Lodging tax rules will change in four Japanese municipalities in quick succession between autumn 2026 and the first half of 2027. On November 1, 2026, Niseko Town becomes the first municipality in Japan to switch from a flat-amount system to a percentage system (3% of the accommodation charge), and from April 1, 2027 the Tokyo Metropolitan Government moves to a new system with a uniform 3% rate and a tax-exempt threshold of ¥13,000 per person per night. Nagasaki City will revise its tax brackets on the same date, April 1, 2027, and Oita Prefecture plans to introduce a new lodging tax on June 1, 2027; Nagasaki City and Oita Prefecture both received the consent of the Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications on the same day, September 30, 2026. This article lists the effective dates, rates and exemption thresholds of the four municipalities from primary sources, places flat-amount and percentage systems on the same axis to show “from which price band the burden increases,” and uses MetroEngines Research’s estimated settled ADR to estimate what share of Tokyo’s 169,487-room stock (N=1,114 properties) sits in the bands that will pay more. Finally, it sets out a calendar of the operational issues that special collection agents (the hotels that collect the tax) should work back from and prepare by March 2027.
Metric Definitions Used in This Article
- ADR (Average Daily Rate) = an estimated settled rate (tax-exclusive equivalent), calculated by applying a property-type-specific adjustment factor to the lowest published plan level (per room, 2 guests per room, tax-inclusive) that each property lists on OTAs and similar channels. Checked against property-level results disclosed by listed hotel REITs (91 properties, most recent 3 months), the median error is approximately 7%. These are estimates and differ from each property’s actual settled prices and accounting figures. Area-level ADR is the median of the target properties (the level of a typical property in the area).
- Per-person-per-night rate = because lodging tax liability is determined by the accommodation charge per person per night (room only, excluding consumption tax), this article shows each property’s estimated settled ADR (per room, 2 guests) divided by 2 as the “2-per-room basis” and undivided as the “1-per-room basis.” Actual guest counts and meal components vary by property, so the two figures should be read as upper and lower guides.
- Higher-tax side / lower-tax side = comparing Tokyo’s current system (¥100 per person per night for ¥10,000 to under ¥15,000; ¥200 for ¥15,000 and above) with the revised system (exempt under ¥13,000; 3% at or above), the price bands where the tax amount increases are called the “higher-tax side” and those where it decreases the “lower-tax side.”
- Data sources: MetroEngines Research (estimated settled ADR); published materials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and each municipality (tax systems)
- — Effective dates are confirmed for Niseko Town (Nov 1, 2026) and Tokyo (Apr 1, 2027). Nagasaki City’s April 1, 2027 and Oita Prefecture’s June 1, 2027 are planned dates (Oita’s consent document from the Ministry still reads “January 2027 or later”).
- — Tokyo’s break-even point is ¥13,000 per person per night. The ¥10,000 to under ¥13,000 band falls on the lower-tax side (¥100 → ¥0); everything at or above it is on the higher-tax side, and at ¥50,000 the tax rises from ¥200 to ¥1,500 (7.5x).
- — Of Tokyo’s 169,487 rooms (N=1,114 properties), the higher-tax side accounts for 22.8% on a 2-per-room basis to 69.3% on a 1-per-room basis. Even on a 2-per-room basis, 63.2% of city hotel rooms are on the higher-tax side.
- — Sensitivity: even if ADR moves ±10%, the higher-tax share on a 2-per-room basis stays at 18.6〜27.3%. Guests per room matters more than price: at an average of 1.5 guests per room the share is 36.2% (Table 4).
- — The new operational issues are separating the components of the tax base, calculating 3% after truncating below ¥100, and keeping records for 7 years. A realistic sequence is to prepare systems and price displays within 2026, then filing methods and ledgers in January–March 2027.
Effective Dates, Rates and Exemption Thresholds in Four Municipalities — Two Ministerial Consents on the Same Day, September 30, 2026
First, let us establish the facts of each system from primary sources. Lodging tax is a non-statutory special-purpose tax: after the local assembly passes the ordinance, the effective date is fixed following consultation with and consent from the Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications. Tokyo received consent on June 30, 2026 and promulgated the amended ordinance on July 1, while Niseko Town received consent on March 27, 2026. Consent for Nagasaki City (revision) and Oita Prefecture (new tax) was announced on the same day, September 30, 2026. Table 1 lists the effective date, rate, exemption threshold and taxable scope for each municipality based on their published materials.
| Municipality | Effective date (stays from) | Method and rate (per person per night) | Exemption threshold / exemptions | Taxable scope | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Niseko Town (Hokkaido) | November 1, 2026 | Percentage system: 3% of the accommodation charge (of which the Hokkaido lodging tax portion = ¥100 under ¥20,000 / ¥200 for ¥20,000 to under ¥50,000 / ¥500 for ¥50,000 and above; the town tax portion = 3% minus the prefectural portion). Currently a five-tier town tax (¥100–2,000) levied together with the flat prefectural tax | No exemption threshold. School trips and other school events and nursery school events are exempt (following the prefectural tax rules) | Accommodation facilities in the town | Niseko Town press release (March 27, 2026); Hokkaido “Lodging Tax Rate List” |
| Tokyo | April 1, 2027 | Percentage system: 3% of the accommodation charge (tax base truncated below ¥100). Currently ¥100 for ¥10,000 to under ¥15,000, ¥200 for ¥15,000 and above | Under ¥13,000 per person per night is exempt (raised from the current under ¥10,000) | In addition to ryokan and hotels, simple lodging facilities and private lodging (special-zone minpaku and Private Lodging Business Act minpaku) are added | Tokyo press release (June 30, 2026); Bureau of Taxation “Review of the Lodging Tax”; ordinance old/new comparison table |
| Nagasaki City | April 1, 2027 (planned) | Flat amount, 3 brackets: ¥100 under ¥6,000 / ¥300 for ¥6,000 to under ¥20,000 / ¥500 for ¥20,000 and above. Currently ¥100 under ¥10,000 / ¥200 for ¥10,000 to under ¥20,000 / ¥500 for ¥20,000 and above | No exemption threshold. School trips, and participation in tournaments by school clubs and club teams, are exempt | Ryokan, hotels, simple lodging facilities and private lodging businesses | Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications “Revision of Nagasaki City’s Lodging Tax” (consent September 30, 2026); Nagasaki City “Overview of the Lodging Tax” |
| Oita Prefecture | June 1, 2027 (planned; announced by the governor) The Ministry’s consent document reads “January 2027 or later (planned)” | Flat amount, 4 brackets (new): ¥100 under ¥5,000 / ¥200 for ¥5,000 to under ¥20,000 / ¥500 for ¥20,000 to under ¥100,000 / ¥2,000 for ¥100,000 and above | No exemption threshold. School trips and participants in events of certified child centers and nursery schools are exempt | Ryokan, hotels, simple lodging facilities and private lodging businesses | Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications “Establishment of Oita Prefecture’s Lodging Tax” (consent September 30, 2026); TOS TV Oita (October 6, 2026) |
Source: Compiled by HotelBank Editorial Team from published materials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Tokyo, Niseko Town, Hokkaido and Nagasaki City, and media reports (as of October 15, 2026)
Among the four, it is worth separating what is confirmed from what is planned. For Niseko Town’s November 1 and Tokyo’s April 1, 2027, the consent, promulgation of the ordinance and the regulation fixing the effective date are all in place. For Nagasaki City, the Ministry’s consent document states “ordinance effective April 1, 2027 (planned),” and the city’s “Overview of the Lodging Tax” page also presents the new brackets “for stays from April 1, 2027.” For Oita Prefecture, the consent document still reads “ordinance effective January 2027 or later (planned),” and Governor Sato was reported on October 6 to have announced introduction from June 1, 2027, but no official notice of the effective date on the prefecture’s website could yet be confirmed. This article therefore describes Oita Prefecture as “June 1, 2027 (planned)” and treats it as planned in the estimates that follow.
The systems also fall into three types. Niseko Town and Tokyo use a percentage system, Nagasaki City raises the amounts in a three-bracket flat system, and Oita Prefecture introduces a new four-bracket flat system. Niseko Town’s 3% includes the Hokkaido lodging tax, and the town tax portion is calculated as “3% minus the prefectural portion.” To the guest it is a single 3%, but it differs from Tokyo in that special collection agents must file and pay separately to the prefecture and to the town.
Where Flat and Percentage Systems Cross — In Tokyo the Burden Rises from ¥13,000 per Person per Night and Is 7.5x at ¥50,000
Next, we place Tokyo’s current system and the revised 3% on the same axis. Table 2 shows the actual tax amount and the effective tax rate (tax ÷ accommodation charge) when the per-person-per-night accommodation charge (room only, excluding tax) is ¥10,000, ¥13,000, ¥15,000, ¥20,000, ¥30,000 and ¥50,000. The revised tax amounts follow Article 4(3) of the ordinance comparison table (“any fraction of the tax base below ¥100 shall be truncated”) and Article 4-2 (“the tax rate shall be 3/100”), applying 3% to the tax base truncated to the nearest ¥100.
| Accommodation charge per person per night | Current (flat) | Revised (3%) | Difference | Current effective rate | Revised effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ¥10,000 | ¥100 | ¥0 | −¥100 | 1.00% | 0.00% |
| ¥13,000 | ¥100 | ¥390 | +¥290 (3.9x) | 0.77% | 3.00% |
| ¥15,000 | ¥200 | ¥450 | +¥250 (2.25x) | 1.33% | 3.00% |
| ¥20,000 | ¥200 | ¥600 | +¥400 (3x) | 1.00% | 3.00% |
| ¥30,000 | ¥200 | ¥900 | +¥700 (4.5x) | 0.67% | 3.00% |
| ¥50,000 | ¥200 | ¥1,500 | +¥1,300 (7.5x) | 0.40% | 3.00% |
Source: HotelBank Editorial Team estimates based on the Tokyo Lodging Tax Ordinance (old/new comparison table)
The break-even point is clear: in the ¥10,000 to under ¥13,000 band the ¥100 drops to zero (lower-tax side), and everything at ¥13,000 and above is on the higher-tax side. At exactly ¥13,000 the tax is ¥390, 3.9 times the current ¥100; at ¥15,000 it is ¥450 (2.25x), at ¥20,000 ¥600 (3x), at ¥30,000 ¥900 (4.5x) and at ¥50,000 ¥1,500 (7.5x), so the multiple grows as the rate rises. Under the current system the effective tax rate was 1.0% at ¥10,000 and 0.4% at ¥50,000, thinning out as rates rose; after the revision it is a constant 3.0% above the line. The essence of the switch to a percentage system is less the increase or decrease in tax itself than this shift to a structure in which “raising your rate no longer dilutes the tax rate.” A comparison of this ¥13,000 line with Osaka’s tiered system is examined in depth in Tokyo’s Lodging Tax Moves to a Flat 3% from April 1, 2027.
Source: HotelBank Editorial Team estimates based on the Tokyo Lodging Tax Ordinance (old/new comparison table)
Figure 2 overlays Niseko Town, Oita Prefecture and Nagasaki City on the same axis. Niseko Town’s current system (town tax + prefectural tax) is a staircase: ¥200 up to ¥5,000, ¥300 for ¥5,001–19,999, ¥700 for ¥20,000–49,999, ¥1,500 for ¥50,000–99,999 and ¥2,500 for ¥100,000 and above, so compared with 3% the break-even point differs by band. For ¥5,001–9,999, 3% is below ¥300 (lower-tax side); above ¥10,000 it turns to the higher-tax side; from ¥20,000 to ¥23,333 it is again below ¥700 (lower-tax side); from ¥23,334 it is on the higher-tax side; and from ¥50,000 every band is on the higher-tax side (equal at ¥1,500 vs ¥1,500 at ¥50,000, with 3% exceeding thereafter). Niseko Town’s winter ADR for 2 per room is ¥42,300 (January 2026, N=10 properties), and the per-person equivalent of ¥21,200 falls within the ¥700 band. At this rate, 3% is about ¥635, close to the current ¥700, so the impact of the percentage system is concentrated in the upper band above ¥23,000 and the mid band of ¥10,000–20,000.
Nagasaki City’s revision shifts the peak of the effective tax rate to the ¥6,000–20,000 band. The ¥6,000–9,999 band rises from ¥100 to ¥300, and the ¥10,000–19,999 band from ¥200 to ¥300, while under ¥6,000 and ¥20,000 and above are unchanged. Nagasaki City’s 2-per-room ADR is ¥7,700–¥12,500 (monthly medians, October 2025–September 2026, N≈63 properties), or ¥3,900–¥6,300 per person on a 2-per-room basis, straddling the ¥6,000 line. In autumn, November 2025 was above the line at ¥6,300 and October just below it at ¥5,800, while summer months are below the line — a seasonal pattern (for rate levels by municipality in Nagasaki Prefecture, see Nagasaki Hotel Rates 2026). Oita Prefecture’s four brackets produce an effective tax rate that jumps at the bracket boundaries — 4.0% at ¥5,000, 2.5% at ¥20,000 and 2.0% at ¥100,000 — and Oita Prefecture’s 2-per-room ADR of ¥11,900–¥17,300 (monthly medians, October 2025–September 2026, N=436–470 properties) equates to ¥6,000–¥8,600 per person, comfortably in the middle of the ¥200 bracket. The large differences in rate tiers within the prefecture — Yufuin, Beppu and Oita City — are set out in detail in Oita Hotel Investment Map 2026.
Source: HotelBank Editorial Team estimates based on each municipality’s ordinances and published materials (Niseko Town current = town tax + prefectural tax combined)
Checking Against Actual Rates — 22.8% of Tokyo’s 169,487-Room Stock Is in the Higher-Tax Bands (2-per-Room Basis)
So where do Tokyo’s actual rates sit relative to this break-even point? Of the accommodation properties in Tokyo tracked by MetroEngines Research, we took the 1,114 properties and 169,487 rooms in five property types — business, city, ryokan, resort and capsule — with estimated settled ADR available for at least 6 of the 12 months from October 2025 to September 2026, converted each property’s 12-month average ADR to a per-person-per-night figure, and assigned it to a band. Table 3 shows the distribution on a 2-per-room basis.
| Per-person-per-night rate (2 per room) | Properties | Rooms | Room share | Change in tax (current → revised) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 〜¥4,999 | 215 | 20,467 | 12.1% | Remains exempt |
| ¥5,000〜9,999 | 610 | 91,199 | 53.8% | Remains exempt |
| ¥10,000〜12,999 | 123 | 19,230 | 11.3% | ¥100 → ¥0 (lower-tax side) |
| ¥13,000〜14,999 | 42 | 9,213 | 5.4% | ¥100 → ¥390–447 |
| ¥15,000〜19,999 | 58 | 14,067 | 8.3% | ¥200 → ¥450–597 |
| ¥20,000〜29,999 | 45 | 11,870 | 7.0% | ¥200 → ¥600–897 |
| ¥30,000〜49,999 | 15 | 2,606 | 1.5% | ¥200 → ¥900–1,497 |
| ¥50,000〜 | 6 | 835 | 0.5% | ¥200 → ¥1,500+ |
Source: Compiled by MetroEngines Research and HotelBank Editorial Team (N=1,114 properties, 169,487 rooms; 12-month average estimated settled ADR, October 2025–September 2026)
On a room basis, on a 2-per-room basis 65.9% (111,666 rooms) stay in bands that are exempt under both the current and revised systems, 11.3% (19,230 rooms) are on the lower-tax side going from ¥100 to ¥0, and 22.8% (166 properties, 38,591 rooms) are on the higher-tax side. On a property basis the higher-tax side is 14.9%; the room-basis figure is higher because large properties such as city hotels are concentrated on the higher-tax side. Switching to a 1-per-room basis changes the picture completely: the higher-tax side becomes 69.3% (117,516 rooms), the lower-tax side 18.6% and exempt 12.1%. The more single occupancy a business hotel has, the closer its reality is to the 1-per-room basis, so it is reasonable to view the “higher-tax side” of Tokyo’s room stock as a range with the 2-per-room 22.8% as the lower bound and the 1-per-room 69.3% as the upper bound.
Table 4 checks whether this range is driven by movements in rates or by the number of guests per room. It shows the room share on the higher-tax side (¥13,000 or more per person per night) when each property’s 12-month average ADR is shifted uniformly by −10% to +10% and the average number of guests per room is set between 1.0 and 2.0.
| Guests per room \ ADR | −10% | −5% | ±0% | +5% | +10% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.0 guests (2-per-room basis) | 18.6% | 21.1% | 22.8% | 24.4% | 27.3% |
| 1.75 guests | 23.1% | 26.6% | 28.9% | 30.9% | 32.8% |
| 1.5 guests | 30.9% | 32.9% | 36.2% | 39.3% | 42.8% |
| 1.25 guests | 41.1% | 45.4% | 49.6% | 53.7% | 57.4% |
| 1.0 guest (1-per-room basis) | 60.7% | 65.7% | 69.3% | 73.0% | 78.1% |
Source: MetroEngines Research; HotelBank Editorial Team estimates (N=1,114 properties, 169,487 rooms; 12-month average estimated settled ADR for October 2025–September 2026, shifted uniformly)
Even if ADR moves ±10%, the higher-tax share stays within 18.6–27.3% on a 2-per-room basis (a range of 8.7pt) and 60.7–78.1% on a 1-per-room basis (a range of 17.4pt). By contrast, changing the guest assumption from 2.0 to 1.0 moves the share from 22.8% to 69.3%, a shift of 46.5pt. The size of the higher-tax side is driven far more by guests per room than by rate movements, so knowing your own property’s actual guest count (single-occupancy ratio) is what most improves the accuracy of tax-burden estimates. At an average of 1.5 guests per room the share is 36.2%, slightly below the midpoint between the 2-per-room and 1-per-room figures. Note that room rates for single occupancy are often set lower than for double occupancy, so the 1-per-room figure is a guide that leans toward the upper bound.
Many properties are below the line on an annual average but cross it in peak months. On a 2-per-room basis, 124 properties with 18,698 rooms (11.0% of rooms) have a 12-month average below ¥13,000 but a peak month at ¥13,000 or above; these become taxable only for a few months in spring, autumn or year-end. Tokyo’s overall monthly ADR (2 per room, N=1,067–1,145 properties, October 2025–September 2026) swung from ¥17,800 in April 2026 to ¥11,800 in August, or ¥8,900–¥5,900 per person, so a typical property is below the line, yet at the April peak single occupancy far exceeds ¥13,000. Because tax liability is determined per night and per guest, properties need to understand where they sit relative to the line using monthly and day-of-week rate distributions rather than annual averages.
By ward, the skew toward the higher-tax side is clear. Figure 3 and Table 5 show the room-basis band composition (2-per-room basis) for the 17 wards with 8 or more properties, ranked by higher-tax share. Shibuya (64.0%), Minato (39.1%), Bunkyo (35.0%), Chuo (30.2%) and Shinjuku (30.1%) lead, while Taito, with its large room count, is only 12.3% and Ota 8.5%. In Kita, Edogawa and Katsushika, almost all rooms are in the exempt bands on a 2-per-room basis.
Source: Compiled by MetroEngines Research and HotelBank Editorial Team (17 of the 23 wards with 8 or more properties; N=946 properties, 155,191 rooms; 2-per-room basis)
| Ward | Properties | Rooms | Median ADR (per room) | Exempt | Lower-tax side | Higher-tax side |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shibuya | 33 | 5,215 | ¥27,062 | 28.7% | 7.3% | 64.0% |
| Minato | 131 | 27,246 | ¥17,709 | 50.2% | 10.7% | 39.1% |
| Bunkyo | 16 | 2,876 | ¥13,736 | 65.0% | 0.0% | 35.0% |
| Chuo | 137 | 22,037 | ¥19,086 | 48.0% | 21.8% | 30.2% |
| Shinjuku | 93 | 15,934 | ¥15,630 | 62.0% | 7.9% | 30.1% |
| Koto | 40 | 9,776 | ¥13,993 | 68.6% | 8.1% | 23.2% |
| Toshima | 62 | 10,235 | ¥11,979 | 78.5% | 1.7% | 19.8% |
| Chiyoda | 78 | 14,228 | ¥15,981 | 64.1% | 16.2% | 19.7% |
| Arakawa | 13 | 1,027 | ¥14,254 | 65.9% | 19.3% | 14.8% |
| Taito | 165 | 18,265 | ¥13,963 | 74.7% | 13.0% | 12.3% |
| Ota | 58 | 10,107 | ¥12,025 | 74.4% | 17.1% | 8.5% |
| Sumida | 30 | 4,737 | ¥15,837 | 72.7% | 18.9% | 8.4% |
| Shinagawa | 35 | 7,739 | ¥13,016 | 89.2% | 4.3% | 6.5% |
| Edogawa | 18 | 2,229 | ¥12,174 | 97.4% | 2.6% | 0.0% |
| Kita | 19 | 2,145 | ¥10,288 | 100.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Katsushika | 8 | 751 | ¥9,155 | 100.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Meguro | 10 | 644 | ¥17,916 | 73.6% | 26.4% | 0.0% |
Source: Compiled by MetroEngines Research and HotelBank Editorial Team (room basis, 2-per-room basis; 12-month average estimated settled ADR)
By property type, 63.2% of city hotel rooms (N=103 properties, 34,280 rooms) are on the higher-tax side even on a 2-per-room basis, compared with 13.1% for business hotels (N=904 properties, 127,638 rooms), 75.5% of which are in the exempt bands. However, the business hotel median ADR of ¥14,300 per room exceeds ¥13,000 on a 1-per-room basis, so the higher a property’s single-occupancy ratio, the closer its reality moves to above the line. Capsule hotels have all rooms in the exempt bands on a 2-per-room basis, and 70–80% of ryokan and resort rooms are also in the exempt bands.
Source: Compiled by MetroEngines Research and HotelBank Editorial Team (by property type, room basis, 2-per-room basis; N=1,114 properties)
We also offer a rough guide to the total tax burden. Assuming the 1,114 properties were fully occupied at 2 guests per room at their 12-month average ADR and mechanically summing the current and revised tax amounts per guest, Tokyo-wide lodging tax per night would be about 2.7 times the current level. This is an estimate that leans toward the upper bound, ignoring occupancy, guest counts and seasonality, and is only meant to be read alongside the scale of the ¥8.1 billion in lodging tax allocated to projects in FY2026 that Tokyo has published (¥2.0 billion for harmony between tourism and daily life, ¥2.7 billion for improving the visitor-receiving environment, ¥2.3 billion for developing tourism resources and ¥1.1 billion for human resources). Even so, it conveys that the switch to a percentage system is not “a change in tax rate” but “a replacement of the tax revenue base.”
Operations — PMS and Booking-Site Integration and Assessment Rules Special Collection Agents Should Have Ready by March 2027
Operationally, the switch to a percentage system changes the order of assessment. Under the current flat system the tax amount was decided by a two-step test — “Is it ¥10,000 or more?” and “Is it ¥15,000 or more?” — but after the revision, 3% is applied after fixing each guest’s tax base (the per-person-per-night room-only, tax-exclusive charge truncated below ¥100), so the breakdown of the charge itself directly determines the tax amount. The issues are organized below based on the assessment criteria set out in the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Taxation’s Q&A.
| Issue | Assessment criteria (Tokyo Bureau of Taxation Q&A and ordinance) | What to prepare in PMS and booking-site integration |
|---|---|---|
| Scope of the tax base | The room-only charge and related service charges are included. Amounts equivalent to consumption tax, and charges for non-lodging services such as meals, beverages, banquets, spas and parking, are excluded | Hold room charge, meals and service charges separately at the plan level. For plans with two meals or breakfast, the tax cannot be calculated unless the breakdown is carried in the reservation data |
| Multiple guests per room | “When two or more people stay in one room, the determination is made by converting to the accommodation charge per person.” Even with split billing, the determination uses one night’s room charge divided by the number of guests | Confirm the actual number of guests at check-in. Children are taxed on the same basis, so align the treatment of co-sleeping and free-of-charge guests with the PMS guest-count definition |
| Tax calculation | Tax base truncated below ¥100, tax rate 3% (revised ordinance Articles 4 and 4-2). Under ¥13,000 is exempt | Implement the tax logic in the order “truncate → 3%” and test the boundary between ¥12,999 and ¥13,000 and the ¥100-step boundaries |
| Discounts and subsidies | If the property itself discounts, the post-discount charge applies. If a third party (such as a government subsidy) bears part of the cost, the total of that payment and the amount borne by the guest applies | Make it possible to distinguish the funding source of coupon and point discounts (property-funded or third-party-funded) from booking-site notifications |
| Package tours and travel agencies | For package tours, the determination is based on “the contracted accommodation charge with the individual hotel (excluding meals and other ancillary services).” The special collection obligation lies with the hotel operator; travel agencies are not collection agents | Even when a travel agency or booking site holds the tax-equivalent amount, the property is responsible for filing and payment. Tokyo’s Q&A does not specifically address prepayment via booking sites, so assume a design in which the property can assess and collect the tax, and confirm whether the breakdown of the contracted accommodation charge is delivered from the site controller |
| Display | If the name and amount of the lodging tax are not clearly shown on the receipt, the lodging tax amount is also subject to consumption tax | Show a separate “Accommodation Tax” line on receipts, booking confirmation emails and booking-site price displays. In Niseko Town, the town and prefectural portions are shown as two separate lines |
| Ledgers and filing | Record the date of stay, total accommodation charge, number of guests, number of taxable guests, tax base and tax amount in the ledger and keep it for 7 years (currently 5). Filing and payment for the previous month are due by the end of each month; the quarterly filing exception is expected to drop its amount requirement | Restructure monthly filing reports on a tax-base basis. For switching to quarterly filing, confirm the application deadline of end-January in line with Tokyo’s guidance |
| Private lodging / simple lodging | After the revision, private lodging operators and simple lodging operators are also special collection agents. Pre-registration has been open since July 1, 2026 (eLTAX, by mail or in person) | Operators of simple lodging facilities and private lodging in Tokyo should complete registration within the year and set up their tax assessment processes |
Source: Compiled by HotelBank Editorial Team from the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Taxation “Q&A on the Lodging Tax” and “Review of the Lodging Tax,” and the Tokyo Lodging Tax Ordinance old/new comparison table
The revision also takes into account the burden that special collection places on operators. The special collection grant remains at 2.5% of the amount filed and paid, with the annual cap of ¥1 million expected to be removed, so properties whose filed amounts increase will see their grants rise proportionally. The quarterly filing exception will also be relaxed: the amount requirement of ¥1.2 million or less per year will be removed, allowing it to be chosen regardless of amount. Because Oita Prefecture and Nagasaki City use flat-amount systems, the tax calculation mechanism itself does not change, but Nagasaki City requires per-person-per-night assessment against the new ¥6,000 boundary, and Oita Prefecture against three boundaries at ¥5,000, ¥20,000 and ¥100,000.
Another operational issue is the switchover date for “stays.” Tokyo has made clear that the new system applies “to stays from April 1, 2027,” so reservations for April 2027 onward received during 2026 will also be taxed under the system in force on the check-in date. Properties that quote tax amounts at the time of booking should prepare wording to inform guests, at booking confirmation, that the tax amount will change for reservations that include stay dates on or after April 1, 2027.
Countdown Calendar for Preparation — What to Do in 2026 and What to Do in January–March 2027
Finally, we summarize a preparation timeline worked back from the effective dates in the four municipalities. The confirmed dates are November 1, 2026 for Niseko Town and April 1, 2027 for Tokyo; April 1, 2027 for Nagasaki City and June 1, 2027 for Oita Prefecture are planned.
| Timing | Regulatory deadline | What properties should work on |
|---|---|---|
| October 2026 | — | Tally your property’s per-person-per-night rate (room only, excluding tax) by month, day of week and plan, and identify the months that cross the lines: ¥13,000 for Tokyo; ¥6,000 and ¥20,000 for Nagasaki City; ¥5,000, ¥20,000 and ¥100,000 for Oita Prefecture |
| November 1, 2026 | Niseko Town percentage system (3%) takes effect | Properties in Niseko Town run the calculation of town tax = 3% − prefectural portion, and separate filing and payment to the prefecture and the town, from the first month. Receipts show two lines |
| November–December 2026 | Tokyo: pre-registration of simple lodging and private lodging operators as special collection agents (open since July 1, 2026) | Configure separation of plan components (room, meals, service charges) in the PMS and site controller, and implement and test the tax logic (truncate below ¥100 → 3%). Prepare tax displays and guidance wording for reservations from April 2027 onward |
| January 2027 | Tokyo: application deadline for the quarterly filing exception (end of January) | Decide whether to switch to quarterly filing and apply. Update ledger formats to record total accommodation charge, tax base and tax amount, with 7-year retention |
| February–March 2027 | — | Brief staff on the assessment flow (confirm guest count → convert per person → truncate → 3%). In Nagasaki City, prepare for assessment at the ¥6,000 boundary; in Oita Prefecture, proceed with preparations for the June introduction |
| April 1, 2027 | Tokyo 3% percentage system takes effect (stays from April 1) / Nagasaki City new brackets (planned) | Stays through March 31 are filed under the old system (due end of April); stays from April 1 fall under the new system. In the switchover month, keep ledgers separated by system |
| End of May 2027 | Tokyo: filing and payment deadline for the first month (April) under the new system | First filing on a tax-base basis. Grant calculations also change from the new-system portion |
| June 1, 2027 | Oita Prefecture lodging tax introduced (planned) | Properties in the prefecture begin four-bracket assessment and special collection. Reconfirm the effective date in the prefecture’s official notice |
Source: Compiled by HotelBank Editorial Team from each municipality’s published materials (as of October 15, 2026; planned items are subject to change)
Summary
From Niseko Town in November 2026 to Oita Prefecture in June 2027, lodging tax revisions and new taxes follow one after another in four municipalities. The break-even point of the percentage system is ¥13,000 per person per night in Tokyo, while in Niseko Town it appears as a staircase at ¥10,000, ¥23,000 and ¥50,000 depending on the band; Nagasaki City raises the tax for the ¥6,000–20,000 band, and Oita Prefecture introduces a new four-bracket system. Of Tokyo’s 169,487-room stock (N=1,114 properties), the share in the higher-tax bands ranges from 22.8% on a 2-per-room basis to 69.3% on a 1-per-room basis, concentrated in city hotels and in the Shibuya, Minato, Chuo and Shinjuku wards. Operationally, the new issues are separating the components of the tax base, confirming guest counts for per-person conversion, calculating 3% after truncating below ¥100, and keeping ledgers for 7 years. Working back from the deadlines, including planned ones, the realistic sequence is to prepare systems and displays within 2026, and filing methods and ledgers in January–March 2027.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How much will Tokyo’s lodging tax be from April 2027?
A. If the accommodation charge per person per night (room only, excluding consumption tax) is under ¥13,000, it is exempt; at ¥13,000 or more, the tax is 3% of the accommodation charge. Because the tax base is truncated below ¥100, the tax is ¥390 at ¥13,000, ¥600 at ¥20,000 and ¥1,500 at ¥50,000.
Q. How is liability determined when two people share a room?
A. It is determined by the per-person amount, i.e. the room-only charge for the room divided by the number of guests. If two people stay in a room costing ¥26,000, the charge is ¥13,000 per person, which is taxable. Meal charges and consumption tax are excluded from the accommodation charge in the calculation.
Q. When does Oita Prefecture’s lodging tax start?
A. Ministerial consent was obtained on September 30, 2026, and the governor has reportedly announced introduction from June 1, 2027. The Ministry’s consent document still reads “January 2027 or later (planned),” so please confirm the effective date in the prefecture’s official notice.
Q. Does Niseko Town’s 3% include the Hokkaido lodging tax?
A. Yes. From November 1, 2026, 3% of the accommodation charge is the total lodging tax, and the amount after deducting the Hokkaido lodging tax portion (¥100 under ¥20,000, ¥200 for ¥20,000 to under ¥50,000, ¥500 for ¥50,000 and above) is Niseko Town’s lodging tax.
Related Articles
- Tokyo’s Lodging Tax Moves to a Flat 3% from April 1, 2027 — Testing the ¥13,000 Exemption Line and Osaka’s Tiered System Against Actual Rates
- Lodging Tax National List 2026 — Tax Amounts and Effective Dates in 62 Municipalities, and the Burden Relative to Actual Rates
- Okinawa Lodging Tax 2027 — Rate, Cap and Preparation
- What Is Hotel ADR? — Room Revenue ÷ Rooms Sold, the Gap with Listed Prices, and 2026 Levels by Property Type
- Lodging Tax: Kamakura ¥300 and Okayama/Kurashiki ¥200 Go to September Assemblies — Effective Burden and a List of 65 Municipalities
- Effective Lodging Tax Rates: Nasu 1.05%, Morioka 3.65% — Back-Calculating Two Municipalities Starting October 1 from Actual ADR
- Oita Hotel Investment Map 2026 — Yufuin ¥23,000, Beppu ¥15,000, Oita City ¥7,000: Rate Tiers and Supply Across 18 Municipalities
- Nagasaki Hotel Rates 2026 — Estimated Settled ADR Across 20 Municipalities in Three Tiers; Remote Islands Rank Highest in the Prefecture with a 4.29 Review Score
References and Sources
■ Data Sources
System information is based on the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications’ consent documents and the ordinances and published materials of Tokyo, Niseko Town, Hokkaido and Nagasaki City; Oita Prefecture’s effective date is based on media reports (as of October 15, 2026). Rates are MetroEngines Research’s estimated settled ADR: for Tokyo, the 1,114 properties and 169,487 rooms in the five property types of business, city, ryokan, resort and capsule with data confirmed for at least 6 of the 12 months from October 2025 to September 2026; for Oita Prefecture, Nagasaki City and Niseko Town, monthly medians for the same period.
■ Estimation Assumptions
Each property’s 12-month average ADR (per room, 2 guests, tax-exclusive equivalent) was divided by the number of guests to obtain a per-person-per-night figure. For Tokyo’s revised system, 3% was applied after truncating the tax base below ¥100; for the current system, the tax was ¥100 for ¥10,000 to under ¥15,000 and ¥200 for ¥15,000 and above. Room shares are weighted by room count. The total tax burden comparison (about 2.7x) is a mechanical calculation assuming full occupancy, 2 guests per room and no seasonality; the sensitivity in Table 4 combines a uniform ±10% ADR shift with averages of 1.0–2.0 guests per room.
■ Limitations and Caveats
Estimated settled ADR is a room-rate-based estimate and may not match each property’s tax base (room only, excluding consumption tax, per person per night). Room rates for single occupancy are often lower than for double occupancy, so the 1-per-room basis is a guide leaning toward the upper bound of the higher-tax share. Ward assignment is based on address. The effective dates for Nagasaki City and Oita Prefecture are planned and will be fixed by each municipality’s official notice.
■ Primary Sources (Ordinances, Ministerial Consent, Municipal Publications)
- Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, “Establishment of Oita Prefecture’s Lodging Tax” (September 30, 2026) [Japanese]
- Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, “Revision of Nagasaki City (Nagasaki Prefecture) Lodging Tax” (September 30, 2026) [Japanese]
- Tokyo Metropolitan Government, “Ministerial Consent and Effective Date for the Lodging Tax” (June 30, 2026) [Japanese]
- Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Taxation, “Review of the Lodging Tax” [Japanese] / Tokyo Lodging Tax Ordinance old/new comparison table [Japanese]
- Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Taxation, “Q&A on the Lodging Tax (General)” [Japanese] / (For accommodation operators) / (For travel industry)
- Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Taxation, “Use of the Lodging Tax” (FY2026 allocation ¥8.1 billion) [Japanese]
- Niseko Town, “Changes to the Lodging Tax System” press release (March 27, 2026) [Japanese] / Niseko Town, “Lodging Tax to Change to a Percentage System” [Japanese]
- Hokkaido, “Lodging Tax Rate List” (as of March 1, 2026) [Japanese] / Hokkaido, “Hokkaido Lodging Tax” [Japanese]
- Nagasaki City, “Overview of the Lodging Tax” (including rates for stays from April 1, 2027) [Japanese]
■ Media Reports
- Nikkei, “Minister Consents to Tokyo’s Lodging Tax; 3% Percentage System from April 2027” (June 30, 2026) [Japanese]
- TOS TV Oita, “Lodging Tax to Be Introduced from June 1, 2027; ¥100 to ¥2,000 per Person per Night, Oita” (October 6, 2026) [Japanese]
- Nikkei, “Oita Prefecture’s Lodging Tax Ordinance Enacted, ¥100–2,000; Introduction as Early as January 2027” (June 26, 2026) [Japanese]
- NBC Nagasaki Broadcasting, “Nagasaki City Lodging Tax Rates to Change from April 2027; Revenue Expected to Rise from About ¥400 Million to About ¥840 Million a Year” (original page no longer available) [Japanese]
- Hokkaido Shimbun, “Niseko Town Lodging Tax: Minister Consents to Change to Percentage System” [Japanese]
■ Market Data
- MetroEngines Research — estimated settled ADR (Tokyo N=1,114 properties, 169,487 rooms; monthly medians for Oita Prefecture, Nagasaki City and Niseko Town; October 2025–September 2026)
*System information in this article is based on materials published as of October 15, 2026. The effective dates for Oita Prefecture and Nagasaki City are planned and will be fixed by each municipality’s official notices and ordinances. Tax estimates are the editorial team’s calculations based on the methods set out in the ordinances; please confirm individual tax determinations with the relevant municipality.