Every booking follows the same four-step sequence. Get the order right — accommodation, before VAT, 5%, then the cap — and the figure falls out cleanly, whatever the rate.
The method in four steps
- Start with the accommodation cost. Take the price of the accommodation only. Exclude extras that aren't accommodation — the Council excludes parking, meals, drinks and transport.
- Use the figure before VAT. The levy is charged on the accommodation cost before VAT is applied.
- Apply 5%. The levy is 5% of that net accommodation figure, per night.
- Apply the five-night cap. Charge the levy on the first five consecutive nights of the stay only.
Work through those four steps in order and you have the levy for the booking. The six examples below show how they play out.
Example 1: a simple room-only stay
A room-only booking at £100 per night, before VAT, for three nights.
Example 2: a rate that includes breakfast
A bed-and-breakfast rate of £120 per night, where £20 of that is the breakfast. Breakfast is a meal, which is excluded — so the accommodation portion is £100.
Applying 5% to the full £120 would over-charge the guest and over-declare to the Council. Only the accommodation portion is leviable. For more on separating the base, see the visitor levy and VAT.
Example 3: a long stay and the five-night cap
A room at £90 per night, before VAT, booked for eight consecutive nights.
Example 4: VAT in the picture
A room advertised at £120 including VAT, where VAT is 20%. Strip the VAT first to get the net accommodation figure.
The levy is calculated on the £100 net figure, not the £120 VAT-inclusive figure. Calculating on the VAT-inclusive price overstates the levy — one of the most common calculation errors, covered in full in the visitor levy and VAT guide.
Example 5: a multi-room booking
Three rooms at £100 per night, before VAT, for two nights on one booking. The levy is charged on each room for each night.
A multi-room booking is calculated across all the room-nights, not as a single line.
Example 6: a separate return stay
A guest stays four nights, checks out, then returns later for a separate two-night stay, at £100 per night before VAT.
Because each stay is assessed separately and neither exceeded five consecutive nights, all six nights are leviable. The cap does not combine separate stays — explained in full in the 5-night cap guide.
Doing this at scale
One booking is easy to calculate by hand. A full quarter — across different rates, packages, stay lengths, VAT, multiple rooms and repeat guests — is where the method has to be applied consistently hundreds of times without a single slip.
Run this exact calculation on every booking
LevyReady runs the four-step method on every booking in your export — the base, VAT, the five-night cap and multi-room logic, applied automatically — and produces a checked, Council-ready return with a self-check that blocks a wrong figure. It all runs in your browser; your booking data is never uploaded.
Run your first audit free →Questions
How do you calculate the Edinburgh visitor levy?
Take the accommodation cost before VAT, exclude non-accommodation extras, apply 5% per night, and charge only the first five consecutive nights of a stay.
Is the Edinburgh visitor levy calculated before or after VAT?
Before VAT. The 5% is applied to the net accommodation figure. Calculating on a VAT-inclusive price overstates the levy.
How is the levy calculated on a room that includes breakfast?
Only the accommodation portion is leviable. The breakfast, as a meal, is excluded, so apply 5% to the room element only.
How is the levy calculated on a multi-room booking?
The levy is charged per room, per night. Multiply across all room-nights within the five-night cap.
This guide is general information, not tax or legal advice, and figures reflect the City of Edinburgh Council scheme as published (confirm current details, including the treatment of packaged rates, on the Council's portal). LevyReady does not file returns on your behalf — the operator remains legally responsible for the accuracy of all submissions.