Edinburgh's 5% stay levy and Barcelona's doubled tax: who pays what
Edinburgh's 5% levy applies to overnight stays from 24 July 2026, and Barcelona's tourist tax doubled on 1 April. The two systems differ in how each is calculated and collected.
Two European cities began charging overnight visitors more in 2026. Edinburgh introduced a 5% levy on paid accommodation from 24 July, and Barcelona's tourist tax doubled from 1 April. Both charges attach to stays rather than visits, so they reach people who sleep in the city.
The two systems are built differently. Edinburgh's levy is a percentage of the accommodation cost, collected by the provider and run by the City of Edinburgh Council. Barcelona's is a per-person, per-night amount that varies by accommodation type. The Catalan parliament sets it, and the city council controls a surcharge on top. The sections below set out how each works and who pays.
How Edinburgh's 5% levy is calculated
Edinburgh's levy is 5% of the cost of overnight accommodation. It is charged for a maximum of five consecutive nights and applies at the same rate across the whole City of Edinburgh council area, all year round. The levy has no end date unless the council ends or amends it.
In practice, a stay longer than five consecutive nights is charged for no more than five. The levy only attaches to a night in paid accommodation. A visit that does not include an overnight stay carries no charge, and because the rate is a share of the accommodation cost, the amount a guest pays moves with the room price.
Which Edinburgh stays are covered, and the booking-date rule
The levy starts on 24 July 2026, but it applies only to bookings made on or after 1 October 2025. A stay on or after 24 July 2026 that was booked and paid, in full or in part, before 1 October 2025 is not subject to the levy. The council says providers must apply the levy to advance bookings made from that date.
Covered accommodation includes hotels, hostels, guest houses, bed and breakfasts, self-catering and short-term lets, paid campsite and caravan pitches, and vehicles or vessels permanently or predominantly situated in one place. The list also covers any other place offered for residential use that is not the visitor's only or usual home. The levy applies even to providers below the VAT threshold.
Some guests are exempt. These include people without an only or usual residence, such as those who are homeless, refugees, asylum seekers or living in unfit or unsafe homes. As at the time of agreeing the scheme, people who receive Disability Living Allowance, Disability Assistance, Attendance Allowance, Pension Age Disability Benefit or Personal Independence Payment are also exempt. Certain accommodation providers may apply for a discretionary exemption if the property is occupied by a charity or trustee of a charity and its overnight stays are wholly or mainly for charitable purposes.
Exempt guests pay the provider and then claim the money back from the council. The claim needs evidence such as a booking confirmation or invoice showing the guest's name, proof of payment and, where relevant, a benefit award letter. The council assesses the evidence and, if the applicant is found eligible, pays by bank transfer within five working days. Claims are made online, and other arrangements exist for people without internet access. Stays arranged and paid directly through the council do not need a claim.
What providers must file in Edinburgh
Accommodation providers are liable for the levy, not the guest. They must file quarterly returns on a national online portal, reporting total accommodation charges and total levy collected, and pay the levy at the same time they file. Providers that do not charge for overnight accommodation, or that fully cater for exempt guests, are not liable.
Providers receive 2% of the funds they remit to offset administration costs. They must keep accurate records of all levy-liable transactions. The council may inspect them, and non-compliance can bring penalties.
The council estimates that the levy could raise up to £50 million a year once the scheme is established. Under the council's plan, after administration costs, a fixed £5m a year goes to housing and tourism mitigation, and £2m over three years goes to participatory budgeting. The remainder is split 55% to City Operations and Infrastructure, 35% to Culture, Heritage and Events, and 10% to Destination and Visitor Management.
Councillors agreed the scheme in January 2025, and its final proposals were updated to give providers and booking agencies more time to prepare their systems. Significant future changes need an 18-month implementation period, and the scheme will be reviewed every three years. Decisions can be appealed through the council's Visitor Levy appeal process, which aims to process appeals within 28 calendar days.
Barcelona's tax doubles from 1 April 2026
The Catalan parliament approved doubling the tourist tax, with effect from 1 April 2026. Reports dated 25 February 2026 describe the parliamentary approval. The increase applies first in Barcelona. Elsewhere in Catalonia it rises in steps, with a maximum of €4.50 per night from April 2026 to March 2027 and €6 per night from April 2027.
The regional tax and the city surcharge are separate, and visitors pay both. Barcelona City Council sets the surcharge on top of the regional tax. The law allows the city to raise its maximum from €4 to €8, and the council has approved a €1 yearly increase until the surcharge reaches €8 in 2029. Idealista describes the surcharge differently, as replacing an earlier €4.50 ceiling that was to rise to €6 after March 2027.
Revenue is divided between two uses. According to Catalan News, one quarter goes to housing policies and 75% goes to the Tourism Promotion Fund. Idealista adds that 50% of the revenue generated in each municipality is assigned back to that municipality, with the rest going to Generalitat tourism bodies.
In the parliament, the Socialist Party, Esquerra Republicana and the Comuns voted in favour, the CUP abstained, and Junts, PP, Vox and Aliança voted against.
“The levy only attaches to a night in paid accommodation.”
Barcelona per-night amounts by accommodation type
Catalan News gives per-person, per-night totals from 1 April 2026. Five-star hotels rise from €7.50 to €12, four-star hotels from €5.70 to €8.40, and tourist accommodation from €6.25 to €9.50. Other establishments are listed at €7 and hostels at €6. Cruise passengers are listed at €11 for a stay under 12 hours and €9 for a stay over 12 hours.
Idealista gives regional base rates from April 2026 of €7 for luxury hotels, €3.40 for four-star hotels and €4.50 for tourist apartments, with a city surcharge of up to €8 per person per night on top. Outside Barcelona, it lists €4.50 for five-star stays and €1.80 for four-star stays, rising to €6 and €2.40 from April 2027.
RTÉ gives higher maximums: up to €15 per night for five-star hotels, €11.40 for four-star hotels and €12.50 for holiday rentals. It puts cruise passengers at about €6, unchanged, and says convention attendees are not exempt.
Catalan News reports that visitors to luxury hotels will pay €15 in the city within three years, and RTÉ gives up to €15 a night for five-star hotels.
What the rules mean for travellers booking now
In Edinburgh, the booking date matters as much as the stay date. A guest who booked and paid before 1 October 2025 falls outside the levy even when the night itself is after 24 July 2026. Exempt guests should keep booking confirmations and proof of payment so they can claim the levy back. The evidence list asks for an invoice or booking confirmation showing the guest's name.
In Barcelona, the charge is set per person, so the total for a group rises with the number of guests and the number of nights. The amount also depends on the type of accommodation. Under the council's schedule, the city surcharge is set to rise by €1 a year until 2029. Regional rates elsewhere in Catalonia step up again from April 2027.
RTÉ reports that the local tourism board ranks Barcelona among the top four cities in the world for conventions, and that the city has about 15.8 million visitors a year. For business travellers, RTÉ's note that convention attendees are not exempt applies directly.
