All About the Tax and Fee Codes on Your Airline Ticket

So you've just spent $1299.90 on an airline ticket with a list price of $773. Do you have any idea what the $321.90 in taxes and fees are?

As governments and other taxing authorities get more and more creative, the number of different extra costs that appear on your ticket continue to get longer and longer.

We remember, “back in the good old days”, when a domestic ticket typically had only one fee, and international tickets three or four.  Now, depending on where you fly, you might see as many as a dozen or more.

But you also need to realize that not all the taxes and fees you see on your ticket are truly what they seem.  The airline you’re flying might well be trying to sneak in some extra money that it keeps for itself, enabling it to keep its apparent fare low and to vaguely blame “the government” for all the “taxes” on its low fare.

So if you’re ever noticed and been upset that the taxes and fees seem to be greater than the airfare on your ticket, perhaps you’re just falling victim to the airline’s own perfidy.

Here’s an incomplete list of tax/fee codes to help you decode these costs.  If your ticket has another code on it, please send us a copy of the ticket and we’ll try to help you figure it out.  There is a complete list published by IATA, which contains more than 1500 entries!  Unfortunately, they charge $4599 for a web download of this information (we kid you not – see this page).

Do you have a mystery tax code on your ticket you don’t understand?

Please first check to see if it is in the long list below.  The list is alphabetical.  Probably three quarters of all requests we get are for codes already in the list!

If it’s not in the list already, use this form to send in its details and we’ll research it for you.

We need the details of your itinerary and ideally a copy of your ticket so as to research the code.

Note – the column on the right for “Date Verified” is the last time we looked up and confirmed the tax code.  All undated tax codes date back to about August 2019.  (Our sense is that tax codes change from time to time.)

CodePaid ToDescriptionDate Verified
CodePaid ToDescription
A1Costa RicaBaggage Inspection Fee1/10/20
A7BoliviaPassenger Service Charge1/6/20
AADominican RepublicAirport Departure Tax Intl
ABHaitiAirport Departure Tax International
AEUAEPassenger Service Charge Intl1/6/20
AHPanamaAirport Security Fee Departures
AJVenezuelaAirport Exit Tax International
AKVenezuelaAirport Departure Tax
ATAustriaPassenger Security Charge
AUAustraliaPassenger Movement Charge1/6/20
AXVietnamPassenger Service Charge Domestic1/6/20
AYUnited States“Sept 11” Security Fee, currently (2019) $5.60 one way or $11.20 roundtrip1/10/20
B1Costa RicaBoarding Tax1/10/20
BBBarbadosValue Added Tax
BEBelgiumPassenger Service and Security Charge
BLBermudaAviation Security Fee
BMBermudaPassenger Tax
BOBoliviaSales Tax1/6/20
BPSouth KoreaInternational Psc Departure Tax And Global Disease Eradication Fund
BRBrazilEmbarkation Fee International
BUBelizeAirport Development Fee
C2VenezuelaBiosecurity Service Fee Arrivals
C4VietnamPassenger And Baggage Security Screening Service Charge1/6/20
C7MyanmarAdvance Passenger Information User Charge International Arrivals
C9BahamasValue Added Tax
CACanadaAir Travelers Security Charge1/6/20
CENew ZealandAviation Security Screening Levy Domestic1/6/20
CHSwitzerlandAirport Passenger Security And Noise Charge
CJNetherlandsSecurity Service Charge
CNChinaAirport Fee (varies per airport)
COColombiaAirport Tax
CRCosta RicaTransportation Tax1/10/20
CUCubaPassenger Services Airport Tax
CZCzech RepublicEmbarkation Tax
D5IndonesiaPassenger Service Charge
D9JordanCute User Fee (ie Common User Terminal Equipment)
DDTrinidad and TobagoConcourse Fee International
DEGermanyAirport Security Charge (varies per airport)
DIBarbadosAirport Facilitation Fee International
DYPeruTourism Arrival Tax1/6/20
E2EcuadorInfrastructure Tax Arrivals
E3Saudi ArabiaSecurity Charges Intl Departure/Arrival1/13/20
E6BermudaAviation Security Fee
E7ThailandAdvance Passenger Processing User Charge
EABahamasPassenger Departure Tax
ECEcuadorGovernment Transportation Tax
EDEcuadorTourism Fee International
EGEgyptSolidarity Tax (formerly/aka Transportation Tax)
EKJamaicaPassenger Service and Security Fee
ELJamaicaAirport Improvement Fee
ENBermudaPassenger Facility Charge
EQEgyptService Charge
EUVenezuelaInac Civil Aviation Services Improvement Fee
EVSouth AfricaPassenger Safety Charge
EXItalySecurity Bag Charge
EYFijiAirport Departure Tax
EZFijiAirport Security Charge
F1New ZealandBorder Clearance Levy Intl Arrival1/6/20
F3PanamaAirport Development Fee
F6UAEPassenger Facilities Charge1/6/20
FAFijiAirport Development Charge
FCNicaraguaTerminal Fee Intl
FDNicaraguaTourism Fee Intl
FEHungarySecurity Charge
FPHaitiSecurity Control Fee
FRFrance & DependenciesCivil Aviation Tax and Airport Tax1/13/20
FSCosta Rica
(formerly Airline)		Common Area User Charge Departure
(formerly Fuel Surcharge)		1/10/20
FUBelizeConservation Tax
FVBelizePassenger Service Fee
FWBelizeSecurity Fee International
FXUzbekistanSecurity Tax
FZPanamaAirport Departure Tax
G2NorwayAirport Passenger Tax1/6/20
G3Hong KongAirport Construction Fee1/6/20
G4QatarPassenger Facility Charge
G8ThailandIntl Arrival Fee
GBUnited KingdomAir Passenger Duty varies depending on distance flown and class of service £13 – £172 as of 20191/10/20
GJBahamasAirport Facility Fee Departure
GKBahamasSecurity Fee
GRGreeceAirport Development Charge
GZKuwaitAirport Service Charge International
H8MalaysiaRegulatory Charge Domestic And International
HBItalyCouncil City Tax
HGJamaicaTourism Enhancement Fee Intl
HIHaitiImmigration Processing Fee Arrival
HKHong KongPassenger Departure Tax
HLKyrgyzstanAirport Development Charge International
HQJordanEmbarkation Tax International
HUHungaryAirport Tax
HWPeruAirport Departure Tax
I5Hong KongPassenger Security Charge1/6/20
I6IranPassenger Safety Oversight Services Fees
IANew ZealandPassenger Security Charge Intl1/6/20
IDIndonesiaValue Added Tax Passengers Domestic
IKCosta RicaSecurity Fee International Arriving/Departing1/10/20
ILIsraelDeparture Passenger Airport Tax International
INIndiaUser Development Fee Departures1/13/20
IOSaudi ArabiaAirport Building Charge For Arrivals1/13/20
IRIranAirport Tax International
ISIcelandAirport Service Charge1/13/20
ITItalyEmbarkation Tax
IZFrancePassenger Solidarity Tax varies depending on destination and class of service €1.13 – €45.07 as of 20191/10/20
JCVietnamPassenger Service Charge International
JDSpainDeparture Charge1/6/20
JGBarbadosPassenger Service Charge International
JHBarbadosSecurity Fee International
JKEgyptDeparture Fee
JSColombiaTourism Tax
JTJamaicaPassenger Facility Charge
K3IndiaGoods And Service Tax Interim Domestic1/13/20
K7Saudi ArabiaValue Added Tax1/13/20
KJJordanCivil Aviation Fee
KKNew ZealandPassenger Service Charge Intl Arrivals1/6/20
KOHaitiTerritorial Development Tax
KPNorth KoreaPassenger Service Charge International
L2KuwaitTransfer Fee
L7SingaporeAirport Development Levy
L8Dominican RepublicTourism Tax1/6/20
LIPhilippinesPassenger Service Charge
LJSwedenAviation Tax
LKSri LankaEmbarkation Tax
M3BarbadosAirport Service Charge
M6TurkeyInternational Flights Security Charge1/6/20
MAMoroccoPassenger Service Charge
MJItalyPassenger Service Charge on Departures
MMMyanmarPassenger Service Charge
MOMacauAirport Security Tax1/6/20
MXMexicoTransportation Tax IVA Domestic
MYMalaysiaPassenger Service And Security Charge
N8Costa RicaSales Tax1/10/20
NCNew CaledoniaPassenger Service Charge
NDPolandPassenger Service Charge
NHJordanPassenger Terminal Use Fee
NINicaraguaSales Hacienda Tax
NWCosta RicaTourism Arrival Tax1/6/20
NZNew ZealandGoods and Services Tax
O4FranceSolidarity Tax Surplus1/10/20
OBAirlineBooking Fee and Surcharges
OGSpainAviation Safety and Security Fee1/6/20
OIJapanPassenger Security Service Charge
OPSingaporeAviation Levy
OREcuadorAirport Tax
OYGermanyAir Transport Tax
PBPakistanAdvance Tax International
PFFrench PolynesiaLocal Departure Tax
POBahamasPassenger Processing Fee
PTPortugalSecurity Tax
PXNicaraguaAirport Security Charge
PZQatarPassenger Service Charge Arrivals
QAQatarAirport Fee Intl
QBEcuadorAirport Tax
QCAustraliaUsed to be Cairns Airport Authority Fee
QDAustriaAir Transport Levy Domestic
QHEgyptEmbarkation Tax
QIEcuadorAirport Auxiliary Facilities Tax
QKJamaica
(Australia)		Airline Passenger Levy
(Formerly was Sydney noise levy)
QOArgentinaCustom And Immigration Services Tax International 
QPTurkmenistanPassenger Safety And Airport Development Charge
QRAustraliaPassenger Service Charge Domestic Departure/Arrival1/6/20
QVSpainSecurity Tax1/6/20
QXFrancePassenger Service Charge Intl1/13/20
RAGermanyPassenger Service Charge for Intl Departures
RCCanadaHarmonized Sales Tax1/6/20
RGPakistanFederal Excise Duty Red1/6/20
RIRussiaTerminal Use Charge (Departure or Arrival)
RNNetherlandsPassenger Service Charge
SGSingaporePassenger Service And Security Fee
SPPakistanEmbarkation Fee1/6/20
SQCanadaAirport Improvement Fee1/6/20
SWJapanPassenger Service Facilities Charge Intl
TKJapanInternational Tourist Tax
TMTurkmenistanPassenger Airport Tax Departures
TPUAEPassenger Security and Safety Fee1/6/20
TQArgentinaSecurity Tax Domestic And International
TRTurkeyAirport Service Charge International1/6/20
TSThailandPassenger Service Charge
TUKenyaPassenger Airport Service Charge Intl
TWTaiwanAirport Service Charge International1/6/20
TYDominican RepublicAerocom Fee Arrivals
UAUkraineSecurity Charge
UBUnited KingdomPassenger Service Charge Departures1/13/20
UCJamaicaPassenger Aviation Service Charge Arrivals
UDUkraineState Charge
UHRussiaSecurity Charge International
UJKazakhstanPassenger Service Charge
UKMexicoTourism Tax Derecho No Inmigrante
UMSouth AfricaASC Charge
UOAustraliaGoods And Services Tax
UPIrelandPassenger Charge1/13/20
UQIrelandInspection Pre-clearance Charge
USUnited StatesInternational Arrival/Departure Tax (currently $18.60 each way as of 2019) or 7.5% (as of 2019) US Domestic Transportation Tax1/10/20
UXDominican RepublicAirport Authority Fee Arrivals1/6/20
UZUzbekistanAirport Departure Tax
VBDominican RepublicAirport Infrastructure Fee Arrival1/6/20
VQTurkeyAirport Service Charge Domestic1/6/20
VTItalySecurity Charge
VVNetherlandsNoise Isolation Charge
WCSouth AfricaPassenger Tax
WDJamaicaTravel Tax Intl
WGAustraliaSafety and Security Charge Departure1/6/20
WNMacaoPassenger Service Charge1/6/20
WOIndiaPassenger Service Fee1/13/20
WPGreecePassenger Terminal Facilities Charge
WQGreecePassenger Security Charge
WTEcuadorSecurity Fee
WXNew ZealandPassenger Levy Domestic1/6/20
WYAustraliaPassenger Service Charge Departure/Arrival Intl1/6/20
XAUnited StatesAPHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) Fee (currently $3.96 as of 2019)1/6/20
XDMexicoAirport Departure Tax Tua Intl
XFUnited StatesPassenger Facility Charge (up to $4.50 per applicable airport as of 2019)1/10/20
XGCanadaGoods and Services Tax
XKEgyptDevelopment Fee
XLEgyptStamp Tax
XRArgentinaAirport Tax International
XTExtra tax total, details shown elsewhere
XVMexicoAirport Departure Tax Tua Domestic
XWPolandAirport Tax
XYUnited StatesImmigration Fee (currently $7 as of 2019)1/6/20
YASwedenPassenger Charge
YCUnited StatesCustoms Fee (currently $5.77 as of 2019)1/6/20
YDPakistanInfrastructure Development Charge1/6/20
YKUkraineAirport Passenger Charge
YMIndiaDevelopment Fee1/13/20
YPPortugalMadeira Funchal Porto Santo Passenger Service Charge
YQAirlineExtra fee (instead of simply charging a higher fare)1/6/20
YWBoliviaExit Tax1/6/20
YRAirlineExtra fee (instead of simply charging a higher fare)1/6/20
YXKuwaitPassenger Service Charge
ZASouth AfricaPassenger Service Charge
ZNNorwayPassenger Charge1/6/20
ZODenmarkPassenger Service Charge
ZPUnited StatesSegment Tax, goes to FAA1/6/20
ZQChileAirport Facility Charge
ZRUAEIntl Advanced Passenger Info Fee Arrivals1/6/20
ZUIcelandPassenger Fee Keflavik1/13/20
ZYAustriaPassenger Service Charge

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