Private landlords renting to holidaymakers in Croatia could be paying noticeably more tax from 2027, under amendments to the lump-sum tax law currently working their way through parliament. If adopted, the minimum annual tax per bed would jump from 100 to 150 euros in the country's top tourist zones, and from 70 to 100 euros in the second tier of destinations.
The changes would apply across 105 cities and municipalities in the first two categories of tourist development — which covers Croatia's best-known resorts. The maths works out simply: an owner of a four-bed apartment in a first-category town currently paying the 100-euro minimum would see their annual bill rise by 200 euros if the local council aligns with the new floor. In second-category spots like Ston, Kaštela, Senj, Vir and Trogir, the same four-bed landlord would pay 120 euros more per year.
It's not a blanket rise everywhere. Towns that already charge above the proposed minimum — Zagreb, Makarska and Rijeka among them — wouldn't need to change anything. In zoned cities like Split, only the lower-charging districts would be affected. And if local councils simply fail to decide, default legal amounts kick in: 225 euros per bed in the top category, up from 200, and 150 euros in the second, up from 135. That would mean a six-bed landlord in the top tier paying 1,350 euros a year instead of 1,200.
The system itself is recent: since 2025, lump-sum rates have been tied to how tourist-developed a municipality is, replacing the old one-size-fits-all kuna-era range.
Small landlords are pushing back. Vedran Tomić of the Save Small Family Landlords association argues the state is effectively forcing municipalities to raise taxes on their own residents — he cites Crikvenica, where the per-bed rate has already climbed from 45 to 100, then 150 euros. His bigger worry is the knock-on effect for travellers: the extra cost will feed into accommodation prices, and the first casualties will be budget rooms — precisely the affordable private apartments where Croatian families traditionally spend their summer. He also fears some low-income landlords could simply stop registering, pushing rentals into the grey market.
Why does this matter to travellers? Because prices could shift from the 2027 season onward, especially at the cheaper end of Croatia's private accommodation market, which spans everything fromDubrovnik apartments to island rooms. Foreign visitors aren't immune — anyone booking budget flats on the Adriatic could see modest rises, though the final picture depends on what each council decides after the law passes. The real test will be the summer season that follows adoption.
