If you own a villa in Bali and rent it out to guests on a daily basis, sooner or later you will come across the term PBJT. Unfortunately, many villa owners only become aware of it after receiving a warning letter from Bapenda, or worse, after being fined. The rules are actually quite clear and not too complicated once you understand them from the beginning.
This article explains what PBJT is, why villas are subject to this tax, how much the rate is, and what villa owners need to do to keep their operations legally compliant.
What Is PBJT?
PBJT stands for Pajak Barang dan Jasa Tertentu or Tax on Certain Goods and Services. It is a local tax introduced under the Law on Financial Relations between the Central and Regional Governments (UU HKPD/UU 1/2022), which consolidated several previous local taxes under one framework, including hotel, restaurant, and entertainment taxes. The transition to the new system was fully implemented on January 5, 2025.
So, if you previously heard terms such as "hotel tax" or "PB1" (Pajak Pembangunan 1), commonly used by long-time villa owners in Bali, these are now covered under the PBJT framework.
PBJT covers several types of goods and services, including food and beverage consumption, electricity, parking services, entertainment, and accommodation services. Commercially rented villas fall under the accommodation category.
Data from the Bali Regional Office of the Directorate General of Treasury shows just how significant this tax has become. As of June 2026, PBJT revenue in Bali had reached Rp4.13 trillion, growing 8.6% compared to the previous year and becoming the largest contributor to local tax revenue on the island. This suggests that monitoring of the accommodation sector, including villas, is likely to become more thorough rather than less.
Why Are Villas Subject to PBJT?
Many villa owners think, "It's not a hotel, it's just a private villa that I rent out occasionally." Unfortunately, the legal definition does not necessarily work that way.
As long as a villa is rented commercially on a daily or weekly basis, the local government can classify it as an accommodation service business, similar to a hotel, guesthouse, or homestay. As a result, it may also be subject to the same tax obligations.
The main difference is usually the scale and management model, rather than the tax status itself. Even a private villa with a single unit can be subject to PBJT when it is commercially rented to guests.
What Is the PBJT Rate for Villas?
This is where things can get confusing because PBJT rates are determined through local regulations (Perda) in each regency or city, rather than through a single national rate that applies uniformly across Bali.
As a general example:
For accommodation services, including villas, and restaurant services, the rate commonly applied in Bali—for example, in Badung Regency under Badung Regional Regulation No. 7/2023—is around 10% of the transaction value or rental turnover.
For certain types of entertainment, such as nightclubs or discotheques, the HKPD Law allows local governments to set much higher rates, ranging from 40% to 75%. However, this is generally not relevant to ordinary villa operations.
The exact rate in other areas outside Badung—such as Gianyar, Denpasar, or Tabanan—may differ depending on the local regulation.
Because these rules can change and vary by regency, do not automatically assume that the rate is 10% without checking with the local Bapenda where your villa is located. This is not a minor detail—an incorrect tax calculation can result in underpayment that is only discovered during an audit.
Who Actually Pays the Tax?
The good news is that PBJT is not a tax deducted from your income as the villa owner. It is essentially a consumption tax charged to the guest, added to the rental price, and then collected by the owner or operator before being remitted to the local government.
For example, if the villa rental rate is Rp3,000,000 per night, the guest pays Rp3,000,000 plus 10% PBJT (Rp300,000), bringing the total to Rp3,300,000.
That tax money is not yours—you are essentially acting as the "cashier" responsible for collecting and remitting it to the local government each month.
The problem arises when villas are marketed through OTAs such as Airbnb or Booking.com with an "all-in" price that does not clearly separate the tax. In such cases, some owners end up absorbing the PBJT from their own revenue because they failed to factor it into their pricing structure. This is a fairly common mistake and can directly reduce profit margins.
Don't Confuse PBJT with PPh and VAT
This is one of the areas that often causes confusion for villa owners, so it is worth clarifying.
PBJT is a local tax on accommodation services, paid to the Bapenda of the relevant regency or city, with a rate commonly around 10% of rental turnover.
PPh (Income Tax) is a central government tax on income from the rental activity, administered by the Directorate General of Taxes (DJP). For the rental of land and/or buildings, the final tax rate is generally 10% of the gross rental value for domestic taxpayers.
VAT (PPN) may apply if the owner or business entity is registered as a PKP (Pengusaha Kena Pajak or Taxable Entrepreneur), generally when annual turnover exceeds the Rp4.8 billion threshold.
This means that a single villa rental transaction can potentially involve three different types of taxes, managed by three different authorities and subject to different reporting and payment mechanisms.
Many villa owners diligently pay their PPh but forget about PBJT because they assume all taxes are part of the same obligation. They are not.
This is where a villa management company in Bali can provide value beyond simply handling bookings and housekeeping. An experienced team will generally understand the PBJT requirements in the regency where the villa is located, know when payments and reporting are due, and make sure the rental pricing structure accounts for the tax from the beginning. This helps prevent unexpected deductions from the owner's own profit margin.
The Loka, for example, includes administrative matters like these as part of its day-to-day villa management services, alongside revenue management, OTA marketing, and other operational coordination. For owners who live outside Bali or even overseas, this can significantly reduce the risk of missing a tax filing deadline or miscalculating the applicable rate—two common sources of tax-related problems.
If you are just starting to rent out your villa or considering switching from self-management to a professional villa management service, understanding tax obligations such as PBJT should be one of the key factors to consider—not just who can keep your booking calendar full.
