How to file your Edinburgh visitor levy return, step by step

Before you start

You need:

• Your visitorlevy.scot login, with your property already added and verified
• Every booking where the guest checked out during the quarter, from every channel
• The nightly prices for any stay longer than 5 nights

If you haven't worked out your figures yet, start with the 5-night cap, the cleaning fee and which month a stay goes in. My free guide shows how to get all the figures in one go with Claude or ChatGPT.

Step 1: Open the return

Log in at visitorlevy.scot and choose Returns. Your due return is listed with its "Submit by" date. Click Start.

Step 2: Availability

Choose one:

• Full availability: the property was open for bookings for the whole period. Nights that were open but didn't get booked still count as available.
• Part availability: you closed or blocked some dates. You'll be asked for a short reason, such as "Blocked 5 to 12 November for repairs".
• No availability: closed for the whole period. You can still submit a nil return.

Step 3: Revenue from accommodation only

For each month, enter what guests paid for their stay, for every guest who checked out that month. Don't include the levy itself.

• Include the standard cleaning fee.
• Leave out optional extras guests could choose not to buy.
• Don't take off the commission Booking.com or Airbnb charges you.
• If you're VAT registered, enter it net of VAT. If you're not, there's nothing to take off.

Step 4: Stays booked and paid before 1 October 2025

Stays booked and paid (in part or full) before 1 October 2025 are exempt. Enter the revenue from those stays here, by month. For most hosts this is now 0.

Step 5: Stays beyond 5 nights

The levy only applies to the first 5 nights in a row. For each month, enter the revenue from the 6th night onwards of every longer stay, using the actual price of those nights. The cleaning fee isn't part of this figure. How to work it out, with an example.

Step 6: Check the calculation, then save

The table at the bottom shows your liable revenue for each month and the total. Check it against your own figures.

Click "Save for later" now. The portal signs you out after a few minutes of inactivity, and anything not saved is lost. I learned that the hard way.

Step 7: Declare, check and submit

1. Tick "I confirm the details entered in this return are correct and accurate" and click Next.
2. Page 2 shows your total liable revenue, the levy at 5%, the 2% retention and the total amount due.
3. Tick "I agree to pay the total amount calculated by this return" and click Submit.
4. Pay by the payment date shown on the portal.

Deadlines

Keep your records

The council can ask you to show how you worked out your figures, and you must keep records for at least 5 years. Save your booking downloads, your workings and the portal's confirmation together, one folder per quarter.

Sources: City of Edinburgh Council, Visitor Levy Scheme guidance (Version 2, August 2026); the return form on visitorlevy.scot, as seen when filing in October 2026. This is general help with the process, not tax advice.