Highland Visitor Levy Consultation 2026: Proposed £5 and £2 Rates Explained

Highland Council has approved a draft tiered fixed-amount visitor levy scheme for a new 12-week statutory consultation. The proposed levy is not approved: no Highland rate or start date has been finalised, and the council must consider consultation responses before deciding whether to adopt a scheme.

The current proposal is £5 per room or area per night for hotels, guest houses, B&Bs, rooms in houses, short-term lets and similar accommodation, or £2 per room or area per night for hostels, campsites and caravan parks. If adopted, it would apply across the Highland Council area for nine months of the year, excluding December, January and February.

What did Highland Council decide on 25 August 2026?

At its special meeting on 25 August 2026, Highland Council agreed to proceed with a statutory public consultation on a tiered fixed-amount visitor levy proposal. The consultation is expected to launch in early September and run for 12 weeks.

The council has approved the draft scheme for consultation, not the final introduction of a levy. The proposal can still change after residents, businesses and communities respond, and councillors must make a later decision on whether to adopt it.

What rates are being proposed?

The draft model is based on a fixed amount per room or area per night rather than a percentage of the accommodation charge:

• £5 per room or area per night for hotels, guest houses, B&Bs, rooms in houses, short-term lets and similar accommodation.
• £2 per room or area per night for hostels, campsites and caravan parks.
• The proposed area is the whole Highland Council area.
• The proposed charging season is nine months, excluding December, January and February.

These are consultation proposals. Highland hosts should not add a £5 or £2 charge to guest bookings yet, and LevyTrack should not treat either amount as an approved calculation rule.

How much provider retention is proposed?

The draft proposal includes 5% provider retention from levy income collected. This is intended to contribute towards accommodation providers' collection and administration costs. It is part of the draft scheme and could be refined during consultation or before a final decision.

When could Highland make a final decision?

The council meeting papers say a further report should come to Full Council on 10 December 2026 after the 12-week consultation. That report is expected to set out the consultation outcome, a finalised proposed scheme, implementation and governance arrangements, and a recommendation on whether Highland should adopt a visitor levy.

If the council decides to proceed, the statutory framework requires an 18-month implementation period before the scheme can begin. That means the December decision would not itself be a levy start date.

Is Highland's visitor levy already approved?

No. Highland has approved the draft scheme for consultation. The rate, exemptions, administration, final geographic detail and start date remain subject to consultation and a later council decision.

This distinction matters for operators. A consultation proposal is useful for planning, but it is not permission to charge guests and should not be presented as a confirmed tax.

What should Highland accommodation providers do now?

Hosts should use the consultation period to prepare their records and understand how a fixed-rate scheme could affect their operation:

• Follow the Highland Council consultation announcement and respond through the official consultation when it opens.
• Keep accommodation charges, booking details and non-accommodation extras separate in your booking records.
• Check whether your booking or property-management system can support a council-specific fixed amount, seasonal operation and provider retention.
• Do not apply a Highland levy to guest bookings until the council publishes an adopted scheme and implementation details.
• Use LevyTrack's Scottish visitor levy guide hub for approved council rules and the free visitor levy calculator for current scheme calculations. Highland's proposed rates are not yet calculator rules.

How does Highland compare with other councils?

Highland is now preparing for a formal consultation, while Edinburgh's levy is already operational and Glasgow, Aberdeen, Stirling and West Dunbartonshire have approved schemes with future implementation dates. Argyll and Bute, East Lothian and Perth and Kinross are also consulting on proposals, but none of those consultations is the same as an adopted scheme.

For a current council-by-council view, see which Scottish councils are moving ahead with visitor levy schemes.

The practical takeaway

Highland's visitor levy has moved into a new statutory consultation phase, but it is still a proposal. The headline options are £5 or £2 per room or area per night, a nine-month season excluding December to February, and 5% provider retention. The consultation is expected to run for 12 weeks from early September, followed by final consideration at Full Council in December 2026 and, if adopted, an 18-month implementation period.