Edinburgh will charge a 5% visitor levy on paid overnight accommodation for stays beginning on or after 24 July 2026, per the City of Edinburgh Council — the first tourist tax in Scotland under the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024. The charge applies only to bookings made on or after 1 October 2025, and it is capped at five nights per stay. Summer travelers booking now should add roughly 5% to any Edinburgh hotel, B&B or holiday-let quote.
Daily News Voyage publishes information, not tax advice; the levy is the council's charge, and the details below are from the council's own guidance as of March 2026.
Who pays the levy?
Anyone staying in paid overnight accommodation in the city — hotels, guesthouses, B&Bs, hostels, holiday rentals and campsites are all in scope. The 5% is calculated on the accommodation cost before extras like meals or parking. The five-night cap means a two-week stay pays the levy on five nights only.
What about bookings made before October 2025?
Exempt. The council's transitional rule is based on when you booked: reservations taken before 1 October 2025 for stays after 24 July 2026 do not attract the levy. If you booked a Festival-period apartment in 2024 or early 2025, you should not see the charge on your bill — worth checking the confirmation.
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How much will it actually cost me?
On a £180-a-night hotel room, 5% is £9 a night, so a three-night weekend adds £27 before VAT quirks. The council projects the levy will raise up to £50 million a year, earmarked for city services, housing and culture under the Act's rules. There is no per-person element; it scales with what you pay for the room.
Is this coming to the rest of Scotland — and the UK?
The Act lets any Scottish council adopt a levy, and Glasgow and Aberdeen have been studying schemes, per BBC reporting. Elsewhere in the UK there is no equivalent power yet, though Wales has passed its own visitor-levy legislation with a planned 2027 start. Edinburgh is the template everyone else will copy or reject.
The practical takeaway
If Edinburgh is on your summer 2026 list, the cheapest move is a booking that predates the levy or a stay that ends before 24 July. Otherwise, budget the extra 5% and treat it like VAT — unavoidable, capped, and funding the city you are walking around in.