Visitor levy for Airbnb and short-let hosts

What actually trips people up

• Airbnb payout reports mix the room charge, cleaning fees and service charges. Standard cleaning between visitors counts as part of the accommodation charge and IS levied — meals, parking and optional extras are not.
• Always work from the gross price the guest pays, not your Airbnb payout after commission. Our import warns you if you map a net payout column by mistake.
• Payout dates are not stay dates. We work from check-in and check-out so each stay lands in the right quarter.
• Long stays are capped at the council's maximum chargeable nights, which platform reports don't handle at all.
• Bookings taken before the scheme start date are exempt — we flag them from the booking date automatically.

See it worked through

A guest books your flat for 6 nights at £120/night, plus a £45 standard cleaning fee. Standard cleaning between visitors is part of the accommodation charge, so it goes into the levy base. Airbnb then deducts its commission — but the levy is worked out on the gross price the guest paid, not your payout.

1. Gross price the guest pays

   £720.00 room + £45.00 standard cleaning = £765.00

2. Anything excluded?

   No meals, parking, transport or optional extras on this booking

3. Length of stay

   6 nights

4. Night cap applied

   5 of 6 nights chargeable

5. Chargeable accommodation

   £765 ÷ 6 × 5 = £637.50

6. Levy calculated (not VAT-registered, 5%)

   £31.88

Visitor Levy App works from the actual check-in date, not the payout date, so your stay lands in the correct quarter — and keeps standard cleaning inside the levy base where the rules put it.

Questions we get asked

This page is based on the City of Edinburgh Council's official guidance for accommodation providers — read it here.

Go deeper

Other setups

Figures here are worked examples, not advice. We calculate and record — you file, and the property owner or operator stays legally responsible. See our full terms.