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PortuguêsVisitor levy · Scotland live now, Wales from 2027
Visitor levy software for campsites
The tourist tax has arrived. Switch the levy on, set your rate, and CampSuite™ works it out on every booking, shows it on the invoice and totals it up for your return. You carry on running your site.
The levy is paid by your guests. The paperwork should not land on you.
Where the visitor levy applies right now
Last checked 27 July 2026. Rates and dates come from the councils and governments running each scheme, and they do change, so always confirm with your own local authority before you set your prices.
| Where | What is charged | From | Campsites in scope? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edinburgh | 5% of the accommodation charge, capped at 5 consecutive nights | 24 July 2026 (live) | Yes, including tent and campervan pitches |
| Glasgow | 5% of the accommodation charge | 25 January 2027 | Yes |
| Aberdeen | 7% of the accommodation charge | 1 April 2027 | Yes |
| Stirling | 3% of the accommodation charge, 7 nights | 14 June 2027 | Yes |
| West Dunbartonshire | 5% of the accommodation charge | 1 July 2027 | Yes |
| Rest of Scotland | Each council decides. Several are consulting, including Argyll and Bute and East Lothian | 18 months after a scheme is made | Yes, where a scheme is adopted |
| Wales | 75p per person per night on campsite pitches and shared rooms, £1.30 elsewhere | Register from 1 October 2026, levy from April 2027 at the earliest | Yes, and registration is compulsory even with no levy |
| England | No statutory levy yet. An Overnight Visitor Levy Bill was announced in the May 2026 King's Speech | Not before 2027 | Campsites were in the consultation scope |
| Northern Ireland | No levy and no legislation in progress | Nothing scheduled | No |
Full detail, council by council: the Scottish visitor levy for campsites and the Wales visitor levy and register.
You become a tax collector
The guest pays the levy, but you are the one legally required to charge the right amount, collect it, record it and pay it over. Miss it on a booking and the liability is still yours, not the guest's. So CampSuite™ never misses one.
How to collect it →Every night has to be evidenced
Returns ask for chargeable nights, accommodation charges, guest counts and the reason behind every exemption. A paper diary cannot answer that three months later. Your levy report answers it in seconds.
See reports →Small sites are not excused
Both schemes are written around paid overnight accommodation, not business size. A five pitch CL, a farm field or a couple of glamping pods can be caught just as easily as a 200 bed hotel.
CL and CS sites →Switch it on, set your rate, forget about it
Turn the visitor levy on for your park and tell CampSuite™ what your council charges: a percentage of the accommodation cost, or a flat amount per person per night. Add a night cap if your scheme has one. That is the whole setup, and it takes about two minutes.
From then on the levy is worked out on every booking in the diary, however it arrived.
What CampSuite™ does with the levy
Works it out on every booking
Online, over the phone or at the gate, the levy is calculated on the accommodation charge and added automatically. Night caps are applied for you, and the extras you itemise separately are left out of the sum.
Shows it as its own line
The levy appears as a separate, named charge on the booking, the confirmation email and the invoice, so guests see a statutory charge rather than a mystery increase. No arguments at the gate.
Handles exemptions and refunds
Mark a guest exempt and the reason is recorded against the booking. Cancel or refund a stay and the levy reverses with it, because the levy is never yours to keep.
Totals it up for your return
Run the levy report for any quarter and you get total accommodation charges, total levy collected, chargeable nights and exemptions, ready to enter on the portal and export for your accountant.
Set up for the Scottish percentage schemes and the Welsh per person rates, including the under 18 exemption on campsite pitches. We follow every council scheme as it is confirmed and keep the rates in step.
Everything the levy asks of you, handled
Percentage or per person
Charge 5% of the accommodation cost like Edinburgh, or 75p per person per night like Wales. Both models are built in, so you are ready whichever way your council goes.
Night caps applied automatically
Five consecutive nights in Edinburgh, seven in Stirling, none in Glasgow or Aberdeen. Set the cap once and long stays stop being charged at the right point without anyone counting.
Adults and children counted separately
Where the scheme is per person, under 18s are excluded from the campsite rate automatically, so a family of four is charged for two and the evidence sits on the booking.
Seasonal pitches left out
Seasonal and annual pitches are not sold by the night, so they are not chargeable. Keep them as their own pitch type and they stay out of the calculation and out of your return.
Exemptions with a reason
Mark a stay exempt and record why, from a qualifying disability benefit to a discretionary exemption. If the council queries the return, the answer is on the booking.
A levy report for any period
Total accommodation charges, total levy collected, chargeable nights and exempt stays, for the quarter, the season or any dates you pick. Export it and file it with the return.
You should not have to become a tax expert to run a field
Most of the site owners we talk to did not get into this to do compliance. They got into it because they had land, or a view, or a farm that needed another income. Then came the site licence, the fire risk assessment, GDPR, business rates, and now a levy with a quarterly return attached.
Nobody can make the tax disappear. What we can do is make sure you never have to think about it twice. You tell CampSuite™ your rate once, and after that the levy is added, shown, refunded and totalled without you touching it. At the end of the quarter you run one report and type two numbers into the portal.
No spreadsheets, no counting nights in a paper diary in the middle of February, no wondering whether pitch 7 in August was seasonal or touring.
Replace your paper diary →The visitor levy, explained properly
Scotland
Every confirmed Scottish scheme, the rates, the dates, what is in scope and what the Amendment Act changed.
Scottish visitor levy guide →Wales
The register, the two rates, the under 18 exemption and the timetable to April 2027.
Wales visitor levy guide →Edinburgh
The first live scheme in the UK, and what it means for campsites and campervan pitches in the city.
Edinburgh levy for campsites →Registering in Wales
What the Welsh Revenue Authority asks for, when the window opens, and the penalties for missing it.
The Welsh register →Collecting it
Pricing, invoicing, refunds, deposits, guest conversations and the quarterly return.
How to collect the levy →Exemptions
Seasonal pitches, under 18s, disability benefits, long stays and holiday home owners.
Who is exempt →VAT
Whether VAT applies to the levy, and what it does to your turnover and the registration threshold.
Levy and VAT →The UK picture
The background to the tourist tax, where England and Northern Ireland stand, and what is likely next.
UK visitor levy guide →Visitor levy questions campsite owners actually ask
Does the visitor levy apply to campsites?
Yes. Both the Scottish and the Welsh schemes cover paid overnight accommodation broadly, and both name campsites specifically. Edinburgh's scheme covers all paid accommodation on caravan sites and campsites, including temporary tent and campervan pitches. The Welsh Act sets a separate lower rate of 75p per person per night for campsite pitches and shared rooms. A five pitch CL or CS site is not automatically outside the rules.
How much is the visitor levy for a campsite?
In Scotland it is a percentage of the accommodation charge, set by each council: 5% in Edinburgh from 24 July 2026, 5% in Glasgow from 25 January 2027, 7% in Aberdeen from 1 April 2027 and 3% in Stirling from 14 June 2027. On a £30 pitch, 5% is £1.50 a night. In Wales the rate is 75p per person per night for campsite pitches and shared rooms, and £1.30 per person per night for other accommodation, with April 2027 the earliest possible start.
Who pays the visitor levy, the guest or the site owner?
The guest pays it. You are the one who has to charge it, collect it, record it and pay it over, and you carry the liability if it goes wrong. Forget to add it to a booking and you still owe the money.
Does CampSuite™ handle the visitor levy?
Yes. You switch the levy on for your park and set the rate, either a percentage of the accommodation charge or a flat amount per person per night, with a night cap if your scheme has one. From then on CampSuite™ works the levy out on every booking, whether it came from your website, the phone or the gate, shows it as its own line on the confirmation and the invoice, reverses it on cancellations and refunds, and gives you a levy report for any period with the totals your return asks for.
Is there a visitor levy in England or Northern Ireland?
Not yet. The UK Government consulted on an overnight visitor levy for England between November 2025 and February 2026, and an Overnight Visitor Levy Bill was announced in the King's Speech in May 2026, which would let combined authority mayors and the Mayor of London introduce one. Nothing can be charged until that becomes law. The charges already running in Manchester and Liverpool are Business Improvement District charges agreed between larger hotels, not a tax on campsites. Northern Ireland has no scheme and no legislation in progress.
What records do I need to keep?
For every chargeable stay: the accommodation charge, the nights, the guest numbers where the scheme is per person, the levy charged and the reason for any exemption. Schemes expect you to keep it for years and produce it on request, which is why a booking system beats a notebook the moment a levy lands.
Will the levy put guests off booking?
The evidence from Europe says no, and the amounts involved are small next to fuel and food. What does cost you bookings is a surprise charge at the gate. Put it on your booking page, put it in the confirmation, and show it as its own line on the invoice.
Is CampSuite™ free for small sites?
Yes. CampSuite™ is free for up to 100 pitches, forever, so CL sites, CS sites and most touring parks pay nothing at all. No card needed and no trial that expires. See pricing for larger parks.
This page is general information for campsite owners, not tax or legal advice. Levy schemes are set locally and the detail changes, so check your council's scheme document, the Welsh Revenue Authority guidance or your accountant before you set prices or file a return.
Get your records straight before the levy lands
It takes about 15 minutes to set up. It's free for up to 100 pitches, no card needed.