Highland's proposed visitor levy
The Highlands's visitor levy works per room, not per guest: £2 to £5 a night, depending on the type of stay.
Nobody is charging it yet. What follows is the law as passed and the plans so far.
Charged per room, not per person
The Highland Council is consulting on a tiered fixed-amount visitor levy across the whole council area, which includes Inverness, Loch Ness, Skye, Fort William and the North Coast 500. Its modelled figures are £5 per room per night in hotels, B&Bs, guest houses, inns, short-term lets, pods and cabins, and £2 per night on campsites and in hostels.
The levy would apply for nine months of the year, with no charge in December, January and February. The public consultation runs from 7 September to 30 November 2026, and a report goes to the full council in December 2026. If the council agrees a scheme, an 18-month implementation period follows, so it could not start before mid-2028.
This replaces an earlier plan, consulted on in 2024 and 2025, for a percentage of the room price. A 2026 change to the Scottish law let councils charge a fixed amount instead.
Other Scottish councils charge different rates from different dates: the tourist tax in Scotland, council by council.
Rates per room
It's the same whether one person or four share the room.
| Where you stay | Tax |
|---|---|
| Hotel, B&B, guest house, inn, short-term let, pod or cabin, March to November | £5 per room per night The council's indicative figure; nothing is charged in December, January and February. |
| Campsite pitch or hostel, March to November | £2 per room per night The council's indicative figure; nothing is charged in December, January and February. |
An example stay
Hotel, B&B, guest house, inn, short-term let, pod or cabin, March to November
- £5 per room per night1 room × 3 nights × £5
- £15
Tax on this stay£15
Who doesn’t pay
- People with no only or usual home (including people who are homeless, refugees and asylum seekers), and Gypsy/Traveller communities on dedicated sites.
- People exempt under section 14(1) of the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act, such as some disabled visitors and carers, who pay and then claim a refund from the council.
- Highland residents would not be exempt, under the draft scheme.
Who collects it
Under the draft scheme, accommodation providers would charge it and pay The Highland Council, keeping 5% to cover the cost of collecting it.
What’s changing
- The Highland Council decides on the scheme in December 2026, after the consultation closes on 30 November.
Not yet confirmed
Not everything is published officially yet, and these points we could not confirm.
- The rates are indicative and may change after the consultation; the start date depends on the December 2026 decision.
Your trip in the calculator
Put in your own trip. Hosts round and apply discounts in their own way, so treat the result as a close estimate.
Planning a trip to the Highlands
Check whether a listing includes the tax or collects it on arrival. The price breakdown on the booking page tells you.
Sources
We last checked these on 4 November 2026. Rates often change at the start of a year or a season, so check the official source before you pay or file a return.
- The Highland Council: proposal for a visitor levy in Highland (report HC/24/26, 25 August 2026) official
- The Highland Council: consultation on a tiered fixed amount scheme (2026) official