Potsdam has no fixed euro-per-person-per-night visitor-tax amount. Since 1 April 2025, the municipal overnight tax is 7.5% of the accommodation charge paid by the guest, excluding VAT. Hotels, guesthouses, pensions, holiday accommodation, youth hostels, holiday homes/apartments, campsites and similar paid accommodation are covered. If a package price cannot be split, the taxable base is the total invoice less a flat €7 for breakfast and €10 each for lunch and dinner per guest and meal. The tax is assessed quarterly and is owed by the accommodation operator. From 1 April 2024, business and private stays are no longer distinguished; business travel is therefore not exempt.
Exempt are stays that establish the guest’s residence under registration law, stays by under-18 guests, and stays by guests under 27 in institutions that primarily accommodate young people for educational, training or continuing-education purposes. There is no general business-traveller exemption under the current rules.
Short-term accommodation is within the overnight-tax scope when it is paid accommodation, including holiday homes and apartments. The operator is the taxpayer and must submit the official tax declaration by the 15th day after each calendar quarter; requested original invoices and receipts must be produced for review. Separately, under Potsdam’s Zweckentfremdungsverbotssatzung effective 30 April 2026, residential space may not be used for non-residential purposes without municipal permission. Letting residential space to changing users for non-permanent use—especially for guest accommodation for more than eight weeks in a calendar year—is treated as prohibited conversion unless authorised. No registration-number requirement is stated in the cited municipal overnight-tax sources.