COLOMBIA-HOTEL-TAX-EXEMPTION

Hotel VAT (IVA) in Colombia: Who Pays 19% Near Tayrona

Colombia charges 19% VAT (IVA) on hotel stays. Who is exempt, what foreign visitors must show, why residents pay it, and how to compare hotel prices.

Hotel VAT (IVA) in Colombia: Who Pays 19% Near Tayrona

Hotel VAT (IVA) in Colombia: Who Pays 19%

Hotel stays in Colombia are subject to the general value added tax (IVA) of 19%. Whether it appears on your bill depends on who you are and on the place you book, not on the area: the same rules apply in Santa Marta, around Parque Tayrona and anywhere else in the country.

Foreign visitors: usually exempt

Colombian tax law (Estatuto Tributario, article 481) treats hotel services provided to non-resident foreigners as an exported service, so they are exempt from IVA. In practice the hotel asks for:

  • your passport, and
  • proof that you entered Colombia as a visitor (the entry stamp or the Migración Colombia entry record).

Foreigners who live in Colombia (with a resident visa or a resident’s cédula de extranjería) are treated like Colombians and pay IVA. Booking sites usually show prices before this check, so the tax may be added or removed at check-in.

Colombians and residents: 19% is the rule

For Colombian citizens and residents, IVA is added to the room rate. Some hotels choose to absorb it, offer a matching discount, or quote prices with tax included. That is a commercial offer of the hotel, not a tax exemption, and it can change at any time.

Small places that are not registered as IVA payers (for example some campsites, family-run hostels and posadas) do not add IVA at all.

How to compare prices

  1. Compare the final price with all taxes, not the base rate. On booking sites, open the price breakdown before paying.
  2. When you write to a hotel, ask whether the quote “incluye IVA” and whether the 19% applies to your nationality and residence.
  3. Ask about other charges that can appear on the bill, such as the optional hotel insurance (seguro hotelero) charged per night by many hotels.
  4. Keep your passport and entry record at hand at check-in if you are a foreign visitor.

The park’s own entry fees and the mandatory insurance are separate: see the 2026 fees, hours and closures chapter.

This chapter is general information, not tax advice. For your own case, check with the hotel or with Colombia’s tax authority, the DIAN.