The short version
- Rate: 13% of the accommodation charges for each tourist.
- Who pays DoT: the host (the "proprietor") - not Airbnb, not the guest directly.
- When: by the 28th of the month after the stays, earlier if the 28th is a weekend or public holiday.
- Every month: a return is due even when nobody stayed (a nil return).
- Late: an automatic 20% surcharge that the Department of Tourism cannot waive.
- Next deadline: the October 2026 return, due Friday, 27 November 2026. See all deadlines.
What the Tourist Accommodation Tax is
The tax is set by the Tourist Accommodation (Taxation) Law and collected by the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism (DoT). It was 10% until the 2012 budget raised it to 13%. It applies to hotels, guesthouses, apartments, condos and villas alike - a whole-home Airbnb is "tourist accommodation" in the same way a resort is.
It sits alongside the Tourism Accommodation Licence: the licence lets you operate, the tax return reports what you earned each month.
Who has to pay
The law puts the tax on the proprietor - the person or company operating the accommodation. If you own a villa and list it yourself, that is you. If a property manager runs the listing in their name, agree in writing who files, because DoT will look to the licensed operator.
Does Airbnb collect the tax in Cayman?
No. Airbnb collects and remits occupancy taxes only in the places listed on its occupancy tax help page, and the Cayman Islands is not one of them. Many Cayman hosts add the 13% to the guest's price - often as a fee line on the listing - but collecting it from the guest does not pay it to DoT. The host still files the return and sends the money.
What the 13% applies to
DoT calculates the tax on the gross room rate - before you deduct your own costs such as cleaning, electricity, maintenance or agent and platform fees. Your Airbnb host service fee, for example, does not reduce the taxable amount.
DoT's own return form makes the split explicit: it records the guest's total bill in one column and the total paid for the room (nights × nightly room rate) in another, and the tax is 13% of the room column. A separately charged cleaning fee goes in the total bill, not the room charge. The column-by-column guide to the form shows where each figure goes, and the tourist tax calculator works out the numbers for a single stay. If a charge does not fit neatly, ask DoT Accounts Receivable (ar@caymanislands.ky) and treat it the same way every month.
Long stays: a stay of more than 28 days is taxed when the guest checks out, even if it spans several months. The law defines a tourist as someone staying for up to six months, so very long lets are generally outside the tax - check before relying on that.
Exempt stays: Caymanians and non-paying guests
- Caymanian and resident guests who stay at the property are exempt, with proof of status - for example a Caymanian passport, a passport with a permit stamp, a permit letter with photo ID, or a voter card. If a Caymanian pays for a visitor's stay but does not stay, the tax still applies.
- Non-paying guests - friends, family, charity or prize stays - can be left out, with proof, according to DoT's filing guidance.
Keep the proof with that month's records. In Hosts.ky you mark a booking as exempt and it drops out of the totals.
The deadline and nil returns
Each month is its own return, due by the 28th of the following month: September's stays by 28 October, December's by 28 January. When the 28th is a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, file on the working day before. DoT does not accept postal delays as an excuse.
A return is due every month, including months with no guests - a nil return. A missed nil return is still a missed return.
Some hosts send two monthly returns together, with one payment, by the first month's deadline (the January and February returns both by 28 February). That files the second month early, never late. The deadlines calendar lists both schedules with every date worked out.
The 20% late surcharge
If the return or payment is late, a surcharge of 20% of that month's tax is added automatically. DoT has said it cannot waive it - the law makes no allowance - and the only exceptions have been one-off Cabinet relief during COVID. An incomplete return (wrong form, missing backup or calculations) that is not fixed by the 28th is treated the same way.
On a month with $4,000 of tax, the surcharge is $800. Banks can take a day to move money, so plan to file and pay one business day early.
How to file and pay
- Fill in DoT's tax form for the month: each stay, the accommodation charge, and the 13%.
- Email it with the backup - guest folios or receipts for each stay - to DoT Accounts Receivable at ar@caymanislands.ky.
- Pay the tax by local bank transfer (ACH) from a Cayman bank, wire transfer, direct deposit or at the DoT cashier. DoT's guidance asks you to send the documents first and confirm the payment details with Accounts Receivable (345-949-0623) before paying.
- Keep everything: the form, the backup, and proof of payment.
There is no online filing portal for the tax as of October 2026 - the return goes by email.
A worked example
| September stays | Accommodation charge | Tax at 13% |
|---|---|---|
| Visitors, 5 nights | $2,250.00 | $292.50 |
| Visitors, 7 nights | $3,430.00 | $445.90 |
| Caymanian guest, 2 nights (exempt) | $560.00 | $0.00 |
| Total due by 28 October | $6,240.00 | $738.40 |
Filed a day late, the same month would cost $886.08.
A monthly checklist
- Export the month's stays and earnings from Airbnb and any other channel.
- Mark exempt stays and keep the proof.
- Fill in the DoT form and total the 13%.
- Email the form and folios to ar@caymanislands.ky.
- Pay one business day before the deadline.
- Note the payment reference and file it with the return.
Hosts.ky does steps 1–3 for you from your Airbnb calendar and earnings export, and reminds you before every file-by date.