Renting out a holiday home in the canton of Basel-Stadt: what applies?

Guest registration

All accommodation providers, explicitly including holiday apartments and Airbnb, record every guest’s registration details daily in the cantonal reporting system. Before their first guest arrives, they must register and give every guest a BaselCard. Adults exempt from the tourist tax (Basel residents, military personnel) must also be registered.

• Deadline: Daily; registration before accepting the first guests.
• How: Basel Tourism’s AVS online system (electronic overnight-stay management); register by emailing baselcard@basel.com, with access provided within two working days. Airbnb bookings go through a separate property called «Your business (Airbnb)».
• Legal basis: § 35 Hospitality Act (SG 563.100); §§ 7, 8, 12 Tourist Tax Act (SG 650.400); federal: Art. 16 Foreign Nationals and Integration Act (FNIA) (registration requirement for foreign nationals accommodated commercially)

Tourist tax and levies

The canton charges a flat tourist tax of CHF 4.20 per person per night (since 1.3.2025, the statutory maximum). Children under 12, Basel residents and guests staying in the same accommodation from day 31 are exempt. In return, guests receive a BaselCard (free public transport in the TNW area). The host collects the tax and pays it to the Office for Economy and Labour; Airbnb handles this for bookings on its platform.

• Who collects: The canton (Office for Economy and Labour), with Basel Tourism handling the reporting system and BaselCard.
• Cantonal levy: The tourist tax is cantonal; no additional municipal tax found.
• Legal basis: §§ 3, 4, 6 Act on the Collection of a Tourist Tax (SG 650.400); Tourist Tax Ordinance (SG 650.410)

Airbnb collects and remits the tourist tax in the canton of Basel-Stadt.

Tourist tax in municipalities of the canton of Basel-Stadt

• Tourist tax in Basel: what holiday rentals pay in 2026Tourist tax in Basel (Basel-Stadt) for holiday rentals: rates per night or flat rate, children, settlement and deadlines, with the municipality’s source.

Permit and registration

Every accommodation must be registered for the tourist tax before its first guest arrives. Accommodation providers with more than six beds need a hospitality operating licence (fee: CHF 600). In the practice of the Building and Hospitality Inspectorate, short-term lets from one night to three months count as hotel-like commercial use.

Restrictions

Housing protection: If a home is let short-term for most of the time, this counts as a change of use of residential space and requires a building permit; the residential quota plan must be complied with. The canton considers more than 90 days of short-term letting per year a clear indication of commercial use. Checks are currently carried out only following a report.

Second homes

Not relevant (city canton, well below 20%).

Taxes

Nothing specific at cantonal level found; rental income is taxable as income.

Latest

• September 23, 2026 · under consideration: The Grand Council refers Motion Balmer (26.5237) on mandatory registration of short-term lets and business apartments, by 68 votes to 24 Source
• May 13, 2026 · under consideration: Government report on Motion 24.5107 («Housing is not a business»): more than 90 days of short-term letting is considered an indication of commercial use; the government wants to monitor the market more closely; the motion remains pending Source
• March 1, 2025 · in force: Tourist tax rises to CHF 4.20 per night Source

A short summary, not legal advice. The linked official source and your municipality’s rules prevail.