Visitor Levy guides
Practical guides to levy calculations, booking exports and quarterly return preparation, with separate coverage of council proposals. Our regulatory guides link to official sources; product guides explain the workflow. Read our editorial policy for how we review sources and handle corrections.
Fundamentals
Cleaning Fees and the Edinburgh Visitor Levy
Cleaning fees aren't automatically excluded from the Edinburgh Visitor Levy base — how mandatory and optional cleaning charges are classified, and when a booking needs your review.
Read guideThe Edinburgh Visitor Levy, Explained
What the Edinburgh Visitor Levy is, who has to charge it, and the real rate, night cap and effective dates for the only scheme currently live in Scotland.
Read guideThe 5-Night Cap on the Edinburgh Visitor Levy
How Edinburgh's maximum-chargeable-nights rule works, how pro-rating applies once a stay exceeds it, and what changes for stays under vs over the cap.
Read guideHow to Calculate Edinburgh Visitor Levy (Tourist Tax)
Calculate Edinburgh tourist tax with worked examples: the 5% Visitor Levy, five-night cap, VAT and the difference between collected levy and the council return.
Read guideBundled Breakfast and the Edinburgh Visitor Levy
How the bundled breakfast deduction works when a property includes breakfast in its accommodation price, with the full worked example from the calculation engine.
Read guidePlatforms
Airbnb Host Fees Calculator UK: Understand Your Payout
Estimate Airbnb host fees in pounds, compare a 15.5% example with your actual reservation fee, and keep platform deductions separate from Edinburgh Visitor Levy.
Read guideAirbnb Visitor Levy Reconciliation: Check Collections Before Filing
Match booking and tax reports by reservation code, keep VAT separate, and investigate missing collections, night-cap differences and refunds.
Read guideAirbnb Hosts and the Edinburgh Visitor Levy
How to get Edinburgh Visitor Levy figures right from an Airbnb export, including the gross-versus-net payout trap and how a cleaning fee gets classified for the levy base.
Read guideBooking.com Properties and the Edinburgh Visitor Levy
How Booking.com exports fit into Edinburgh Visitor Levy calculations, why import is CSV/XLSX-only, and what to check when mapping commission-based figures.
Read guideCompliance & filing
Edinburgh Visitor Levy: Can You Deduct OTA Commission?
Why a platform payout can give you the wrong levy base, where the commission guidance differs, and what to keep with your calculation.
Read guideNot VAT Registered? Edinburgh Visitor Levy for Small Hosts
Non-VAT-registered hosts can still owe Edinburgh Visitor Levy. See a £360 booking example, avoid a false VAT deduction and prepare the right records.
Read guideEdinburgh Visitor Levy First Return: 30 October 2026 Deadline
First-return dates, check-out quarter reporting and practical preparation for Edinburgh providers.
Read guideVisitor Levy Assessment Notices: Payment, Interest and Penalty Dates
Plan payment dates after a council assessment under the September 2026 amendments.
Read guideEdinburgh Visitor Levy Return: prepare records for visitorlevy.scot
A practical workflow from booking imports and collection checks to an evidence-backed visitorlevy.scot return.
Read guideThe Edinburgh Visitor Levy and VAT
Why the Edinburgh Visitor Levy is calculated on the pre-VAT accommodation amount, and how to handle VAT-inclusive pricing from booking platforms.
Read guideCommon Visitor Levy Data Mistakes and How to Correct Them
A catalogue of the automatic data quality checks that catch common Visitor Levy booking-data errors — duplicates, suspicious rates, net-vs-gross confusion — and what to do when one fires.
Read guideEdinburgh Visitor Levy Quarterly Return Checklist
Prepare an Edinburgh return: dates, booking exports, monthly figures, collection checks and evidence to keep after filing.
Read guideVisitor Levy Record-Keeping: Audit Logs and Calculation Versioning
How our product keeps a durable record of every Visitor Levy calculation and every change made to it, without ever storing guest-identifying data.
Read guideFor your business
Preparing Visitor Levy Returns for Several Properties and Clients
A practical workflow for letting agents: keep owners separate, check booking exports, resolve differences and hand over a traceable return.
Read guideFife Visitor Levy Proposal: How Hosts Can Prepare Their Admin
Fife has not approved a visitor levy. A practical checklist for accommodation records, booking workflows and consultation questions before any scheme is adopted.
Read guideVisitor Levy CSV Import: Airbnb, Booking.com and PMS exports
Prepare and check reservation exports for visitor levy reconciliation, including guided Guesty, Hostaway, SiteMinder, Cloudbeds and eviivo imports.
Read guideThe Edinburgh Visitor Levy for Hostels
How hostel bookings — often higher guest counts, shorter stays and dorm-style pricing — run through the Edinburgh Visitor Levy calculation engine.
Read guideThe Edinburgh Visitor Levy for Hotels and B&Bs
How hotels, B&Bs and guesthouses fit into the Edinburgh Visitor Levy calculation engine — VAT registration, bundled breakfast, and multi-property portfolios.
Read guideCouncils
Aberdeen Visitor Levy Booking Cut-off: 1 October 2026
Check the booking date and April 2027 stay start for Aberdeen’s approved 7% visitor levy.
Read guideWest Dunbartonshire Visitor Levy Booking Cut-off: 1 October 2026
Check booking and payment evidence for stays from July 2027, including cases needing council review.
Read guideAberdeen Visitor Levy: Prepare Booking Records for 2027
Prepare for Aberdeen’s approved 7% levy, including advance bookings, export readiness and responsibility for collection and filing.
Read guideGlasgow Visitor Levy: Preparation for Accommodation Providers
Prepare booking records, pricing and staff workflows for Glasgow’s approved visitor levy, with sources and a clear distinction from live software support.
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