Where every figure comes from

Sources

Only the tax authority's own pages, its regulations or the official gazette (city council, region, state revenue department). Search engines are used only to find those pages; a figure never comes from a travel blog, a booking site or an AI answer. Where an official site blocks automated reading, we read the archived copy of that same official page and say so in our research notes.

What each rate carries

• The authority that sets it and the legal basis, with a link to the source.
• The date we checked it, and the date by which we check it again.
• A status: verified (stated by the authority: 293 taxes), inferred (our reading of the official text, labelled "Our reading of the official text": 8), or pending (announced or proposed, not in force yet, labelled "announced, not yet in force": 17).
• Where the source's own words are short and exact, a quote of them next to the link.

Re-checks

Every place is re-checked within 90 days, and within 30 days when a change is announced. Announced changes are stored ahead with the date they start, so the pages switch over on that date. Oldest check today: 20 Oct 2026; newest: 6 Nov 2026. A place past its re-check date shows its check date highlighted.

How amounts are worked out

One calculator, the same on the pages, in the tools for AI assistants and in the JSON API, applies the rules night by night: seasons, star ratings, areas, night caps and children's and seniors' exemptions. A range means the rate depends on something not given, usually the star rating. Percentage taxes need the room price. In the US every tax charged on the room is shown, sales tax on the room included; resort fees are never included, and tourism-district charges only where the law makes the guest pay them. The rankings compare one example stay (Europe: a EUR 200 room in a 4-star hotel, per adult; US: a USD 200 hotel room) and say so.

What we will not claim

• A figure for a town we have not researched: it is shown as not researched.
• A quote or tax advice: these are the published rates; your accommodation charges what is in force on the night.
• Resort, cleaning or booking fees: not taxes, not included.

Citing us

Quote a figure with its check date and link the place's page, for example: "Stay Cost Brain (checked 6 Nov 2026), source: the authority named on the page". Corrections: [email protected].