Airbnb in Aruba: mandatory registration, taxes and the catch-up the government is preparing

Vacation rentals have grown big, and the tax office knows it

According to the Aruba Tourism Authority, Aruba has between 5,500 and 6,000 vacation rentals: apartments, condominiums and houses rented to tourists through Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com or directly. In 2025, 39.1 percent of all tourist nights were spent in this type of accommodation, up from 36.7 percent a year earlier, according to figures from the Central Bank of Aruba. While hotels raised their room rates by 12 percent in 2025, the average vacation rental rate fell by 12 percent. The sector is growing mainly on price.

That is exactly what irritates the government and the hotel sector. The ATA estimates that the Country loses 60 to 70 million florins a year in tourist levy, environmental levy and turnover taxes because a large share of hosts file no returns or incomplete ones. Since 2025 the Departamento di Impuesto (DIMP) has therefore been using specialised software to match platform listings against its own records. Anyone not known to the tax office can expect a letter.

What already applies: the taxes every host must pay

Many owners believe the new plans will create a tax liability for the first time. That is a misunderstanding. The obligations have existed for years; the plans are about registration and enforcement. Anyone who rents out a home in Aruba to tourists for less than 90 days already faces:

• Tourist levy of 12.5 percent of gross rental revenue, including surcharges such as cleaning fees. The rate rose from 9.5 to 12.5 percent in 2023. The taxpayer is the owner or operator; if you rent through a manager, the manager can be designated as taxpayer. Guests registered in Aruba's population register are exempt.
• Environmental levy of US$ 3 per night per rented room, which must be charged to the guest separately.
• Monthly returns: both levies must be declared and paid within fifteen days after the end of the month. You are required to keep a guest register.
• Turnover taxes (BBO, BAZV and BAVP, together 7 percent) on additional services such as breakfast, cleaning or transport, and on longer rentals that fall outside the tourist levy.
• Income tax on net rental income, also for owners who do not live in Aruba. Costs such as utilities, maintenance, insurance and management fees are deductible; improvements such as a pool are not.
• Ground tax on the value of the property, with a duty to report increases in value.

The case law shows that DIMP takes this seriously. On 25 May 2026 the Court of First Instance of Aruba held that the Inspector was entitled to correct additional tourist-levy assessments that had initially been set too low. The taxpayer's reliance on the principles of legitimate expectations and legal certainty failed, because the audit report had already made clear what was really owed. Anyone who gets the tourist levy wrong can still receive an assessment years later.

What is coming: registration, voluntary disclosure and supervision

In May 2026 the Minister of Economic Affairs, Geoffrey Wever, announced a "holistic" vacation rental policy drawn up by five ministries together: Economic Affairs (fair competition), Finance (taxation and collection), Tourism (product quality), Public Health (hygiene and safety) and Infrastructure (spatial planning). The minister stressed that the aim is not to "demonise" the sector: vacation rentals generate tax revenue and income for many Aruban micro-entrepreneurs.

The Department of Economic Affairs initially referred to a registration system opening on 1 August 2026 and mandatory registration from 1 February 2027. Those dates have since been overtaken by the decision of the Council of Ministers.

On 16 October 2026 the Council of Ministers approved an action plan for the registration and regulation of vacation rentals (source: Government of Aruba). The main points:

• Mandatory registration of all existing vacation rentals, even if they already hold the required permits. Each accommodation is assessed individually.
• Three-month registration period. The government will announce the start date and the final registration date in advance. The previously mentioned dates of 1 August 2026 and 1 February 2027 no longer appear in the action plan.
• Reference date 1 November 2026. Accommodations that were in operation before that date and are registered will go through a regulation process to verify that they are actually in use. Note: this is not the start date of registration.
• Transitional arrangement for accommodations not yet in use on 1 November 2026, provided that concrete commitments that are difficult to reverse were entered into before that date, such as a financing agreement or a construction contract. An idea alone is not enough.
• Registration is not a permit. Registration does not automatically legalise an accommodation and gives no right to expand. Existing rights will be respected. Unregistered accommodations fall outside the tolerance policy and are not eligible for legalisation.
• Assessment per area. In the green category (the centre and harbour front of Oranjestad, the centre of San Nicolas and the tourist areas on the west and east coasts) it will be assessed whether existing accommodations can be legalised. In the yellow category (urban residential areas, residential areas with special values and transformation areas) this is done per accommodation within the established rules, pending the revision of the ROP and ROPV spatial plans. In the red category (including nature and landscape, beaches, rural areas, the airport, industrial estates and marine areas) there will be no general legalisation and exceptions will be strictly assessed case by case.
• Assessment criteria: the number of units and guest capacity, building and fire safety, fit with the neighbourhood, parking and accessibility, nuisance (including wastewater management) and the impact on nature, landscape and heritage. Any legalisation applies only to the approved use and the approved number of units.
• Tolerance policy during the transitional phase for existing, registered use, once that policy has been legally reviewed and approved. Opening new accommodations, adding units or expanding existing accommodations is expressly not permitted.
• Centres of Oranjestad and San Nicolas. The ROPV allows a combined maximum of 100 vacation rentals there. To stimulate these town centres, new plans can also be registered there, without any guarantee of approval. New projects outside these centres do not fall under this arrangement.

A task force with representatives of the ministries of Finance and Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Public Health and Tourism coordinates the registration, which will take place digitally, and will announce in advance when and how owners can register and which documents are required. At the same time the government is preparing interim amendments to the ROPV and starting the comprehensive revision of the ROP and ROPV. Draft plans will be made available for public inspection so that residents, businesses and other stakeholders can submit their views; an information session will be held beforehand.

Separately, the previously announced voluntary disclosure scheme remains relevant for owners who have so far not declared tourist levy or rental income. The action plan of 16 October 2026 does not address it; the conditions have not yet been published.

In addition, the hotel sector, united in AHATA, is pressing for platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo to accept listings only from hosts with a valid registration number. That model already exists in many cities and, given the cooperation between ministries, is a realistic prospect for Aruba too. It had earlier been announced that the Department of Inspection and Hygiene would become an independent body handling licences and quality inspections for vacation rentals. And the Minister of Infrastructure, René Herdé, links the file to the housing market: the growth of vacation rentals must not put further pressure on housing affordability for Arubans.

One caveat is in order. With the decision of the Council of Ministers the direction is set, but the details are still to follow: the start and end dates of registration, the documents to be submitted, the quality requirements, the tolerance policy and the amendments to the ROPV have yet to be announced or adopted. Nothing has been published yet on registration fees, sanctions or any platform obligation. What is certain: registration, assessment per area, linkage with the tax authority and enforcement.

What does this mean for you as an owner?

1. Put your tax position in order now. Apply for a tax identification number at DIMP if you do not have one, register for the tourist levy and file monthly. If you already rent without filing, it is wise to await the disclosure scheme and prepare in the meantime: keep booking overviews, platform payouts and cost invoices.
2. Check whether you are allowed to rent at all. Registration with the government does not automatically make rentals permitted. Look at the designated-use clause in your erfpacht deed, the rules of your owners' association or resort, and the zoning in the spatial development plan. We wrote a separate article on the erfpacht deed. Also check which area category of the action plan your property falls in; in the red category there will be no general legalisation.
3. Document that you were already renting before 1 November 2026. Keep booking overviews, platform payouts, invoices and advertisements showing that your accommodation was in use before the reference date. If your property is not yet in use on that date, keep the documents showing concrete commitments, such as a financing agreement or construction contract.
4. Register on time and do not expand. Watch for the announcement of the registration period: those who do not register fall outside the tolerance policy and are not eligible for legalisation. Do not open new accommodations or add units during the transitional phase.
5. Keep a guest register. It is already mandatory and it will be the basis of every audit.
6. Are you a non-resident? Then you are liable to tax in Aruba on the rental income and to ground tax, in addition to your filing obligations at home. Have it checked whether a treaty or unilateral rule prevents double taxation.
7. Choose a suitable structure. Renting in your own name, through a manager or through a company has different consequences for tourist levy, BBO and income tax. A choice made in advance is cheaper than a correction afterwards.

The government's message is ultimately simple: vacation rentals are allowed, but no longer out of sight of the tax office. Those who register and file in time keep a profitable activity without surprises. Those who wait for DIMP's letter pay the levy anyway, with interest and penalties on top.

Do you want to know what the plans mean for your property, or do you want to use the disclosure scheme as soon as it opens? Glas & Glas Attorneys and Legal Consultancy advises owners and managers of vacation rentals, in English, Dutch, Spanish or Papiamento.

This article contains general information and is not advice on a specific situation. It is based on the Tourist Levy Ordinance, the Environmental Levy Ordinance, official communications of the Government of Aruba and reporting up to and including 18 October 2026, including the action plan for vacation rentals approved by the Council of Ministers on 16 October 2026. At the time of the latest update, the implementation of that action plan, such as the registration dates, the tolerance policy and the amendments to the ROPV, had not yet been announced; conditions and rates may change. No rights can be derived from this article.

Sources

• Government of Aruba, 16 October 2026, Government Clarifies Management Rules for Vacation Rentals (action plan approved by the Council of Ministers: mandatory registration, reference date 1 November 2026, transitional arrangement, area categories, assessment criteria and tolerance policy)
• Landsverordening toeristenheffing and Landsverordening milieuheffing (rates as of 1 January 2026: 12.5% and US$ 3 per night respectively); Departamento di Impuesto, tourist levy returns
• Court of First Instance of Aruba, 25 May 2026, ECLI:NL:OGEAA:2026:131 (additional tourist levy assessments)
• Government of Aruba / Department of Economic Affairs, earlier announcement of the registration system and voluntary disclosure scheme; Minister Wever, 24 May 2026 (EA News, gobierno.aw)
• Aruba Tourism Authority, 21 August 2025: 5,500–6,000 vacation rentals, 60–70 million florins in lost taxes (gobierno.aw, Antilliaans Dagblad)
• Central Bank of Aruba, tourism figures 2025: 39.1% of nights in alternative accommodation (Aruba.nu, 8 September 2026)
• AHATA, 21 May 2026, call for mandatory registration and platform verification (24ora); Departamento di Impuesto, enforcement with detection software (July 2025)