Edinburgh tourist tax 2026: how the 5% visitor levy works
The Edinburgh tourist tax is the visitor levy that hotels and holiday lets in Edinburgh, Scotland add to stays from 24 July 2026. It is 5% of the room price before VAT, on the first 5 nights in a row.
How much is the Edinburgh city tax per night
The city tax in Edinburgh is the Edinburgh Visitor Levy, the first scheme in Scotland under the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024. It is 5% of the price of the accommodation alone, worked out before VAT, and the same rate applies all year and across the whole council area, as the City of Edinburgh Council guide to the levy explains.
| Room price a night, before VAT | Levy a night | Stay of 7 nights, 5 charged |
|---|---|---|
| £80 | £4 | £20 |
| £120 | £6 | £30 |
| £180 | £9 | £45 |
| £250 | £12.50 | £62.50 |
A stay of 7 nights pays for 5, because the levy stops after the fifth night in a row. For everything else about a visit, the Edinburgh tourist office guide is the place to start.
How the Edinburgh visitor levy works
The accommodation charges the levy on each booking and pays it to the council. The rules below come from the Edinburgh Visitor Levy scheme.
| Rule | What the scheme says |
|---|---|
| Rate | 5% of the accommodation price before VAT |
| Nights charged | The first 5 nights in a row of each booking |
| Stays covered | Nights from 24 July 2026 booked on or after 1 October 2025 |
| Price it applies to | The room or property only, without meals, drinks, parking, laundry or transfers |
| Places to stay covered | Hotels, hostels, guest houses, B&Bs, self-catering, campsites, caravans and boats |
| When it is collected | At booking, on arrival or on departure, as the accommodation decides |
| Price shown at booking | The total price must already include the levy |
Stays booked and paid for, in part or in full, before 1 October 2025 do not pay the levy, as the timeline for the levy sets out. While choosing where to stay, the guide to things to do in Edinburgh shows which sights sit close together, from the Castle to the Royal Mile.
What the Edinburgh hotel tax adds to a stay
The total depends on the price of the accommodation and the number of nights, up to 5. These stays show the sums.
| Stay | Calculation | Levy |
|---|---|---|
| B&B not registered for VAT, £90 a night, 3 nights | 5% of £270 | £13.50 |
| Hotel registered for VAT, £180 a night with VAT, 3 nights | 5% of £450 before VAT is £22.50, plus £4.50 VAT | £27 |
| Apartment, £150 a night, 7 nights | 5% of 5 nights, £750 | £37.50 |
| Family of four in a flat, £200 a night, 4 nights | 5% of £800, the same as for one guest | £40 |
| Booking site, £250 for 2 room-only nights with its £50 commission | 5% of £250 | £12.50 |
Accommodation registered for VAT adds VAT to the levy itself. In the hotel above the guest pays £27, which is 5% of the £540 paid for the room with VAT. The council guide for accommodation providers covers the sum and the VAT, and shows the booking site example in the last row, where the commission paid by the guest counts as part of the price.
Airbnb and holiday apartments in Edinburgh
A holiday let pays the same 5% as a hotel. The levy is worked out on the price of the unit booked, not per person or per room, so a flat for six costs the same levy as the same flat for two.
When a stay is booked through Airbnb, Booking.com or Vrbo, the platform may collect the levy, but the host stays responsible for paying it to the council. Either way, the total price at booking must already include it, as the VisitScotland questions and answers on the levy set out.
Who does not pay the visitor levy in Edinburgh
Every paid overnight stay in Edinburgh pays the levy, whether for a holiday, for work or for another reason, and that includes people who live in the UK and in Scotland. The law charges it only on stays away from home, so these guests do not pay:
- people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, or living in very poor housing
- people escaping domestic abuse or other violence
- asylum seekers and refugees
Guests who receive a disability benefit, such as Personal Independence Payment, Adult Disability Payment, Disability Living Allowance or Attendance Allowance, pay the levy and then claim it back from the council once the stay has ended. The council aims to pay within 5 working days of getting the documents, and the council page on exemptions lists every benefit and the proof to send.
Cruise passengers are outside the levy, and so are motorhomes parked away from a paid campsite. A charity that offers stays for charitable purposes can ask the council for an exemption for its property.
Cancellations, refunds and unpaid levies
The levy is due only when a guest stays. A guest who cancels after paying the levy in advance gets the levy back in full, even when the rest of the booking is not refundable. Once the stay has taken place, the levy is due to the council.
A guest who refuses to pay leaves the accommodation two choices. It can cancel the booking, or it can pay the levy itself, because the accommodation is the one the law holds liable.
Where the Edinburgh visitor levy money goes
The council expects the levy to raise up to £50 million a year. Its first investment programmes, worth over £90 million over three years, were agreed in February 2026, as the council news on the levy's start reports.
After costs, £5m a year goes to housing and tourism mitigation and £2m over three years to participatory budgeting in local neighbourhoods. Accommodation providers keep 2% of what they collect for the work of running it. The rest is split 55% to city operations and infrastructure, 35% to culture, heritage and events and 10% to destination and visitor management, under the scheme's use of funds.
Will the Edinburgh tourist tax change
The council reviews the scheme every three years, and any change goes to a public consultation first. The scheme in force on 3 November 2026 keeps the 5% rate on the first 5 nights.
The Visitor Levy (Scotland) Amendment Act 2026 lets councils set a fixed amount per night instead of a percentage, and makes the levy apply to the first sale of a room when a third party resells it. The Scottish Government page on the visitor levy explains both changes. Edinburgh still charges 5%.
Tourist taxes elsewhere in Scotland
Four more council areas in Scotland have agreed a visitor levy for 2027, according to the VisitScotland list of levy schemes. Unlike Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and West Dunbartonshire charge every night of a stay.
| Council area | Edinburgh |
|---|---|
| Rate | 5% |
| From | 24 July 2026 |
| Nights charged | First 5 in a row |
| Council area | Glasgow |
|---|---|
| Rate | 5% |
| From | 25 January 2027 |
| Nights charged | Every night |
| Council area | Aberdeen |
|---|---|
| Rate | 7% |
| From | 1 April 2027 |
| Nights charged | Every night |
| Council area | Stirling |
|---|---|
| Rate | 3% |
| From | 14 June 2027 |
| Nights charged | First 7, the rest refunded on request |
| Council area | West Dunbartonshire |
|---|---|
| Rate | 5% |
| From | 1 July 2027 |
| Nights charged | Every night |
In Stirling, people who live in the council area do not pay. For London, Wales and the English cities with an overnight charge, the guide to the London tourist tax compares the rest of the UK.