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Compiled: 3 November 2026 · Rates and dates as published by the councils and visitorlevy.scot · For: B&B, guesthouse and holiday-let owners in Scotland

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Edinburgh's first levy payment is due on 13 November 2026. Glasgow, Aberdeen, Stirling and West Dunbartonshire follow in 2027, and in some of those areas the bookings you take today are already caught. Here is what to charge, when to pay, and how to keep your sanity (and your guests) intact.

A traditional Edinburgh guesthouse with the Castle looking on. It has seen worse taxes.

There are two certainties in life, as the saying goes, and Scotland has kindly added a third: the visitor levy. If you run a B&B, guesthouse or holiday let north of the border, it has stopped being a "we'll cross that bridge when we come to it" item. In Edinburgh, the bridge has been crossed, the first return has been filed, and the first payment is due on 13 November 2026.

Four more council areas start charging in 2027. And here is the bit that catches people out: in Glasgow and Aberdeen, bookings taken now for stays after the start date already owe the levy. So if you have filed this under "next year's problem", it may be worth unfiling it.

This guide covers the rates, the dates, a worked example, and the steps to put in place before your council goes live. No legalese, no scaremongering, and only a modest amount of grumbling about paperwork.

What is the visitor levy, and who has to collect it?

The visitor levy is a percentage charge on paid overnight stays. The guest pays it, you collect it, and you pass it to the local council, which spends it on things like local services, events and keeping the place looking nice for the next lot of visitors.

The key word there is you. If you take paid bookings for a property in a levy area, you are responsible for collecting and paying it, whether the guest booked direct, through Airbnb, or through Booking.com. The platforms do not take this off your plate. They will, however, happily take their commission. Some things never change.

It covers most paid accommodation: hotels, B&Bs, guesthouses, self-catering, hostels, and even static caravans and boats that mostly stay put. Returns and payments are made quarterly in arrears through the national service at visitorlevy.scot.

Edinburgh: the scheme that is already running

Edinburgh went first, as capital cities tend to. The levy has applied to stays from 24 July 2026, and the rules are:

• Rate: 5% of the accommodation cost, calculated before VAT.
• Cap: charged on the first 5 consecutive nights only. Stay a week and nights six and seven are levy-free.
• Extras are out: no levy on parking, meals, drinks or transport.
• Old bookings: stays booked and paid for, in part or in full, before 1 October 2025 are exempt. A booking made before that date with no payment is not exempt.
• Your cut: you may keep 2% of the levy you collect to cover your admin costs.
• Records: keep them for 5 years.

The first return covered stays from 24 July to 30 September 2026. Filing was open throughout October, and the money for that first period is due by 13 November 2026. If you have filed but not yet paid, this is your polite British nudge. If you have done neither, this is your slightly less polite one.