In more detail
The headline is simple: up to four times the normal bill from January 2027. The detail is where owners get caught out, so here it is in plain words, with what to check and what to do next.
01The 300% council tax premium in Edinburgh: what it does to a bill
A premium is added on top of the standard council tax for your band. It's easiest to think of it as a multiple of the normal bill.
| Premium | What you pay | When in Edinburgh |
|---|
| None | 1 times the standard charge | A main home, or a home not caught by the premium |
| 100% | 2 times the standard charge | Second homes and long-term empty homes now |
| 300% | 4 times the standard charge | Second homes and long-term empty homes from 1 January 2027 |
So if your band's standard charge is a figure you already know from this year's bill, the new bill for a second home is that figure times four, not times two. Your band doesn't change. Only the multiple does.
Why now? Until 1 April 2026, a Scottish council's premium on second and empty homes was capped at 100%, so at most double the bill. From that date the Scottish Government set 100% as a national default and let councils choose a higher or lower rate. That's what allowed the City of Edinburgh Council to vote on 27 August 2026 for a 300% premium from 1 January 2027.
The council says owners affected should expect a revised bill in December 2026. So this isn't something to discover in the spring. When the revised bill arrives, read it line by line, and if you pay by instalments, check the new amounts against your budget.
If your home is on business rates as a self-catering let, none of this applies to it. That's the subject of the 140/70 rule for council tax or business rates, and we come back to it below.
02What counts as a second home for Edinburgh council tax
The council's definition of a second home has three parts. A home is a second home if it is:
- furnished,
- lived in for at least 25 days in a 12-month period, and
- not anyone's sole or main residence.
That covers more homes than people expect. A flat you keep for weekends in town. A family flat a grown-up child uses now and then. A furnished home between tenants. A home you short-let occasionally, but not often enough to move onto business rates.
Long-term empty is a different category
An empty home is treated differently from a second home. In Edinburgh, a home becomes long-term empty once it has been vacant for 12 months, or 24 months if it's actively marketed for sale or let. Before that point, some empty homes have exemptions: the council says an empty, unfurnished home can be exempt for up to six months, and a home undergoing structural work or major repairs for up to twelve. Once those run out and the 12-month mark passes, the premium can apply.
Where a main home sits
If it's where you live, it isn't a second home, even if you let it while you're away. Letting your main home for a few weeks, for the Fringe or a work trip, normally leaves your council tax as it is. Our pages on the home letting licence and letting while you're away for work cover that situation.
If you aren't sure how your home is classed today, your current bill tells you. If it shows a second-home or empty-home premium, it's in scope for January.
03Short lets and business rates: the 140/70 test in practice
A self-catering short let in Scotland pays non-domestic (business) rates instead of council tax if, in the year, it was available to let for at least 140 days and actually let for at least 70. The assessor for Edinburgh and East Lothian is the Lothian Valuation Joint Board. It can ask for evidence.
Homes on business rates don't pay council tax, so the second-home premium doesn't reach them. That's why the 140/70 test has suddenly become the most important number for many second-home owners.
Where owners trip up
- Available isn't the same as listed. Blocking weeks for family, or for repairs, eats into your 140.
- Let means let. Seventy nights actually booked by guests, not nights you hoped to fill.
- One quiet year matters. If a home falls short, it can move back to council tax, and a second home then pays the premium.
- Records go missing. If you've changed platforms or managers, keep the old booking history.
The evidence to keep
Booking records showing nights let, calendar history showing when the home was open, your licence, and your owner statements. For homes we manage, these come from our system and your monthly statements.
A word of caution. Business rates aren't the right answer just because the premium is high. A short let needs a licence, and in Edinburgh a home that isn't your main home usually needs planning permission for secondary letting too. Read secondary letting and planning in Edinburgh and licence costs before deciding a short let is the way round the premium.
04Inherited and empty homes: the timeline that matters
Families with an inherited flat are often the most surprised by the premium, partly because the first months after a death are a blur, and the council tax letters are easy to put aside.
There is relief after a death. Where the owner lived in the home and confirmation hasn't yet been granted, the council can give a full discount, and it reviews that after six months. The council and our guide for families who have inherited a flat explain the stages. What matters for the premium is that the exemptions do end. After that, a furnished home that nobody lives in can be treated as a second home, and an empty one can become long-term empty after 12 months.
A sensible order of things
- Tell the council about the death and who is dealing with the estate.
- Note the dates. When did someone last live there? When was confirmation granted? Write them down; you'll need them.
- Decide whether to keep the furniture. A furnished home and an empty unfurnished one are treated differently.
- Choose a direction before the 12-month mark. Sell, let long term, short-let or move in. Each changes the council tax picture.
- If you're selling or letting it, keep the evidence. In Edinburgh, a home actively marketed for sale or let has 24 months, not 12, before it counts as long-term empty. Keep the agent's instructions and dates.
None of this needs to be rushed, but it does need a calendar. If a short let is one of the options, Short let or long let? The Edinburgh numbers helps you compare it fairly with a long let, and our earnings calculator gives you a first figure for the short-let side.
05Asking Edinburgh council for discretion on the premium
The premium isn't automatic in every case. The Scottish Government has published guidance on when applying a second-home premium may not be appropriate, and the City of Edinburgh Council invites owners who think it shouldn't apply to them to write in with their reasons.
How to approach it
- Read the council's second-home council tax page first. It sets out the definition and the national guidance, and gives one email address for questions, appeals and discretion requests.
- Explain your situation in facts. Dates, who uses the home, why it isn't anyone's main home, and what you're doing about it.
- Attach evidence. Sale or letting instructions, booking records, builders' quotes, or the dates of a death and confirmation.
- Keep a copy of everything you send, and the date you sent it.
Be realistic. Discretion is the council's decision, case by case, and we can't tell you what it will decide. Meanwhile, pay the bill you've been sent unless the council tells you otherwise.
We aren't council tax advisers, and this isn't legal or financial advice. Where a home's status is genuinely unclear, a short conversation with an accountant or solicitor is money well spent. If any of the words here are new, our short-let glossary explains them.
06Sell, long let or short let? Comparing your options honestly
For many owners, the premium is the moment to decide what a second home is for. There are four honest options, and none is right for everyone.
| Option | Council tax | What to weigh up |
|---|
| Keep it as a second home | Premium applies from January 2027 | Your own use against four times the standard bill |
| Sell | Ends when it's sold | Timing, the market and capital gains; an empty home marketed for sale has 24 months before it counts as long-term empty |
| Long let | Usually paid by the tenant | Steady income, less flexibility, tenancy rules |
| Short let | Business rates if it meets 140/70 | Licence, planning, running costs, the levy and your time |
Making the short-let column honest
A short let can earn more than a long let in Edinburgh, but only once every cost is counted. That means the licence and certificates, planning where it applies, cleaning and linen, platform fees, the 5% Visitor Levy on the first five nights of stays from 24 July 2026, business rates or council tax, and a manager if you use one. Our fee is from 15% + VAT of net booking revenue, which is 18% once VAT is added; our pricing page shows every tier, and new owners who sign a one-year agreement by 31 December 2026 pay 10% + VAT for their first four months.
Nightly prices by area are on our Airbnb management page. If you're thinking about buying rather than deciding on a home you already own, buying a short-let property in Edinburgh is the place to start. And remember tax: the furnished holiday let rules ended in April 2025, as our short-let tax guide explains.
07A checklist for Edinburgh second-home owners before January 2027
If you own a home in Edinburgh that isn't your main home, here's what we'd do between now and the end of the year.
- Check today's bill. Does it show a premium? That tells you whether the home is already treated as a second home or long-term empty.
- Work out the new figure. Take the standard charge for your band and multiply by four. Put it in your budget for 2027.
- Look at last year's lettings. If you short-let, count the nights available and the nights actually let. Are you clear of 140 and 70, or close to the line?
- Gather the evidence. Booking exports, calendar history, your licence and statements, kept together for the assessor.
- Check your licence and planning position. If you'd like to short-let more, find out whether you can. Start with licensing in Edinburgh and the licence requirements.
- If the home is empty, choose a direction before it reaches 12 months.
- Consider discretion if your circumstances fit the national guidance, and write to the council with facts and evidence.
- Run the numbers on each option side by side, after every cost.
- Watch for the revised bill in December 2026, and check it against your sums.
If you'd like help with step eight, ask for a free plan made for your home. It shows what the home could earn as a short let, the licence route and every running cost, including council tax or rates.
08How Stays In helps second-home owners, and where we can't
We manage short lets across Edinburgh and East Lothian. For an owner facing the premium, that can help in a few concrete ways.
- Honest numbers first. Your plan compares a short let with your other options, after our fee, so the decision is made on real figures. Homes we manage all year were booked 84% of nights last year, against 72% for Edinburgh short lets overall. Your plan uses figures that fit your home, not our best months.
- Records the assessor can use. Every booking, every available night and every payout, in your owner login and monthly statement.
- The licence route. Your plan sets out which licence your home needs and every cost. Once we manage the home, we track the renewal date.
- Your own dates. You can still block nights for yourself in your owner login. Just remember that blocked nights aren't available nights for the 140/70 count.
And where we can't help: we don't give tax or legal advice, we can't speak for the council, and we can't promise any home will reach 70 let nights. Some homes are better sold or let long term, and we'll tell you if we think yours is one of them.
If it's useful, book a 15-minute call with one of the co-founders, or read how our management works first. You can also see what other owners say on our reviews page. Let's talk about your property when you're ready.
Weighing it all up? See how much an Airbnb earns in Edinburgh and mortgage and insurance for short lets.
Rather talk it through?Book a 15-minute call with one of the co-founders, or get a free plan for your home: what it could earn, the licence route and every cost.
