Tourist Tax in Ribeira Brava Madeira Island: What is the cost 2026

If you operate an Alojamento Local, Airbnb, Booking.com property, hotel, guesthouse or other tourist accommodation in Ribeira Brava, Madeira, you are responsible for understanding, collecting and declaring the municipality's tourist tax. Tourist Tax declarations can be automated using EazyAL and iTaxas

The Ribeira Brava tourist tax is €2 per eligible guest per night, up to a maximum of 7 consecutive nights per person and per stay. This means the maximum charge is normally €14 per taxable guest for one continuous stay. These rules continue to be published by the Municipality of Ribeira Brava in 2026.

The tax applies throughout the year and has applied to taxable overnight stays taking place from 5 October 2024 onwards, including reservations that were originally made before that date.

Ribeira Brava Tourist Tax 2026: Quick Summary

The accommodation operator, rather than the municipality collecting directly from each visitor, is responsible for calculating and collecting the tax.

How Much Is the Ribeira Brava Tourist Tax?

The Ribeira Brava tourist tax is €2 for each taxable guest for each overnight stay.

It applies to paid stays in tourist establishments and registered Alojamento Local properties located within the Municipality of Ribeira Brava.

The municipality states that the method used to make the reservation does not change the application of the tax. It can therefore apply whether the guest booked:

• directly with the accommodation;

• through Airbnb;

• through Booking.com;

• through another online platform;

• through a travel agency;

• offline or in person.

The maximum charge is limited to seven consecutive nights for each person and stay.

Who Has to Pay?

The tourist tax generally applies to guests aged 13 or over staying in paid tourist accommodation within Ribeira Brava.

There is a small but important detail in the municipal rules: guests below 13 are exempt, and the actual day on which the guest turns 13 is also excluded.

The guest's nationality does not determine whether the tax applies.

However, there is a specific exemption for residents of the Autonomous Region of Madeira, provided they can demonstrate their residency.

Ribeira Brava Tourist Tax Exemptions

Not every guest has to pay the tourist tax.

According to the municipal regulation, the following categories can qualify for an exemption:

Hosts should not simply assume an exemption applies.

Where documentation is required, the municipality expects the accommodation operator to retain appropriate proof. The regulation states that documents supporting exemptions should be kept for one year and may be requested by the municipality for inspection.

The municipality's FAQ also contains specific data-protection requirements around obtaining and retaining documents used to demonstrate exemptions.

Maximum Number of Nights

The Ribeira Brava tourist tax is charged for a maximum of 7 consecutive nights per eligible guest and per stay.

This means that a guest staying for:

• 1 night pays for 1 night;

• 3 nights pays for 3 nights;

• 7 nights pays for 7 nights;

• 10 nights still pays for only 7 nights;

• 30 consecutive nights still pays for only 7 nights.

At €2 per night, the maximum is therefore:

€2 × 7 nights = €14 per eligible guest.

The municipality's FAQ gives the example of a guest staying for 300 consecutive nights: only seven nights are taxable.

What happens if the guest leaves and returns?

A new stay can create a new seven-night allowance.

For example, the municipality gives the example of someone who:

1. stays 3 nights;

2. leaves;

3. returns for another 8-night stay.

The tax applies to 3 nights from the first stay + 7 nights from the second stay.

Example Tourist Tax Calculations

Here are some practical examples.

Example 1: Two adults staying for 3 nights

2 guests × 3 nights × €2

Tourist tax: €12

Example 2: Two adults staying for 7 nights

2 × 7 × €2

Tourist tax: €28

Example 3: Two adults staying for 10 nights

Only the first seven consecutive nights are taxable.

2 × 7 × €2

Tourist tax: €28

Example 4: Two adults and two children aged 8 and 11 staying for 5 nights

Only the two adults are taxable.

2 × 5 × €2

Tourist tax: €20

Example 5: Four adults staying for 14 nights

The seven-night cap applies to each guest.

4 × 7 × €2

Tourist tax: €56

Example 6: One adult and one Madeira resident staying for 7 nights

Assuming the Madeira resident supplies the necessary proof, only one guest is taxable.

1 × 7 × €2

Tourist tax: €14

How Airbnb and Booking.com Reservations Are Treated

Using Airbnb, Booking.com or another booking platform does not remove the accommodation operator's obligations under the Ribeira Brava tourist-tax rules.

The regulation expressly states that the tax applies independently of whether the booking was made in person, offline or digitally.

The municipal FAQ goes further: the operator of the establishment is responsible for liquidating and collecting the tourist tax from the guest. If an operator negligently fails to collect a tax that was due, the municipality states that the operator remains responsible for delivering the corresponding amount.

For this reason, hosts should make sure they know:

• which guests are taxable;

• their ages;

• the number of taxable nights;

• whether an exemption applies;

• how much tourist tax was actually collected;

• which property the stay relates to.

This becomes particularly important for managers operating several Airbnb or Booking.com properties.

How Hosts Register for the Ribeira Brava Tourist Tax

Ribeira Brava provides a dedicated electronic tourist-tax platform for hotels, Alojamento Local establishments and other eligible tourism operators. The current municipal portal states that operators should complete their initial registration within 30 days of starting their activity.

The underlying regulation similarly requires entities to register and add an accommodation establishment within 30 days following the relevant RNAL registration or tourism establishment authorisation.

If you operate several AL properties, each establishment needs to be associated correctly with the entity operating it.

The municipality also makes clear that registering an AL through the normal business/RNAL process does not automatically create the establishment inside the Ribeira Brava tourist-tax platform.

In other words:

RNAL registration and tourist-tax registration are separate administrative steps.

How to Submit the Monthly Declaration

The normal Ribeira Brava tourist-tax declaration is submitted electronically through the municipality's tourist-tax platform.

Under the regulation, operators should declare the amounts collected by the final day of the month following the month in which the tax was collected.

For example:

Each establishment requires its own declaration.

However, the municipality's FAQ says that operators managing several establishments can submit multiple declarations through an Excel file on the platform.

This is particularly useful for professional AL managers with multiple properties.

What If You Had Zero Guests?

This is an important rule that can easily be missed.

Having no taxable overnight stays does not normally remove the obligation to submit the declaration.

The municipality's FAQ explicitly states that the monthly declaration is still required when there were no overnight stays. The operator should enter 0 overnight stays in the relevant field.

The exception is where the establishment has been formally declared temporarily or permanently closed in accordance with the municipal process.

So:

No bookings ≠ no declaration.

For hosts managing multiple properties, this is a useful compliance task to include in the monthly checklist.

Monthly vs Quarterly Declarations

Monthly reporting is the default.

However, operators that are:

• exempt from VAT; or

• submit VAT quarterly

may opt to make the Ribeira Brava tourist-tax declaration quarterly.

The official quarterly deadlines are:

The FAQ also explains that changing from monthly to quarterly reporting, or vice versa, takes effect from the following applicable reporting period rather than retrospectively.

When Must the Tourist Tax Be Paid?

Once the declaration has been submitted, the amount collected must be transferred to the Municipality of Ribeira Brava.

There is a slight difference in wording between the official regulation and the municipality's FAQ.

The regulation states that the declared amount should be delivered within 10 working days from the date on which the municipality makes the Multibanco reference or equivalent payment information available.

The FAQ describes the deadline as 10 working days from submission of the declaration and says that the corresponding invoice is generated automatically and appears in the declaration history.

For practical purposes, hosts should therefore check the generated invoice/payment information immediately after submitting the declaration and avoid delaying payment.

Late payments can result in statutory late-payment interest, and the regulation provides for enforcement where amounts collected are not transferred to the municipality.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is the Ribeira Brava tourist tax in 2026?

The current municipal guidance states €2 per eligible guest per night, for a maximum of seven consecutive nights per person and stay.

What is the maximum Ribeira Brava tourist tax?

The maximum is normally €14 per taxable guest per continuous stay.

€2 × 7 nights = €14.

Do children pay tourist tax in Ribeira Brava?

Guests under 13 are exempt. The municipality also excludes the date on which the guest turns 13.

Final Thoughts

The Ribeira Brava tourist tax is relatively simple at the guest level: €2 per eligible guest per night, capped at seven consecutive nights.

For hosts, however, compliance involves considerably more than performing that calculation.

You need to identify exemptions, retain supporting records, issue the correct invoicing documentation, register each property, submit declarations even in certain zero-activity periods, respect monthly or quarterly deadlines, transfer the money collected and separately account for the municipality's 2.5% collection commission.

For a host with one property, much of this can still be managed manually.

For a property manager handling several Airbnb or Booking.com listings, having the reservation, guest and compliance information organised in one place can save significant repetitive administrative work.

EazyAL helps Portuguese AL operators turn that recurring paperwork into a structured monthly workflow — so it is clearer what has been collected, what needs to be declared and what still needs your attention.

This guide is based on the Municipality of Ribeira Brava's currently published tourist-tax information, Regulation No. 1031/2024 and the municipality's official FAQ. Municipal procedures can change, so hosts should confirm current requirements on the official municipal platform before submitting or paying a declaration.