Guides

Edinburgh visitor levy, made simple

Practical, plain-English guides for the people who actually have to charge and report the levy — hotels, B&Bs, self-catering and short-term lets.

Filing
How to file your Edinburgh visitor levy return
The complete step-by-step: the five rules that set the figure, the two deductions people miss, and how to submit your quarterly return.
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VAT
The visitor levy & VAT, done right
The single biggest source of wrong figures. Why the levy isn't 5% of what the guest paid — with worked examples.
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The Edinburgh visitor levy explained
The basics
What it is, who has to charge it, the rates, who's exempt, the key dates, and how reporting works — all in one place.
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Airbnb & short-term lets
The Edinburgh visitor levy for Airbnb hosts
Does the levy apply to your Airbnb let? Yes — and the responsibility sits with you, not the platform. What you charge, and how to file.
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Hotels
The Edinburgh visitor levy for hotels
The same rule, applied across thousands of bookings: the rate base, the five-night cap, comp rooms, exempt and transitional bookings, and PMS pitfalls.
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B&Bs & guesthouses
The Edinburgh visitor levy for B&Bs
The breakfast question, the accommodation-only base, the five-night cap, and how small operators below the VAT threshold still charge and file.
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Self-catering & short lets
The Edinburgh visitor levy for self-catering
Holiday flats and short-term lets: the accommodation base, the five-night cap on long stays, and the transitional rule for advance bookings.
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The rules
The 5-night cap, explained
What you charge on long stays, when the cap resets, and the split-stay trap: a 4-night stay plus a later 2-night stay is charged on all six.
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Exemptions
Exemptions & reclaims: who qualifies
Who's exempt, why most exempt guests still pay and reclaim from the Council, the disability-benefit list, and what providers must record.
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Dates & deadlines
Key dates & filing deadlines
Every date that matters: the 24 July 2026 start, the 1 October 2025 transitional cut-off, and the quarterly deadlines from your first return in October 2026.
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Booking.com & OTAs
Does Booking.com collect the levy?
No — the responsibility stays with you on every channel. Plus the commission trap: charge on what the guest paid, not the amount left after the platform's cut.
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How to calculate
How to calculate the levy, with examples
The four-step method and six worked examples: room-only, breakfast packages, VAT, the five-night cap, multi-room bookings and separate return stays.
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Records & inspections
Record-keeping & inspections
What records you must keep, how Council inspections work, why exempt bookings need documenting too, and why a raw PMS export isn't a defensible record.
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The tool
Check your levy in 2 minutes
Upload your PMS export and let LevyReady build a checked, Council-ready return — every rule in these guides, applied automatically.
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