Tourist Tax Made Simple

Most Aruban Airbnb hosts are getting this wrong.

Not because they’re careless — because nobody explains it clearly. You’ve heard of “tourist tax,” you know something is due, but the details live scattered across landsverordeningen, a BOI portal and second-hand advice from other hosts.

Meanwhile the tax office is watching short-term rentals closely. A missing guest register alone is enough for a naheffing plus a fine.

This guide ends the guessing.

Fifteen pages, plain English, written for hosts — not for accountants.

What’s inside

• The two taxes, side by side — what each one is, and why you owe both
• The one question that decides everything — tourist or local registered in the censo? Get this right and the rest follows
• All four scenarios in one table — short-term to a tourist, short-term to a local, long-term to a private person, long-term to a company. Which tax applies to each, and why
• What actually counts in the TH base — cleaning fees, service charges, platform commission. It’s more than the room price, and this is where hosts under-declare
• The censo exemption — who qualifies, and the two traps that catch people out
• How to charge it properly through Airbnb & Booking.com — so it’s collected automatically instead of chased at the door
• Declaring at DIMP, step by step — the BOI portal, the two separate payments, the correct betalingskenmerk, and the 15th-of-the-month deadline
• Using a property manager — who declares, who pays, who’s liable, and what belongs in the contract
• The logeergastenregister — what the law requires you to record, and what happens when you can’t produce it
• A one-page checklist — before arrival, during the stay, and every month

Why it matters

Both taxes are a pass-through — but there’s a rule buried in how they work that quietly costs hosts real money every month. Most people don’t find out about it until a naheffing arrives.

One month of correctly-handled TH usually costs more than this guide.

Good to know

You’re probably not liable for every tax you think you are. There’s an exemption specific to short-term tourist rental that a lot of hosts don’t know exists — and others apply when it doesn’t. Page 01 settles it.

This guide is toelichting — supporting documentation for informational purposes only. It is not personalised tax advice and is not admissible as evidence in tax disputes or audits. For your specific situation, consult a qualified tax professional or contact iFacts Consultancy.

Licensed for the purchaser’s personal use. ✔ Reuse it for yourself ✘ No reselling ✘ No sharing or distributing. © iFacts Consultancy — all rights reserved.