#2026/18Scotland Visitor Levy Amendment Act 2026
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This law changes how Scottish local authorities can design and charge visitor levies on overnight stays. Councils will be able to choose between a percentage-based levy and a fixed amount per night, with the fixed amount linked to the number of rooms or areas used under the booking. The changes matter for hotels, short-term lets, other accommodation providers, booking platforms, and visitors. Local authorities introducing or changing a visitor levy will need to decide the charging model, set the amount or rate, and manage related return and administration rules under the updated framework.
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Key Changes
- Allows Scottish local authorities to choose whether a visitor levy is charged as a percentage rate or as a fixed amount.
- Creates rules for fixed nightly charges based on the number of rooms or areas covered by a booking.
- Allows different fixed amounts for different purposes, areas, or categories of overnight accommodation, subject to possible maximums set by Scottish Ministers.
Obligations
What this law requires
When introducing a visitor levy scheme or modifying a scheme to change the charging basis, the local authority must determine whether the levy for each chargeable transaction will be charged as a percentage rate set under section 6 or as a fixed amount set under section 6A.
When introducing or modifying a visitor levy scheme that charges a fixed amount, the local authority must set the levy amount to be charged for each night covered by the chargeable transaction.
For a fixed-amount visitor levy, the local authority must structure the amount so that it is multiplied by the number of rooms or areas in which persons have a right to reside under the transaction for that night.
When calculating a fixed-amount visitor levy, rooms or areas must be disregarded if no part of the amount paid under the transaction relates to that room or area.