
The practical workflow is therefore:
Collect from guest → submit declaration → receive payment reference → pay the municipality
When payment cannot be completed using the Multibanco reference, the regulation allows the amount to be paid through the Municipal Treasury or through another method made available by the municipality. Payments made after the deadline may have to be regularised directly with the treasury and can include statutory late-payment interest.
Porto Santo municipality contact details
Câmara Municipal do Porto Santo
Edifício de Serviços Públicos
Rua Dr. Nuno Silvestre Teixeira
Apartado 81
9400-162 Porto Santo
Tourist-tax email: taxaturistica@cm-portosanto.pt
Telephone: +351 291 980 640
Do hosts receive a collection commission?
The Porto Santo regulation provides a collection commission equal to 2.5% of the tourist tax actually collected and transferred.
This commission is revenue of the accommodation operator and is subject to VAT where applicable. To receive it, the operator must issue the relevant invoice to the Município do Porto Santo, following the municipality’s invoicing and documentation requirements.
The tourist tax itself and the collection commission should therefore not be treated in the same way:
The €2 tourist tax belongs to the municipality.
The 2.5% collection commission is income earned by the operator for collecting the tax.
What happens when the guest does not pay?
The accommodation operator is not automatically required to pay the guest’s tax from its own funds where it was genuinely unable to collect payment—for example, when a guest leaves without paying the accommodation account.
However, the operator must retain evidence supporting what occurred and may need to present it to the municipality.
Corrections, closures and record keeping
When a submitted declaration contains an error, the operator can submit a replacement declaration through the municipal platform. Corrections must identify the period being corrected and must remain within the relevant financial year.
When an AL activity closes, the cessation must also be communicated through the tourist-tax platform within 10 consecutive days. Closing the activity does not cancel declarations or payments that were already due.
Operators should maintain organised records of:
Reservations and stay dates
Guest ages
Tourist-tax calculations
Amounts collected
Invoices and receipts
Exemption documents
Declarations submitted
Proof of payments to the municipality
Supporting records should be retained for four years.
Penalties for non-compliance
The municipal guide identifies potential fines for failing to register, submitting inaccurate information, failing to retain documents or not transferring collected funds.
Breach | Individual operator | Company |
|---|---|---|
Failure to register or add accommodation | €500–€5,000 | €1,000–€10,000 |
Inaccurate information or missing records | €250–€5,000 | €500–€20,000 |
Failure to transfer collected tax within the required period | €1,000–€10,000 | €2,000–€20,000 |
Late transfer or failure to report cessation | €75–€1,500 | €150–€3,000 |
Late payments can also attract statutory interest, while unpaid municipal debts may eventually be subject to tax-enforcement procedures.
How EazyAL can help Porto Santo hosts
Calculating tourist tax manually becomes more difficult when a reservation contains children, exempt guests, stays longer than seven nights or guests who reach the relevant age during their stay.
EazyAL helps Portuguese AL operators organise guest and reservation information, calculate the taxable guests and nights, and prepare the values needed for the municipal declaration.
For Porto Santo, the final declaration and payment must still be completed through the Câmara Municipal’s official tourist-tax platform.
Frequently asked questions
Is Porto Santo the same tourist-tax municipality as Funchal?
No. Porto Santo and Funchal are separate municipalities with separate tourist-tax systems, platforms and reporting procedures.
Do Portuguese residents have to pay?
Yes. Residence and nationality do not create an exemption under the Porto Santo regulation.
Do children pay?
Guests under 13 do not pay. The tax starts from and including the day of the guest’s 13th birthday.
Is the tax charged for more than seven nights?
No. Only the first seven consecutive nights of each uninterrupted stay are taxable.
Does the host keep the money?
No. The tax is collected on behalf of the Município do Porto Santo. The operator may separately qualify for the 2.5% collection commission.
Must I submit a declaration when there were no guests?
Yes. A zero declaration must still be submitted for the relevant property and period.
Is the tourist tax subject to VAT?
The tourist tax charged to the guest is not subject to VAT. The operator’s 2.5% collection commission may be subject to VAT, depending on the operator’s tax regime.
Where is the tax paid?
The operator submits the declaration through the Porto Santo TMT platform. The municipality then provides a Multibanco reference or equivalent payment information.
This article is a practical summary of the rules verified on 28 July 2026. Municipal regulations and platform procedures can change. In the event of any difference between this guide and the official regulation, the published municipal regulation prevails.
