Airbnb faces €8.6m fine over unpaid tourist tax in France

Airbnb may still have to pay an €8.6million fine for not collecting tourist tax from holiday rentals on the Ile d’Oléron (Charente-Maritime).

The platform was fined in April 2025 by the Poitiers Court of Appeal after neglecting to collect the taxe de séjour set by the communes.

It has since been appealing to higher courts to get the fine reduced or annulled.

In May 2026, the Cour de cassation said it could not rule on the matter without first seeking advice from the Conseil constitutionnel regarding the legal basis for calculating the fine.

The latter agreed that the appeal court in Poitiers had been correct in its calculations, which were based on a law setting the minimum fine for each offence at €750, rising to €2,500 in some cases.

“This fine… is not, even in the case of an accumulation of fines, manifestly disproportionate when compared to the gravity of the facts set out in the legislation,” the Conseil constitutionnel ruled.

“It takes into account the difficulties faced by local authorities in getting the taxe de séjour paid.”

Airbnb says fine is disproportionate

Calling the amount “disproportionate”, Airbnb said its own calculations showed the fine is 25 times more than the communes would have received in tax if it had paid all the disputed cases.

The taxe de séjour is usually between €2 and €3 per person per night in registered tourist lodgings, and is paid by hotels, gîtes, and campsites.

Where rentals are not registered tourist lodgings (as is the case with many Airbnb rentals), the tax is usually calculated at between 1% and 5% of the price per person per night.

Local authorities decide if they want to impose the taxe de séjour and set the rates.

Recently the taxe de séjour has become proportionately much more important for many tourist communes as central government funding has fallen.

Airbnb began collecting tax in 2018

For many years, Airbnb did not collect the tax when reservations were made on the platform, arguing that it was up to property owners to sort it out.

However, along with most other booking platforms, it started doing so in July 2018 after a court ruling.

Booking.com, which is facing fines of €574,000 in the case, hired lawyers to submit briefs to the Conseil constitutionnel supporting Airbnb.

Classified ads website Leboncoin was fined €410,000 in a similar case.

Airbnb said it will continue its legal battle over the size of the fine before the Cour de cassation, despite the Conseil constitutionnel’s unfavourable ruling.

It added that it has since paid the communes on Ile d’Oléron all taxes owed, with interest.