As of January 1, 2026, the VAT on accommodation will increase from 9% to 21%. This means that for all reservations with an end date in 2026, this new rate must be applied. You can prepare for this by creating a VAT code that takes this increase into account, and applying it to the ledger account where your rental income is registered.
New VAT code for new reservations
When you set up this transitional VAT code correctly, it will apply to all new reservations that are booked. First, create a new VAT code, in which you set the two VAT rates. One with the old 9% rate, and one with the new 21% rate.
You set the first rate at 9%, with effective date of today. To this rate you link the ledger account for low VAT.
Click 'add another', to add the second rate. This one you set at 21%, with an effective date of January 1, 2026. This one you link to the ledger account for high VAT.
The effective date determines which of these rates is applied to a new reservation.
A new reservation with a departure date between today and 31 December 2025 will be invoiced at 9% VAT. A new reservation with a departure date on or after 1 January 2026 will be invoiced at 21% VAT.
This is independent from the confirmation date of the booking.
Link new VAT code to the ledger account for rental revenue
In the overview of ledger accounts, navigate to the ledger account where all rental turnover is registered. Edit this, and adjust the linked VAT rate to the newly created transitional code.
Then, verify that all cost items booked to this ledger account indeed fall under the intended accommodation VAT increase. You will find these under 'Assignments'. It may be necessary to link some cost items to a different ledger account.
What about existing reservations with an end date in 2026?
If you already have confirmed reservations in your PMS with a departure date in 2026, the new VAT code will not be applied retroactively to them. The Booking Experts team is working to support you with migrating these reservations to the higher VAT rate. To ensure the migration of these existing reservations runs as smoothly as possible, it is important that you set up the new VAT code for new reservations correctly!
These existing reservations with a 2026 departure date do not automatically receive an updated invoice. Open the reservation to create a new invoice, which shows the costs with the new, correct VAT. You can then send this invoice to the guest.