How much is the visitor levy in Wales?

£1.30 per person per night, or 75p per person per night for tent pitches and hostel dormitory or shared-room bedspaces. Councils decide whether to charge it. Cardiff charges it on stays from 1 April 2027.

What is the penalty for not registering?

£100 per premises, rising to up to £1,400.

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Do I need to register my holiday let in Wales?

Q: Do I need to register my holiday let in Wales?

Yes, if you take bookings for overnight stays of 31 nights or less in Wales. Every visitor accommodation provider must register with the Welsh Revenue Authority by 31 March 2027, even if their council does not charge the visitor levy. Registration is free.

Almost certainly, yes. From 2027 everyone in Wales who takes paid bookings for short stays — holiday cottages, Airbnb rooms, B&Bs, hotels, campsites and glamping — must be on a new register run by the Welsh Revenue Authority. Where councils choose to charge it, a visitor levy goes on top. Here’s what to do and when.

Based on gov.wales and Welsh Revenue Authority guidance, last checked 28 October 2026 · Wales only · General information, not tax advice

31 Mar 2027register every premises with the WRA

£1.30per person per night (75p for pitches and dorm beds)

1 Apr 2027Cardiff starts charging the levy

The short version

If you take bookings for stays of 31 nights or less in Wales, register with the WRA by 31 March 2027 — or before you first offer stays, if that’s later. It’s free.
You must register even if your council doesn’t charge the levy. Not registering can cost £100 per premises, rising to £1,400.
Report changes to your registration within 30 days.
Where a council charges the levy it’s £1.30 per person per night, or 75p for tent pitches and hostel dorm or shared-room beds.
Cardiff charges it on stays from 1 April 2027, including bookings made from 28 September 2026 — so bookings you’re taking now may already be caught.
Returns are quarterly (due 60 days after each quarter), or annual if your levy is £1,000 or less. Nil returns are required.

Who must register

Anyone who takes bookings for overnight stays of 31 nights or less in Wales, in return for payment. That includes:

holiday cottages, flats and other self-catering lets, including Airbnb and similar platforms;
spare rooms and homestays;
B&Bs, guesthouses, hotels and hostels;
campsites, caravan pitches, static caravans and glamping.

The register covers every council area in Wales, whether or not the council charges the visitor levy. A Pembrokeshire campsite with no levy still needs to register.

How to register and keep it up to date

Register online with the Welsh Revenue Authority by 31 March 2027. If you start offering stays after that date, register before you first offer them.
List each premises you let: its address, type of accommodation and contact details.
When something changes — new premises, a change of contact details, you stop letting — update the register within 30 days.
The penalty for not registering is £100 per premises, rising to up to £1,400.

The visitor levy rates

Accommodation	Rate per person per night	Under-18s
Holiday lets, rooms, B&Bs, hotels, glamping, caravans	£1.30	Counted every night
Tent pitches, hostel dorm or shared-room beds	75p	Not counted on the first night

A family of two adults and two children staying four nights in a Cardiff holiday flat: 4 people × 4 nights × £1.30 = £20.80.

Which councils charge it

Each of the 22 councils decides whether to charge the levy, and can only start on 1 April or 1 October. When we checked, Cardiff had confirmed it will charge it on stays from 1 April 2027. Other councils may follow — check your council’s announcements and gov.wales.

Advance bookings and the 31-night rule

Cardiff’s levy applies to bookings made from 28 September 2026 for stays from 1 April 2027. Bookings made before that date are outside it.
For a stay that starts before the levy and ends after it, only the nights from the start date count.
Stays where everyone is entitled to stay more than 31 nights aren’t overnight stays for the levy.
The levy becomes due when the stay ends, so each booking belongs to the quarter of its check-out date. Cancelled bookings have no levy.

Returns and paying the levy

Quarterly returns are due 60 days after each quarter: around 29 August, 29 November, 29 February (or 1 March) and 30 May.
You can file once a year instead, by 31 May, if your expected levy is £1,000 or less and last year’s was too.
You must file a nil return for a period even if no levy is due.
You file and pay through the Welsh Revenue Authority. Keep booking records to show how you worked it out.

Charging guests, platforms and VAT

You can pass the levy on to guests, but the total price you show must include it.
Booking platforms may collect the levy for you, but you’re still responsible for registering and for your returns.
If you’re VAT-registered, VAT is due on the levy you charge.

Your checklist

List every premises you let in Wales, with its council and type.
Register them all with the WRA before 31 March 2027, and note your registration number.
If any are in Cardiff, check bookings made from 28 September 2026 for stays from 1 April 2027 and make sure your prices include the levy.
Decide whether you’ll file quarterly or annually.
Log each booking: dates, adults and under-18s, and the levy charged.
Diary your return dates, and keep a log of changes to report within 30 days.

Free tool: Work out the Cardiff levy on a booking with our free visitor levy calculator.

Wales Visitor Levy and Register Workbook

Wales Visitor Levy & Register Workbook

Your premises and register status, a booking log that applies the council’s start date, booking cut-off, the 31-night rule and both rates, quarterly or annual returns with due dates, and a 30-day changes log. All 22 Welsh councils. Excel and Google Sheets.

Wales workbook on Etsy

Also letting in Scotland? See Scotland’s visitor levy: a guide for hosts.

Official sources

General information for accommodation providers in Wales, not tax advice. Last checked 28 October 2026.