England's tourist tax will not be capped. Neither will the number of nights it applies to.
The government published its response to the visitor levy consultation on Wednesday 10 September. Most coverage has led on the missing rate cap. For anyone running longer stays, the night cap matters more.
"The government does not intend to set a cap on the visitor levy rate, however, this is a finely balanced issue and government will continue to consider the case for doing so."
So it is uncapped for now, and the government has left itself room to revisit that. It is charged as a percentage of the accommodation price rather than a flat fee per night.
Section 5.3.7: the government "does not intend to allow local leaders to place a cap on the number of nights for which the levy may be charged, locally, as this would be operationally and administratively burdensome".
Edinburgh's scheme has been live since 24 July at 5% of the accommodation only portion, net of VAT, capped at 5 consecutive nights. England is not copying that. A 14 night stay would be levied on all 14 nights.
If your average length of stay is above a week, model this at a rate you have not been given yet, over a night count with no ceiling.
Accommodation providers "would be legally responsible for calculating and collecting the levy, and for paying it to the relevant levying authority". Add notifying the levying authority, filing self-assessed returns and keeping records. There is a de minimis threshold, but the response says it is intended to exempt only occasional informal providers.
Scope is "all types of short-term, commercially let accommodation". The House of Commons Library briefing published the same day names self-catering properties and short-term lets specifically.
The honest caveat: none of this is law. The Overnight Visitor Levy Bill was announced in the King's Speech on 13 May 2026 and has still not been introduced. There is no rate, no commencement date and no draft legislation. The government's own marker is local leaders setting out spending plans by March 2028.
An uncapped rate is the headline, but no night cap is the number that hits a long stay business hardest.
What is your average length of stay in England, and what does a 5% levy on every night of it do to your net?
