The city of Chemnitz will impose a lodging tax effective January 1, 2024. Like the dog tax and the second-home tax, for example, it is a local expenditure tax. It is an expenditure tax because it is levied on specific uses of income, and it is local because its taxable event is tied to local circumstances. The lodging tax is levied on the guest’s expenditure for the opportunity to stay overnight for a fee at a lodging facility within the city limits of Chemnitz. The legal basis is the Ordinance on the Collection of a Lodging Tax in the City of Chemnitz (Lodging Tax Ordinance) dated March 22, 2023. The public notice was published in the Official Gazette of the City of Chemnitz, No. 22, on June 2, 2023. Taxes, including the lodging tax, are not levied for a specific purpose but generally serve as a source of revenue for the city budget. They are characterized by the fact that they do not constitute consideration for specific services provided by the City of Chemnitz to lodging guests.

In general, all persons who stay overnight in an accommodation facility in the city of Chemnitz for a fee are subject to the lodging tax, unless they are exempt from the tax. Whether the overnight stay is for business or personal reasons is irrelevant for tax liability.

Accommodation facilities include hotels, motels, inns, guesthouses, vacation rentals, and similar lodging establishments (including furnished living spaces offered for short-term rental), as well as campgrounds. RV sites are considered accommodation facilities provided they offer dedicated restroom facilities.

The lodging tax is five percent of the room rate, including sales tax, and is generally payable upon checkout at the lodging facility.

Please understand that the operator of your accommodation is required to collect the lodging tax from you. If you feel that your host has wrongfully charged you, please pay the tax anyway and subsequently file a claim for a refund with the Chemnitz City Treasury and Tax Office. You can find the contact information on the back of this page or at
www.Chemnitz.de

Unless the conditions for exemption from the lodging tax are immediately apparent, they must be confirmed by presenting appropriate documentation at the lodging facility. A tax exemption due to medically necessary treatment in Chemnitz can only be obtained through a refund of the accommodation tax paid, provided that appropriate documentation is submitted (copy of the invoice from the accommodation facility, medical certificate).

The accommodation tax must first be paid at the accommodation facility. A refund can be requested afterward from the City of Chemnitz’s Cash and Tax Office.

For documentation purposes, the operator of your lodging is required to record the following information for tax-exempt guests on a registration form: name, residential address, date of birth, dates of arrival and departure, and reason for the tax exemption. The registration form must be signed by the guest or their legal representative.

Please feel free to visit the City of Chemnitz website at www.Chemnitz.de. In the “Taxes” section of the service portal, you’ll find, for example, the application for a refund of the lodging tax, various sample forms for documenting tax exemptions, and a compilation of “Questions and Answers on the Lodging Tax.”