Philippine Travel Tax and Terminal Fees 2026: Who Pays, Who Is Exempt, How to Get It Back

Two separate charges leave the Philippines with you, and they go to two different places. The travel tax is ₱1,620 in economy and ₱2,700 in first class, it goes to TIEZA, the tourism infrastructure agency, and as of 28 October 2026 it is still collected. The terminal fee, properly the passenger service charge, goes to whoever runs the airport, and it changes from one airport to the next.

Foreign tourists on a stay of less than a year do not owe the travel tax at all. Everything below is for Filipinos, permanent residents, long staying foreigners, and anyone who thinks they should be paying less.

Who pays the Philippine travel tax in 2026

Three groups: Philippine citizens, permanent resident aliens, and non-immigrant foreigners who have been in the Philippines for more than one year. The rates are ₱1,620 economy or business and ₱2,700 first class, unchanged in 2026.

Paying by card or e-wallet adds a merchant fee on top of the round number, quoted at 1.266 percent on TIEZA’s portal. Small, but budget for it. The tax can also be paid inside the eTravel and eGovPH flow, which asks for it before it generates the eTravel QR code; the eTravel guide walks through that screen.

The reduced rates, and the one most people miss

Tier	Economy	First class	Who
Full	₱1,620	₱2,700	Citizens, permanent residents, foreigners over one year
Reduced	₱810	₱1,350	Children over 2 and under 12, accredited journalists on assignment, presidential authorization
Privileged	₱300	₱400	OFW dependents flying to the worker’s job site: legal spouse, unmarried children under 21, children with disability
Exempt	₱0	₱0	OFWs with an OEC, infants 2 and under, Filipino permanent residents abroad, and the other groups below

The privileged rate is the one worth checking twice. An OFW’s spouse who claims it pays ₱300 instead of ₱1,620, and a family of four flying out to join a worker saves more than ₱5,000 on one trip.

Who is exempt from the travel tax

Overseas Filipino workers, land based and sea based, with a valid Overseas Employment Certificate. Infants two and under. Filipino permanent residents abroad. Airline crew joining an aircraft in international service. Scholarship students on an approved course of at least a year. Accredited foreign diplomats and their households, UN officials, government personnel on an official travel order, staff of multinational regional headquarters, Balik Scientist awardees, Muslim Filipinos on the Hajj, and Philippine Sports Commission delegations.

The permanent resident abroad exemption has two separate tests, and people fail the wrong one. Either you hold permanent residency granted by a foreign government, or you have lived abroad without a break for five years, with no absence longer than six months in any year. Either one is enough. The exemption ends when that status lapses, or once you have stayed in the Philippines more than a year.

TIEZA’s service charter lists the exemption and reduced rate certificates as free. Older government pages still print a ₱200 processing fee, which is where that number keeps coming from.

The timing rule that costs people money

A certificate has to exist before the airline issues the ticket. Not before the flight. Before the ticket.

On tickets bought in the Philippines, the airline collects the travel tax inside the fare at the point of sale. Get the certificate afterward and the discount becomes a refund claim, with a form and a two year deadline. Some carriers set their own windows on top of that, so ask the airline the day you book.

Tickets bought abroad work the other way. Carriers and agents outside the country are not supposed to collect Philippine travel tax; the passenger pays TIEZA directly and shows the receipt at check in. Not every airline follows this, so read the fare breakdown for a line marked travel tax or PH tax before you pay a second time at the airport.

Terminal fees by airport

Domestic passenger service charges are inside the fare at every airport, and have been since 2017. International charges are where the airports differ, and in 2026 they moved.

Airport	International	Domestic	Note
NAIA, Manila	₱950	₱390	Since 14 September 2025. OFWs remain exempt.
Clark	₱830 ex VAT proposed	₱370 proposed	Filed for 1 December 2025. Implementation not confirmed.
Mactan Cebu	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	Integrated into the fare since September 2019. The current amount is not published.
Bohol Panglao	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	Operator says fee integration is still in progress (September 2026).
CAAP airports (Davao, Iloilo, Kalibo, Puerto Princesa, General Santos)	₱700 from 1 April 2026	₱50 to ₱200	A three month cut from ₱900. Status after 30 June 2026 not published.

The CAAP cut. On 1 April 2026, with jet fuel prices surging, the transport department told the Civil Aviation Authority to lower its fees for three months, subject to review. International dropped from ₱900 to ₱700. Domestic dropped by airport class: from ₱350 or ₱300 to between ₱150 and ₱200 at the larger airports, from ₱200 to ₱100 at Class 2, and from ₱100 to ₱50 at community airports. NAIA, Mactan and Clark were not covered. Suroy.ph found no notice through 28 October 2026 saying whether the cut lapsed, was extended, or was made permanent. Under CAAP’s 2025 rules, the rate follows the date you bought the ticket.

Cash at the counter? Recent reporting describes the international charge at CAAP airports as part of the ticket rather than a separate cash payment. Suroy.ph could not confirm either way for every airport, so look for the terminal fee line on your fare breakdown and carry a few hundred pesos in case.

Comparing gateways for a connection? The Manila, Cebu and Clark connection guide covers which airport to route through, and the Mactan Cebu airport guide covers the Cebu terminals.

How to get a travel tax refund

You have two years from the date you paid, not the date you flew. You can claim if you were exempt and paid anyway, paid full instead of a reduced rate, were charged twice, downgraded from first class, or held an unused ticket with no fare value left.

• Form. TIEZA Refund Application Form No. 353, filed in person, by email, or through TIEZA’s online travel tax services.
• Documents. Passport, the ticket or itinerary showing the tax line, the official receipt or online acknowledgment, and proof of your category. A representative needs a notarized special power of attorney.
• Payout. TIEZA and GCash began paying refunds into GCash wallets in a soft launch on 20 December 2025, with no convenience fee. Whether paper checks are still offered could not be confirmed.

Airlines are slow to refund travel tax themselves for a reason: under the rules, a refund a carrier gives without the right documents gets charged back to the carrier.

Is the travel tax being abolished?

Not yet. House Bill 8464, the Travel Tax Abolition Act, passed the House on 16 March 2026 by 257 votes to 1, with one abstention, and went to the Senate on 17 March. At least six Senate bills are pending; one removes the tax for economy class only and the rest abolish it outright.

In August 2026 Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian said the Senate aims to pass it within 2026 and put the lost revenue at about ₱6 billion. TIEZA, which depends on the tax for most of its budget, has asked that any abolition wait until January 2027. A travel agents’ group, GTBA, came out on 1 October 2026 against abolition and for a flat ₱500 tax with exemptions for seniors, PWDs and students. No Senate floor vote had been recorded as of 28 October 2026. The Senate tracker follows the bill.

Until a law is signed, ₱1,620 is still collected on the way out.

What could not be confirmed

Rates and procedures published only on tieza.gov.ph could not be loaded for this check, including the card fee percentage, Form 353 processing times, and the scope of the online exemption service. Also unconfirmed: Mactan and Panglao’s current international charges, whether Clark’s December 2025 rates took effect, and NAIA’s online refund route for OFWs. A fare breakdown on a live booking settles the airport numbers for your own flight.

Manila takes ₱950 at the gate and puts it on the ticket. The Airport Series MNL tee draws the field that charges it.

Frequently asked questions

Rates, bills and airport fees checked 28 October 2026.