Check the transition before changing the rate
Alberta increased the tourism levy from 4% to 6% on April 1, 2026. Pre-April bookings retain the 4% treatment, and qualifying set-price contracts executed on or before March 23 also have transition protection. Later amendments and unusual arrangements should be checked against the provincial guidance.
This is the provincial tourism levy. It should not be described as a Calgary municipal accommodation tax, and it should have its own ledger account. GST, booking-platform charges and any other applicable fees require their own analysis rather than being folded into a single unnamed tax line.
Illustrative example: the same room price, different booking dates
Consider two otherwise taxable Calgary reservations, each with a $1,000 levy base and no extra charges. One was booked March 20, 2026; the other was booked April 10. Under the stated transition assumptions, the levy is $40 on the first and $60 on the second. Both guests could stay in the same summer month.
These are levy-only calculations, not complete guest totals. The operator must separately establish the correct GST treatment, any exempt accommodation, additional amounts included in the levy base and the role of a platform. Do not use the example to infer that every booking has the same taxable components.
Reconcile the evidence in one schedule
For each reservation, retain its identifier, original date, stay dates, amendments, levy base, applied rate, collected amount and collector. Link the schedule to the guest invoice and platform settlement where applicable. An exported report showing only the payout date is incomplete for a transition review.
Compare the schedule with the levy control account. Explain refunds, adjustments and amounts collected by someone else. Where an amount is uncertain, keep the issue separate and obtain the relevant clarification before finalizing the return rather than forcing a balancing entry.
Preserve the historical rule in the close
After the transition, a monthly report may still contain protected bookings, cancellations or adjustments relating to earlier periods. Keep the original evidence instead of overwriting the historical rate in a reservation system. Confirm the operator's actual filing frequency and responsibilities through Alberta's guidance and account records.
The result is a reconciliation that can explain why two similar stays carried different levy amounts, without treating the difference as a pricing error or unexplained revenue.
Put this into practice
Sources and current guidance
A practical next step
Bring the records you have.
We can identify missing information, agree on the scope and organize the next bookkeeping step.
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