Bali Tourist Levy 2026: How to Pay the Love Bali Tax (and Avoid the Scam Sites)

The first “Bali tourist tax” website I ever landed on tried to charge me about three times the real fee — and it looked completely official, right down to the logo and the little Balinese flourishes. I only paused because the web address ended in .com. That near-miss is exactly why I’m so blunt about this: the Bali tourist levy itself is small, simple and genuinely worth paying, but the fake sites clustered around it are a proper trap for the unwary.

Since 2024, every foreign visitor to Bali has paid a one-off levy of IDR 150,000 — around £8 — that goes towards protecting the island’s culture and environment. It takes two minutes to sort if you know the one official website and a couple of small gotchas. So here’s exactly what the levy is, how to pay it without getting scammed or stung at the airport, who’s exempt, and what actually happens if you don’t bother. Get it done before you fly and you’ll breeze through arrival while others queue.

What the Bali tourist levy actually is

Let’s start with the basics, because there’s a lot of muddle online. The Bali tourist levy — officially the “Love Bali” contribution — is a IDR 150,000 fee charged to every foreign visitor, introduced by the provincial government in February 2024. In pounds that’s roughly £8; in dollars, about $10. The money is earmarked for preserving Balinese culture, protecting the environment, and improving the infrastructure that mass tourism strains.

The most important detail, and the one that saves people money: it’s paid once per visit, not per entry. If you pop over to the Gili Islands or Singapore mid-trip and come back, you don’t pay again on the same visit. It’s also completely separate from your visa — the visa-on-arrival is its own IDR 500,000 fee — and separate again from the entrance fees at temples and attractions. Think of it as a single, island-wide arrival contribution, nothing more. Knowing that stops you double-paying, which the scam sites are counting on.

How to pay the Love Bali levy, step by step

Paying is genuinely quick if you do it the official way. Here’s the process:

1. Go to the official portal — lovebali.baliprov.go.id — a few days before you fly. (More on why the exact address matters in a moment.)
2. Enter your traveller details exactly as they appear in your passport.
3. Pay through the integrated gateway by card or e-wallet.
4. Download the QR voucher and save it in two places — your phone’s photo gallery and your email — so you’re not reliant on signal at the airport. Two practical tips that trip people up. First, turn off your VPN: the Love Bali portal is known to fail to load or process payments when a VPN is active, and this causes most of the “the site won’t work” complaints. Second, do it a few days ahead rather than in the taxi queue — it’s far less stressful. If you’re paying for a family, note that each traveller needs their own entry and QR code.

Avoid the scam sites: the one domain that matters

This is the part I most want you to remember. The only official website is lovebali.baliprov.go.id — note the .go.id ending, which is reserved for Indonesian government sites. That’s your safety check.

Scammers have built convincing lookalike sites ending in .com or .org that charge inflated fees (often IDR 300,000 or more — double the real amount) and, worse, harvest your card details in the process. They buy ads, so they can appear right at the top of a search, above the real thing. Before you type in a single detail, look at the address bar and confirm it ends in .go.id. If it doesn’t, close the tab. No legitimate Bali levy site ends in .com. When in doubt, don’t pay through a link in an email or ad — navigate to the official portal yourself.

Who’s exempt — and who still has to pay

Most visitors pay, but there are exemptions. You’re exempt if you hold a KITAS or KITAP (residency permit), a diplomatic or official visa, a student visa, or a Golden Visa, and transport crew are exempt too. Indonesian citizens don’t pay at all. The catch: if you qualify for an exemption, you generally have to apply for it on the Love Bali website about a month in advance — it isn’t automatic at the gate.

For everyone else, the rule is simple: if you’re a foreign tourist, you pay, and that includes children — there’s no child discount or infant exemption, so budget IDR 150,000 for every member of the family. The one piece of good news, again, is that it’s a single payment per visit rather than per entry. So a couple with two kids pays IDR 600,000 total for the trip — not per beach, not per island hop, just once.

Pay before you fly, or at the airport?

You can pay in three places: online before arrival, at a counter at the airport or ferry port, or via registered “endpoints” like some hotels, tour agents and attractions while you’re already on the island. My strong recommendation is to pay online before you fly. It’s the same price, but you skip the arrival-hall queue entirely — you land, breeze past, and you’re in a taxi while others are still filling in forms after a long-haul flight.

The airport counters do exist and work fine if you forget, but they can back up when several flights land at once — the last thing you want when you’re tired and hot. Whichever you choose, the key output is the same: that QR voucher on your phone. Sort it early, screenshot it, and it’s one less thing to think about on the day. While you’re organising arrival logistics, it’s also the moment to line up an airport pickup — I’d book a private car and driver so someone’s waiting rather than haggling curbside.

What happens if you don’t pay — and other tips

Enforcement is currently patchy but tightening. In practice, you may be asked to show your QR voucher at spot checks — particularly at ports and popular attractions, including the boats and sights around Nusa Penida — and not having it can mean paying on the spot or being turned back. The authorities have signalled they intend to link the levy more tightly to entry and exit over time, so treating it as optional is a false economy for the sake of £8.

A few last practical notes. Keep the QR voucher accessible offline, since signal can be patchy at the ports. Carry a little cash as backup for any endpoint that hasn’t gone cashless. And since you’re sorting the boring-but-essential admin anyway, this is a sensible point to line up travel insurance too — the levy protects Bali; insurance protects you. For the wider run-through of what to expect when you land, my Bali airport arrival guide walks through immigration and the visa on arrival.

The two-minute job worth doing right

The Bali tourist levy is one of the easiest parts of trip admin to get right — and one of the easiest to get wrong if you land on the wrong website. Pay the real IDR 150,000 on the official .go.id portal before you fly, save the QR code, and you’ve done it: no queue, no scam, no stress. It’s a small contribution to keeping the island you’re about to enjoy worth enjoying.

If you hit a snag with the portal — the VPN glitch, a payment that won’t go through, an exemption you’re unsure about — reply and tell me what happened; I’ve helped a few readers untangle it. And once the admin’s sorted, the fun part begins: my 7-day Bali itinerary and things to do in Bali guides will get you planning the trip itself.

FAQs

How much is the Bali tourist levy in 2026?

It’s IDR 150,000 per foreign visitor — roughly £8 or $10 — paid once per visit. It’s separate from your visa and from individual attraction entry fees, and there’s no discount for children.

Where do I pay the Bali tourist tax?

On the official Love Bali portal at lovebali.baliprov.go.id, ideally before you travel. You can also pay at counters in the airport and ferry ports, or via registered hotels and attractions once you’re on the island.

How do I know if a Bali tax website is genuine?

The only official site ends in .go.id (lovebali.baliprov.go.id). Lookalike sites ending in .com or .org are scams that overcharge and steal card details — always check the address bar before entering any information.

Is the Bali tourist levy paid per entry or once?

Once per visit, not per entry. If you leave Bali for the Gili Islands or another country and return during the same trip, you don’t pay again — one IDR 150,000 payment covers the visit.

Do children have to pay the Bali tourist levy?

Yes — the levy applies to every foreign visitor, including children and infants, with no discount. A family of four should budget IDR 600,000 in total for the trip.

Who is exempt from the Bali tourist tax?

Holders of KITAS/KITAP residency permits, diplomatic and official visas, student visas and Golden Visas are exempt, as are transport crew and Indonesian citizens. Exempt travellers usually need to apply on the Love Bali site about a month in advance.

Can I pay the Bali levy at the airport?

Yes, there are payment counters at the airport and ferry ports, but they can get busy when several flights land together. Paying online before you fly is the same price and lets you skip the queue entirely.

What happens if I don’t pay the Bali tourist levy?

You may be asked to show your QR voucher at spot checks — especially at ports and around Nusa Penida — and could be made to pay on the spot or refused entry to a site. Enforcement is tightening, so it’s not worth risking over £8.

Why won’t the Love Bali website work?

The most common cause is an active VPN, which stops the portal loading or processing payment — turn it off completely before you visit the site. Entering passport details exactly as printed and using a standard browser also helps.

Is the Bali tourist levy the same as the visa fee?

No — they’re separate. The visa on arrival is its own fee (around IDR 500,000), while the tourist levy is IDR 150,000. You may need to pay both, plus individual entrance fees at temples and attractions.

Before you go — I wrote this in 2026 and verified the fee, the official domain and the exemptions I could, but rules and prices change. Always confirm current details on the official lovebali.baliprov.go.id site before paying.

Some of the links in this article are affiliate links: if you book through them I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only ever recommend things I’d happily send a friend to.