Tourist tax rate London

London has 32 boroughs plus the City of London, and takes in more overnight visitors than anywhere else in the UK. The hotels and short lets cluster in the centre, which is exactly where a levy would land.

Is London introducing a tourist tax?

Not yet, and no rate is set. What did change is the framework. On 10 September 2026 the government confirmed a discretionary Overnight Visitor Levy for England's strategic authorities: a percentage of the accommodation cost, no national cap. The law is expected this Parliamentary session, and London is in scope, so the Mayor can move once it passes and a public consultation has run.

Sadiq Khan wants it sooner rather than later, and has floated 5% of the room rate. BusinessLDN would rather see a flat £2 to £3 a night. City Hall puts the money at over £350 million a year. London is one of ten Labour mayoral areas that have pledged to cap themselves at 5%, a voluntary pledge now the government has ruled out a national cap. Central London Forward wants at least half of it ringfenced for the 12 boroughs that actually deal with the visitors.

So: no date, no rate, nothing to collect. Our post England's Overnight Visitor Levy is now official has the full story, and this page updates the moment London sets a number.

Trippz: the authority on tourist tax

Tourist tax is set locally and rates change without warning. Trippz tracks every change and keeps the data current, which is why travel platforms and property software, including Airbnb, Booking.com and Expedia, rely on Trippz to calculate tourist tax and register guests in every market they serve.

How Trippz stays current

Trippz checks tax rules jurisdiction by jurisdiction against official municipal and national sources. When a rate or rule changes, the update happens automatically rather than on a periodic review cycle. This is the same monitoring that travel platforms and software vendors depend on to stay accurate everywhere they operate.

One tax engine, every market

Send a location, get the applicable rate, instantly and correctly calculated. Travel platforms and property software embed this calculation directly into their own product, so every booking is taxed correctly without building or maintaining a rate engine in house. It is the same logic behind every rate on this page.

Explore Trippz for Platforms

Frequently asked questions about the use of Trippz

• How can platforms and software vendors use Trippz?

  Trippz provides tourist tax content and a ready made calculation engine through one API. Platforms and software vendors add accurate tax calculation to their product without maintaining a rate database in house. Guest registration and authority connections are available as a separate capability for those who need it.

• How does Trippz keep tourist tax rates current?

  Trippz checks the jurisdictions it covers against official sources and updates rates automatically when a city or country changes them.

  
  

• Which countries and cities does Trippz cover?

  Trippz maintains tourist tax data across a wide range of countries and cities. See the full overview in our tourist tax guides.

• Is Trippz's data and infrastructure secure?

  Yes. Trippz is SOC1 Type 2 and SOC2 Type 2 certified and GDPR compliant, so platforms and software vendors can embed tourist tax calculation without adding security or compliance risk of their own.

• Who uses Trippz for tourist tax?

  Trippz provides tourist tax data and calculation to travel platforms and property software across Europe, including Airbnb, Booking.com and Expedia. The same infrastructure that powers stays booked through the biggest platforms in travel is available to any platform or software vendor through the API.