One small payment, one QR code, and you walk straight out of the airport. Miss it, and you queue.
The short answer
Since 14 February 2024, every foreign tourist visiting Bali pays a one-time tourist levy of IDR 150,000 per person (roughly USD 10). You pay it once per trip — not per day and not per island-hop within Indonesia — through the official Love Bali website or app, ideally before you fly. You receive a QR-code voucher by email; keep it handy in case you're asked for proof. The only official payment platform is lovebali.baliprov.go.id (a .go.id government domain). Rules and amounts can change, so verify on the official site before you travel.
Quick answer
What exactly is the Bali tourist tax?
The "Bali tourist tax" is more precisely a tourist levy — a single charge collected from foreign visitors to fund the protection of Balinese culture and the natural environment. It came into force on 14 February 2024 and remains live in 2026 at IDR 150,000 per person, around USD 10 at current rates. It is separate from any visa fee: your visa-on-arrival (or e-VOA) is one payment, and the levy is another.
The legal basis sits in Bali Province Regional Regulation Number 6 of 2023, amended by the Bali Provincial Government Regulation Number 2 of 2025, with payment procedures set out in Bali Governor Regulation Number 25 of 2025. In short: this is a provincial policy with a formal regulatory footing, not an informal fee. Because the underlying regulations have already been amended once, it's reasonable to expect the amount or process could be revisited again — always confirm the current figure on the official site before you book flights.
How much is it, and how often do I pay?
The levy is IDR 150,000 per person — a flat one-time charge, regardless of how long you stay. A weekend in Uluwatu and a month in Canggu cost the same: IDR 150,000. According to the official Love Bali FAQ, the levy "is paid only one time while traveling in Bali, before the person leaves the territory of the Republic of Indonesia."
That "one time" wording matters. If you fly out to the Gili Islands or Lombok and come back to Bali on the same trip, you are not expected to pay again — it's tied to your visit, not to each landing. At roughly USD 10, it's a rounding error against the cost of a Bali holiday, but it's worth paying online in advance so it doesn't become a 30-minute queue the moment you land tired.
Who has to pay it?
Every international tourist travelling to Bali to do tourist activities is liable — and that includes children. There is no age-based discount in the published rules: a family of four pays four levies. Indonesian nationals do not pay the foreign-tourist levy.
The cleanest way to think about it: if you're arriving on a tourist footing (visa-on-arrival, e-VOA, or visa-free where applicable) and you're not a resident or exempt visa-holder, you pay. Around 6.3 million foreign tourists visited Bali in 2024, so this is a charge that touches almost every visitor — which is exactly why the airport built dedicated checkpoints for it.
How do I pay the Bali tourist levy?
You have three official routes, and the government strongly encourages the first one:
Accepted payment methods are cashless: credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB), bank transfer, virtual account, UnionPay, and QRIS. After paying you get a levy voucher with a QR code by email — that's your proof. The single most important rule: pay only on the .go.id domain. Lookalike sites on .com or .org have charged travellers IDR 300,000 or more for the same thing, so check the address bar before you type a card number.
What does the tax actually fund?
This isn't a generic government top-up. The levy is earmarked for protecting Balinese culture and the natural environment — the framing is right there in the name of the enabling regulation. In practice that points to areas such as cultural and environmental preservation for desa adat (traditional villages) and the subak irrigation system, waste-management initiatives, and tourism-supporting infrastructure.
For a visitor, the honest read is this: Bali absorbs millions of tourists a year against finite reef, water, and waste capacity, and the levy is the island's attempt to make visitors contribute directly to keeping the place worth visiting. Whether every rupiah lands where intended is a fair question to ask of any government programme — but the stated purpose is conservation and culture, not red tape.
Why does Bali charge a tourist tax? The "quality tourism" shift
The levy isn't only about revenue. Officials have publicly framed it as part of a broader move toward what Governor Wayan Koster and the provincial government call "quality tourism" — steering Bali away from cheap, high-volume mass tourism and toward higher-spending, longer-staying, and more respectful visitors. After a record of roughly 7 million foreign arrivals in 2025, the governor signalled a stronger emphasis on quality over quantity going forward.
The IDR 150,000 levy is one piece of that. The other pieces are cultural: Bali published a tourist code of conduct — a set of "Do's and Don'ts" (dress modestly at temples, respect sacred sites, obey traffic laws, use licensed guides and accommodation, avoid single-use plastics), and in 2025 the government reportedly tightened enforcement against misbehaving tourists, including talk of deporting those who break the law. Officials have also reportedly floated raising the levy or adding a steeper, Bhutan-style fee — none of which is confirmed in regulation as of mid-2026.
For a guest, the practical takeaway is simple and non-loaded: the fee funds culture and environment, and Bali is asking visitors to travel a little more thoughtfully. None of this changes the warm welcome — it's just helpful context for why the levy exists.
Are there exemptions?
Yes. Per the official Love Bali FAQ, exemptions are granted to:
Most of these are honoured simply by showing the relevant card to the officer. Golden-visa and "other visa" holders, however, need to apply for the exemption through the Love Bali system in advance — some guides advise doing this around a month ahead, so don't leave it to the airport. If you live in Bali on a KITAS/KITAP, you are not a tourist for this purpose and you don't pay.
Question Answer (2026)
Is it actually enforced?
Early on, enforcement was patchy — plenty of visitors in 2024 walked straight past. By 2026 it has tightened. Bali's airport now runs dedicated levy checkpoints, and if you haven't paid online you'll be directed to a counter to pay on the spot before you exit. Airlines and tour operators increasingly remind guests to pay, and attractions or municipalities can run spot checks at popular sites.
There's also a structural push behind it: registered hotels, agents, and attractions can now collect the levy officially and keep a small fee for doing so, which gives the whole network a reason to chase compliance. So while you're unlikely to be jailed for missing IDR 150,000, the practical reality is that the path of least resistance — and the only way to avoid an arrivals-hall queue — is simply to pay online before you fly.
so you skip the taxi scrum. Get those three right and you're at your villa with a welcome drink before most flights have cleared baggage. — Cabo Bali, 2026
Pro tip — Keanu Fischell, Co-Founder, Cabo Bali: Pay the levy from the same browser you use to fill in your e-VOA, the night before you fly, then screenshot the QR voucher and save it to your phone's photo album — not just your inbox. Airport Wi-Fi and roaming both fail at the worst moment, and a voucher you can open offline turns the checkpoint into a five-second wave-through.
FAQ
IDR 150,000 per person — about USD 10 — charged one time per trip, regardless of how long you stay. Verify the current amount on lovebali.baliprov.go.id before you travel, as the figure is set by regulation and can change.
Yes. The published rules apply to every international tourist with no stated age exemption, so a family pays one levy per person, children included.
Yes — there are payment counters at Bali's airport and seaports. But paying online in advance on the Love Bali site or app lets you skip the arrivals queue, which is the whole point of doing it early.
The only official platform is
No. It's a one-time payment per visit. If you side-trip to the Gilis or Lombok and return, you are not expected to pay again on the same trip.
No. KITAS and KITAP holders are exempt; you simply show the card to the officer rather than paying the tourist levy.
In practice you'll be directed to a checkpoint to pay before leaving the airport, and you may be asked for proof at some attractions. Paying online in advance avoids the queue and the hassle.
The levy funds the protection of Balinese culture and the natural environment, and officials have framed it as part of a broader "quality tourism" shift toward higher-spending, more respectful visitors. It sits alongside Bali's tourist code of conduct (the "Do's and Don'ts"). It's helpful context, not a barrier — at around USD 10, it's a small, one-time contribution to keeping the island worth visiting.
Key takeaways
By Keanu Fischell, Co-Founder, Cabo Bali. Cabo Bali manages 20+ luxury villas across Uluwatu, Bingin, Pecatu, Ungasan, Canggu, and Pererenan, running 91% portfolio occupancy and a 4.85/5 guest rating from 500+ reviews. We help guests sort the practical side of a Bali trip — arrivals, transfers, and on-the-ground logistics — so the holiday starts the moment you land.
Planning a Bali trip and want the admin handled?
Our concierge team can point you to the official levy link, arrange your airport transfer, and sort the on-the-ground details before you arrive — no markup, no guesswork. Message us on WhatsApp at +62 812 3968 3171 or email hello@cabobali.com, and browse our villas at /all-villas.
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