The Scottish visitor levy for campsites

The short version

The Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024 does not create a national tourist tax. It hands each of Scotland's 32 councils the power to create one for their own area. A council that wants a levy has to consult for at least 12 weeks, publish a scheme, and then wait at least 18 months before the first pound is charged. That long runway is the reason so many owners have heard about the levy for two years without ever having to charge it.

Edinburgh went first. Its scheme went live on 24 July 2026 at 5% of the accommodation charge, capped at five consecutive nights. Glasgow, Aberdeen, Stirling and West Dunbartonshire have all confirmed schemes for 2027. Others are consulting. If your council has not adopted a scheme, you charge nothing, and you will have at least 18 months' notice before that changes.

Which councils charge the visitor levy

Checked on 27 July 2026. Councils publish their own scheme documents, and dates and rates do move, so confirm with your local authority before you change your prices.

Sources: the councils' own visitor levy scheme pages and VisitScotland's industry guidance. We update this table as schemes are confirmed.

Is my site in scope?

Almost certainly, if you take money for a night's stay in a council area with a scheme. The Act covers overnight accommodation broadly, and the accommodation types listed in the guidance include caravan parks and camping sites as well as hotels, B&Bs, guest houses, hostels and self-catering, plus vessels and vehicles that stay permanently in one place.

Edinburgh's scheme leaves no room for doubt. It covers all paid accommodation on caravan sites and campsites, including temporary tent and campervan pitches. Glamping pods, bell tents and shepherd huts sold by the night sit in the same bracket.

What is not caught is a pitch that is not sold by the night. Seasonal pitches and holiday home owners paying an annual site fee fall outside the levy, because there is no nightly accommodation charge for a percentage to attach to. If you run a mixed site with seasonal and touring pitches, that split matters, and your records need to show it.

Size is not a get out. A five pitch Certificated Location in a levy area is in scope the same way a 300 bedroom hotel is. Small sites have been caught by this pattern before with business rates and site licensing, so do not assume the small print rescues you.

How the levy is worked out on a pitch

The Scottish levy is a percentage of the accommodation part of the bill only. Anything you charge separately and itemise, such as meals, firewood, awnings, extra dogs, laundry tokens or an electric hookup sold as a separate line, is left out of the calculation. If you bundle it into the pitch price, it goes into the calculation with everything else.

Two worked examples in Edinburgh, at 5%:

• A three night touring stay at £32 a night. Accommodation charge £96. Levy £4.80. The guest pays £100.80.
• A seven night campervan stay at £28 a night. Edinburgh caps the levy at five consecutive nights, so the levy applies to £140 rather than £196. Levy £7. The guest pays £203.

The cap catches people out. It is per stay, not per booking or per calendar month, and where a council has set no cap, such as Glasgow and Aberdeen, every night of a long stay is chargeable.

The Amendment Act, and why rates may change shape

The Visitor Levy (Amendment) (Scotland) Act was introduced on 6 January 2026, passed on 24 March 2026 and received Royal Assent on 21 May 2026. It gives councils an alternative to the percentage model: a flat rate charge, either per person per night or per room per night, which can be varied by geography, season or accommodation type. It also tidies up how the levy works on bookings made through third party platforms and what information providers must share with councils.

For campsites this is worth watching. A flat per person charge behaves very differently to a percentage on a £25 pitch, and rural councils have argued hard for the flexibility. Any council switching model still has to go through consultation and the notice period first.

Who is exempt

Exemptions sit partly in the Act and partly in each council's scheme, so check your own council's document. Under the Edinburgh scheme, the levy is not charged where the guest:

• has no usual place of residence, which covers people who are homeless, refugees and asylum seekers
• receives a qualifying disability benefit, including Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Disability Assistance or Pension Age Disability Payment

Charities can also apply for a discretionary exemption for a site. Note what is not on that list: there is no general exemption for children in Scotland, unlike Wales, and no exemption for business travellers. Full detail is in our guide to visitor levy exemptions.

What you have to do as a site owner

• Charge it correctly. Collect the levy at booking, at balance payment or on arrival, on top of the accommodation price. You are responsible even where the booking came through an online travel agent, unless that platform has an arrangement with the council to pay directly.
• Show it to the guest. A separate, named line on the confirmation and the invoice avoids the awkward conversation at the gate.
• Keep the records. Every chargeable stay, the accommodation charge, the nights, the levy collected, and the reason for any exemption.
• File and pay quarterly. Under the Edinburgh scheme you submit a quarterly return through the national online visitor levy portal, showing total accommodation charges and total levy collected, and pay at the same time.
• Refund it when you refund the stay. If a booking is cancelled, the levy goes back to the guest even where the rest of your terms are non refundable.

One piece of good news: providers keep 2% of the levy they collect towards administration costs under the Edinburgh scheme. It is not a fortune on a small site, but it recognises that the paperwork lands on you.

And the VAT sting

At the time of writing, the levy carries the same VAT liability as the accommodation it sits on, and it counts towards your taxable turnover. On a site close to the £90,000 VAT registration threshold, collecting a tax on behalf of a council could be what pushes you over it. Professional bodies including ICAS have challenged that treatment, so it may yet move. Read the levy and VAT explained, and talk to your accountant before you set your 2027 prices.