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How does the 5 night cap work for the Edinburgh visitor levy?
Only the first 5 nights in a row of each booking are charged the 5% Edinburgh visitor levy. Nights 6 onwards in the same booking are free of the levy, whoever is staying. The cap works per booking, not per guest or per room, and you use the real price of those first 5 nights, not an average.
Is the 5 night cap per person or per booking?
Per booking. The guide's example is a company that books one room at a B&B for 14 nights, used by two employees in turn: only the first 5 nights of the 14 night booking are charged, because there was only one booking.
The same goes for a family or a group in one booking: there is one set of 5 nights for the whole booking, not 5 nights each. The law calls the booking the "chargeable transaction", and Edinburgh's scheme caps the levy at 5 consecutive nights of each one.
What if a guest books two separate stays?
Each booking counts on its own. The council's example is a guest who stays 4 nights, checks out, and comes back to the same hotel room for 2 more nights: the levy is due on all 6 nights, because they never stayed more than 5 nights in a row. Someone who comes for 5 nights several times a year pays on every night too.
| The council's examples | Nights charged |
|---|---|
| One booking, 7 nights in a hostel | First 5 only |
| 4 nights, checks out, later books the same room for 2 more nights | All 6 |
| A company books one room for 14 nights, two staff use it in turn | First 5 of the 14 |
| A worker books 5 nights, several separate trips a year | Every night |
The guide does not say what happens when a guest extends a stay without checking out. If that happens to you, email the council at visitorlevy@edinburgh.gov.uk and keep their answer with your records.
What if the first 5 nights cost more or less than the rest?
Use the actual price of the first 5 nights, not an average across the stay. The council's example: 10 nights where the first 5 cost £500 and the next 5 cost £1,000. The levy is 5% of £500, which is £25.
Does the cap apply to the cleaning fee? Only if cleaning is charged per night. Per-night charges count for the first 5 nights only. A one-off fee charged whatever the length of stay is likely to count in full. The council says you must be able to show how you worked it out if asked, so keep a note of nightly prices for long stays.
Check one long Edinburgh booking
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A worked example: a one-bed flat in the Old Town
A host lets a one-bed flat in the Old Town on Airbnb. They are not VAT registered. A couple books 8 nights from 20 to 28 November 2026 at £130 a night, plus a £60 one-off cleaning fee.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| First 5 nights at £130 | £650.00 |
| One-off cleaning fee (counts in full) | £60.00 |
| Amount the levy is charged on | £710.00 |
| Levy at 5% | £35.50 |
| Host keeps 2% of the levy | £0.71 |
| Host pays the council | £34.79 |
| Nights 6 to 8 (no levy, but goes on the return) | £390.00 |
Without the cap, the levy on the full £1,100 would have been £55.00, so getting this right saves the guest or the host £19.50 on one booking. The guest checks out on 28 November, so the stay goes in the October to December 2026 return: submit by 30 January 2027, pay by 13 February 2027.
What does the return ask about long stays?
Each quarterly return on visitorlevy.scot asks, month by month, for the total paid for accommodation only and, separately, the revenue from nights beyond 5: the room-only money from the 6th night onwards for stays of 6 nights or more. In the example above that is £390. If the council's enforcement team asks, you may also need the number of bookings longer than 5 nights and the number of nights past the 5th, so keep those counts too.
What to do, step by step
- Download your bookings for the quarter from Airbnb, Booking.com or your own records.
- Mark every booking of 6 nights or more.
- For each one, add up the real price of the first 5 nights, plus any one-off fees, take out VAT if you are registered, and take 5%.
- Add up the room-only money for nights 6 onwards, by month, for the "beyond 5 nights" box.
- File on visitorlevy.scot, keep your 2%, pay the rest by the payment date, and keep your records for 5 years.
Do Glasgow and Wales have a night cap?
- Glasgow: no cap. The 5% levy, for stays from 25 January 2027, applies to the whole stay.
- Other Scottish councils: each sets its own rule. Stirling, for example, charges the full stay and lets guests claim back nights after the 7th.
- Wales: a flat amount per person per night (Cardiff £1.30 from 1 April 2027), and one booking of more than 31 nights pays nothing.
Work out your tourist tax free
Try any booking in the full calculator, or drop in your Airbnb file to see every quarter's figures.
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Upload your Airbnb or Booking.com file and get the monthly figures for every return, including the "beyond 5 nights" box, ready to copy into visitorlevy.scot, plus a reminder before each deadline. £9 a month, cancel any time, and the £29 Tourist Tax Pack is free inside.
Start Tourist Tax KeeperRelated
- Edinburgh visitor levy calculator: how much do I owe?
- Is the cleaning fee included in the Edinburgh visitor levy?
- How do I fill in the Edinburgh visitor levy return?
General information, not tax or legal advice. Sources: City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh Visitor Levy Scheme: information for accommodation providers (version 2.1, September 2026), "5-night cap" and return sections; City of Edinburgh Council, visitor levy information for businesses; Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024, sections 3 and 7; VisitScotland, visitor levy guidance; Welsh Government, visitor levy for accommodation providers. Last checked 7 October 2026. Nero Engine Group Ltd, company 16521432, 66 Paul Street, London EC2A 4NA. Privacy · Terms