From 1st January 2026, Germany’s VAT rules are changing for food and beverage. Outlined below are the steps to create a new tax or how to modify an existing tax item.
⚠️Important: The CRS currently calculates taxes based on the arrival date for the entire stay. If a guest's reservation crosses January 1, 2026 (arriving before and departing after), the tax rate in effect on their arrival date will apply to all nights.
Create new tax
📌Note: Creating a new tax with a begin date allows advance planning. However, be aware that reservations arriving before January 1, 2026 will have the old rate applied to their entire stay, even for nights after the tax change.
This option works best if your property has minimal cross-over bookings or you plan to manually reconcile affected reservations.
Follow the steps below to add a new tax.
Click Property Description.
Click Taxes.
Click Create New tab.
Enter the name of the tax being added.
Select rounding rule from the dropdown for total tax items within this tax:
Rounding down.
Rounding up.
Rounding half up.
Check if this tax should be the default for all transactions.
Click Add to create the tax structure, you are now ready to add tax items to the tax.
Add tax items to the tax
Tax items are the individual calculations within a tax structure. Follow the steps below to add a new tax item to a tax.
Click Property Description.
Click Taxes.
Select Tax Item tab.
Select from the dropdown the tax you want to add items to.
Click Add New Tax Item.
Tax item name, select from dropdown:
Naming convention aligns with GDS requirements.
Miscellaneous tax is not supported by Worldspan, use another tax item if this tax will be applicable to any rates selling on this channel.
Goods and services option has a separate workflow outlined below.
Amount or rate:
Enter calculation value.
Choose from dropdown if this is a percentage or flat amount.
Based on: Select the calculation method:
Per person per night - Charges each person for each night.
Per person per stay - Charges each person once for entire stay.
Per room per night - Charges each room for each night.
Per room per stay - Charges each room once for entire stay.
Per stay - Single charge for entire stay regardless of occupancy.
Charge base: Relationship to other tax items:
Independent - Calculate on base price ignoring other taxes.
Compound - Calculate on top of previously calculated taxes based on sort order.
Optional tax item settings:
Inclusive: Check if tax is already included in the rate or add-on price in the CRS.
Rate breakdown still displays the tax calculation even though it is already included in the configured pricing.
Used in regions requiring tax-inclusive pricing display.
Actual fee: Check to separate this item from taxes and apply as fee only.
Total tax means items without actual fee checked.
Total fee means items with actual fee checked.
Add to rate display amount: Adds amount to initial rate display in CRS booking engine.
Only works for non-inclusive, per-night tax items.
Amount displays in calendar and availability screens where the full pricing with taxes and fees are not already shown for compliance.
Reservation still posts with separate rate and tax line items.
Max night limit: Available for per-night calculations in jurisdictions that cap tax after set number of nights.
Not applicable to add-ons.
Apply on COMP internal rate amount: Options based on calculation rate chosen:
Percentage taxes: Apply on comp rate amount, check box option.
Flat amount taxes: Exclude complimentary night, check box option.
Sorting: Order of tax item application within the tax structure.
Exclude from deposit: Prevents tax from being included in deposit policy calculations.
Date range: Begin and end dates for tax application.
Enables advance planning for tax changes.
Click Add.
Modify tax
Follow the steps below to modify an existing tax:
Go to Property Description.
Go to Tax.
Click Tax Item.
Select the tax you wish to modify.
Change the amount / rate to the correct amount.
Change the begin date and the end date if applicable.
Click Update.
⚠️Important: Changes to existing taxes only affect future reservations, not current or past bookings.
If you have an add-on that will be affected by the change in tax, then it may be necessary to create a new add-on with the new tax rate to come into effect on a specific date.