Get ready for Visitor Levy: quick guide

• You’ll pay Visitor Levy if you take bookings for overnight stays in visitor accommodation in Cardiff.
• Even if you only take bookings for one season or one night.

In Cardiff, you must start accounting for the levy from 28 September 2026.

This applies to:

• new bookings for stays from 1 April 2027
• adding more nights or visitors to existing bookings for stays from 1 April 2027

Check Visitor Levy guidance for visitor accommodation providers for more details.

There are 2 levy rates you’ll pay based on your accommodation type.

75 pence per person per night

For:

• shared rooms in hostels, bunkhouses, bothies, or dormitories
• pitches for tents (including the temporary ones for events and festivals)

You do not need to pay for children under 18 years of age.

£1.30 per person per night

For all other accommodation, such as:

• hotels, bed and breakfasts, and guesthouses
• self-catering lets, such as cottages and homestays (like Airbnb)
• pitches for caravans, motorhomes, or campervans
• temporary accommodation (such as glamping pods for festivals)

This rate applies to visitors of all ages.

Check Visitor Levy guidance for visitor accommodation providers for more details.

You’ll pay:

• Visitor Levy to the Welsh Revenue Authority
• Value Added Tax (VAT) to HMRC

If you are a VAT payer

VAT applies to the total amount visitors pay for their stay. This includes Visitor Levy you decide to pass on to them.

If you are not a VAT payer

VAT will not apply if you do not pay VAT.

You may need to register for VAT if your taxable turnover goes above the VAT threshold.

You can speak to an adviser or HMRC to learn more about VAT.

You must keep records of the number of:

• visitors
• nights

You also need to record the details of stays you do not pay the levy on, such as:

• the number of children under 18 years of age staying in accommodation that pays lower levy rate
• stays provided as temporary housing by a local council

You must keep these records for at least 6 years after submitting your levy return. You may need to change your record keeping system to ensure you are able to save these details.

We will provide more details on record keeping.

The Welsh Revenue Authority is speaking with booking platforms and booking system providers. They may update their systems to help accommodation providers account for Visitor Levy.

Your booking platform or software provider should let you know how they plan to manage the levy.

Contact them if you have not heard from them by 28 September 2026.

To calculate how much levy you must pay per booking:

• take the number of guests on the booking
• multiply it by the number of nights they booked for, then
• multiply it by the levy rate

For example, say you had 4 visitors staying for 7 nights in your accommodation:

1. Work out the number of overnight stays for that booking. You do this by multiplying 4 visitors × 7 nights = 28 overnight stays.
2. Multiply these overnight stays by your levy rate. For example, 28 × £1.30 = £36.40 of Visitor Levy to pay on that booking.

To work the total levy out, add the amounts together from all bookings for your accounting period.

You'll file and pay your levy either yearly or quarterly. This depends on how much you think you’ll need to pay in the first year.

You’ll file and pay:

• yearly (once a year) if you think you’ll owe £1,000 or less
• quarterly (every 3 months) if you think you’ll owe £1,000 or more

You can also choose to file and pay quarterly if you think you’ll owe £1,000 or less.

If you file yearly, you must file and pay the levy by 31 May. For example, you must file and pay by 31 May 2028 for the period of 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2028.

If you file quarterly, you must file and pay the levy in 60 days. For example, you must file and pay by 29 August 2027 for the period of 1 April to 30 June 2027.

Check Visitor Levy guidance for visitor accommodation providers for more details.

You'll need to register your visitor accommodation before you file and pay the levy.

Visitor accommodation registration opens in autumn 2026.

We’ll publish more guidance on Visitor Levy in April 2026.

For more details about Visitor Levy, you can:

• check the guidance on Visitor Levy
• sign up for updates about Visitor Levy and visitor accommodation registration
• contact the Welsh Revenue Authority

You can also ask local councils if you want to:

• know they decided to start Visitor Levy
• learn how they plan to use the levy money