Tourist tax in Marrakech: who pays it over to the city?

In Marrakech, the tourist tax on a villa or riad let for short stays is paid over by whoever operates the property. Not by Airbnb, which does not collect it in Morocco, and not by a concierge company unless its mandate says so. The amount depends on a line few owners have read: the commune charges 15 DH per person per night for a riad, and 20 DH for a house let to tourists.

We manage villas and riads in Marrakech. What follows is what this tax actually asks of whoever runs the property — text by text, deadline by deadline — and what an owner should require of whoever collects it on their behalf. It is written for the owner, not the traveller.

Who has to pay over the tourist tax on a villa or riad in Marrakech?

The operator of the property, and the law names nobody else. Article 76 of law no. 47-06 on local authority taxation, as amended by law no. 07-20, provides that “the operators of tourist accommodation establishments […] are responsible for collecting the tourist tax from their clients”. The guest bears it, since it “comes on top of the accommodation price” (article 70); the operator collects it, shows it separately on the invoice and pays it over to the commune.

So who is the operator of a let villa? The payment slip issued by the commune of Marrakech offers three boxes only: owner, director, manager. Articles 70 to 76 name neither booking platforms nor concierge companies: a concierge company may collect and pay over on the owner’s behalf, but only if its mandate says so. The rule holds here as everywhere: what is not written down stays with the owner — the boundary drawn in our article on what a concierge company does in Marrakech.

Is a villa let for short stays subject to the tourist tax?

Yes, and it was the 2020 reform that settled it. In its 2007 version, law no. 47-06 covered hotels, guest houses and tourist establishments within the meaning of law no. 61-00. Law no. 07-20, enacted on 31 December 2020, extended the tax to “other forms of tourist accommodation” governed by law no. 80-14 (article 70), created a line for “riads and houses let to tourists” (article 73), and cut the exemptions down to children under twelve (article 71). The collection published by the Directorate General of Local Authorities sums it up: the reform “broadened its base to include all forms of tourist accommodation”.

The concierge company Croceo was still writing on 23 December 2025 that the case of villas let on Airbnb is “the trickiest question”, and that it depends on the property’s status. Status does matter — but to fix the line on the scale, not to decide whether the tax is due.

Does Airbnb collect the tourist tax in Morocco?

No. The help page on which Airbnb lists the places where it collects and remits local taxes itself names twenty countries outside the United States — France, Portugal and Mexico among them — and Morocco is not among them (Airbnb help centre, article 2509, recorded on 11/09/2026). Without a tourist tax line in a booking’s price breakdown, the platform has collected nothing for the commune.

That is where the hidden cost sits. The tax is calculated “on the basis of the number of clients who stayed in the establishment and the number of nights” (article 76), not on what was collected. A tax forgotten when guests arrive is still owed, and it then comes out of the owner’s income: for a house let to tourists, 20 DH per guest aged twelve or over, per night. The platform’s commission is a separate line, set out in our article on the Airbnb commission in Morocco; running a listing is covered on our Airbnb property management in Marrakech page.

What amount does the commune of Marrakech set for a riad and for a villa?

Fifteen dirhams per person per night for a riad or a guest house, twenty dirhams for a house let to tourists. These rates appear in chapter 14 of the commune of Marrakech’s local tax decision no. 109 of 17 February 2021, in the consolidated version it publishes online (recorded on 11/09/2026). The law lets each commune choose within a range: 10 to 25 DH for “riads and houses let to tourists”, 15 to 30 DH for guest houses (article 73). Marrakech split the statutory line in two.

A villa let without classification falls, in principle, under the line for houses let to tourists. For four adults staying seven nights, the gap comes to 140 DH: 560 DH in a house let to tourists, 420 DH in a riad. One caveat on the version: the consolidated text incorporates council decisions up to October 2023, and any later amendment to chapter 14 is not established.

In Marrakech, a house let to tourists pays a third more than a riad.

Is the tourism promotion tax added on top of the tourist tax?

Yes for a riad classified as a guest house, and it is a second tax, not a surcharge on the first. The tourist tax is municipal; the tourism promotion tax is a parafiscal levy, created in 1979 by decree no. 2-79-749 for the benefit of the Moroccan National Tourist Office. It too is charged per person per night: 11 DH for a first-category guest house and 8 DH for a second-category one, according to the scale published by Upsilon Consulting on 26 March 2026 — a consultancy, not the text of the decree.

For a riad classified as a guest house in Marrakech, the two taxes together therefore come to 23 DH per night in the second category and 26 DH in the first. For a house let to tourists without classification, that scale has no matching category: whether the tourism promotion tax applies is not established, and we will not invent one. It is a question for an accountant before setting the amount shown to guests.

Do children count towards the tourist tax on a Marrakech let?

Not if they are under twelve: since the 2020 reform, that is the only exemption the law provides. Article 71, repealed and replaced by law no. 07-20, states that “children under twelve (12) years of age are exempt from this tax”. The establishment exemptions of the 2007 version — unclassified hotels, boarding houses, campsites, youth hostels — have gone from the consolidated text. The operator counts guest by guest: for two adults and two children aged eight and ten staying seven nights in a house let to tourists, it collects 2 × 7 × 20 = 280 DH.

The count is made on arrival, not from the booking: a number of guests says nothing about their ages. Two errors circulate, pulling in opposite directions. The guide published on 10 February 2026 by software publisher KribOS tells hosts to “count every person (children included)”; the article by the concierge company Hostoria dated 21 August 2026 still reproduces the 2007 list of exemptions, while noting itself that its table refers to an older text.

By what date must the tourist tax be paid over, and what does lateness cost?

Every quarter, before the end of the following month. Article 76 requires payment “quarterly and before the end of the month following each quarter”, at the cash desk of the commune’s revenue officer. Nights from July to September 2026 are paid over before 31 October 2026. On top of that, before 1 April each year, comes the declaration of the number of clients and nights for the previous year (article 74), with a 15% surcharge if it is missing or late (article 134).

Late payment costs a 10% penalty, a 5% surcharge for the first month, then 0.50% for each further month (article 147). On a quarter of 240 taxable nights in a house let to tourists — 4,800 DH — two months’ delay adds 744 DH. LegalStay published on 30 July 2026 a deadline of “the 15th of the month following the end of the quarter”, payment “to the prefecture” and a “25% penalty” beyond thirty days: none of the three appears in the law.

How is each quarter’s payment prepared?

By reconciling three numbers, and the work starts on the day guests arrive. The payment slip published by the commune of Marrakech asks only for the number of clients, the number of nights, the rate and the amount. The first three cannot be rebuilt at quarter end: they are kept stay by stay, with guests’ ages checked at check-in and early departures and cancellations noted, since only clients who “stayed” count.

Two points weigh more than owners expect. Tax collected in July is not paid over until the end of October: for almost four months it sits in an account, and if it goes out to the owner with the rent, it merges with income that is theirs, when it belongs to the commune. And the slip asks for a national identity card number or a registration number. What the commune accepts from a non-resident owner who has neither is not established: ask the commune before the first quarter, not the day before the deadline.

What should you ask your concierge company about the tourist tax?

A clause in the mandate, three documents a quarter and one a year. The clause states who collects the tax from guests, who signs the payment slip, and from which funds it is paid. The documents can be checked from abroad: the slip and its receipt; the number of nights and of guests aged twelve and over, reconciled with the booking calendar; the amount collected against the amount paid over, and each year the 1 April declaration. Article 908 of the Moroccan Code of Obligations and Contracts requires any agent to present “a detailed account of their expenditure and receipts, with all supporting evidence”, as our article on switching your concierge company points out.

One last question, and not the least: does the tax sit inside the commission base? It should not. It is not income from the property, and a management commission that included it would be charged on money owed to the commune; ours excludes it, as our pricing page states.

Who should you consult about the tourist tax on your property?

The commune’s assessment department first, an accountant second. Three points remain open as at 11 September 2026, and we would rather state them than settle them: whether the tourism promotion tax applies to an unclassified house let to tourists, which identity document the payment slip accepts from a non-resident owner, and whether chapter 14 has been amended since October 2023. We are neither tax advisers nor municipal officials, and we do not advise on Moroccan tax: what we do provide is set out on our Marrakech concierge page, and our property management is described in full.

Handing a villa or riad to a manager, or about to? Ask them in writing what their mandate says about tourist tax — us included. For a quotation, write to us.

Would you like to know what managing your property involves, tourist tax included, line by line? We provide a free, no-obligation assessment within 48 hours.