About Council Tax
Find out your council tax band, who pays council tax and how we spend it.
Council tax is a tax on domestic properties by local authorities (councils) and is based on the estimated value of your property and the number of people living in. It's used to part fund services provided by the council.
Your council tax bill includes water and waste water charges which we collect on behalf of Scottish Water.
Some people are exempt from paying council tax or may be entitled to a discount.
The band of your property will be shown on your council tax bill.
| Band | Council tax charge | Water | Waste water | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | £1018.96 | £185.28 | £214.98 | £1419.22 |
| B | £1188.78 | £216.16 | £250.81 | £1655.75 |
| C | £1358.61 | £247.04 | £286.64 | £1892.29 |
| D | £1528.44 | £277.92 | £322.47 | £2128.83 |
| E | £2008.20 | £339.68 | £394.13 | £2742.01 |
| F | £2483.71 | £401.44 | £465.79 | £3350.94 |
| G | £2993.19 | £463.20 | £537.45 | £3993.84 |
| H | £3744.67 | £555.84 | £644.94 | £4945.45 |
The following individuals are normally responsible for paying the bill:
- Owner, if they live in the property
- Tenant living in the property
- Sub-tenant living in the property
- Anyone else living in the property
- Leaseholder
- Anyone else with the right to live in the property
- Owner, if the property is empty
Joint owners or tenants
Two people can be responsible for council tax.
- If 2 or more owners are tenants, both are responsible for paying council tax.
- for couples who live together, both are responsible for the other person's council tax.
- there's only one council tax bill for each property
Your Council Tax bill for 2025-2026 includes an 9.9% increase in charges for your water supply and waste water collection from Scottish Water.
These charges are based on the Council Tax Band for your home and will be shown on your Council Tax bill, even if you receive Council Tax Reduction. The charges you pay allow Scottish Water to operate and improve services in communities across Scotland. To find out more go to the Scottish Water website, email help@scottishwater.co.uk or call 0800 0778778.
We need to collect these charges by law but don't keep any of the income.
The Water Charges Reduction Scheme, and other discounts, exemptions and reliefs, which apply to around 50% of all households in Scotland, are in place to help those customers who may struggle to pay.
The Council has three sources of revenue which provide our expenditure on essential services:
| Source | % of funding |
|---|---|
| Council Tax | 21% |
| Government Funding | 78.1% |
| Reserves | 0.9% |
The Council is planning to spend £350.181m on the provision of services in 2025/26. Government grants will pay for £273.575m (78.1%) of the total expenditure, reserves will contribute £3.085m (0.9%) and Council Tax will meet the remaining costs of £73.521m (21.0%).
The band D Council Tax in 2025/26 is £1,528.44 (compared to £1,415.22 in 2024/25). The Scottish Average in 2024/25 was £1,418.
Our planned spend is 7.01% above the Scottish Government support figure. The expenditure figure used by the Government in the "Aggregate External Finance" (Government Support) calculation is £6,490.89 for each band D property and this compares to £6,945.82 proposed spending by the council, net of Capital Financing costs.
| Council Tax 2025/26 | £million |
|---|---|
| Gross Expenditure | 363.568 |
| Less Fees and Charges | 13.387 |
| Net Expenditure | 350.181 |
| Council Employees | (full-time equivalents) |
|---|---|
| 2024/2025 | 3907 |
| 2025/2026 | 3895 |
| Reduction | 12 |
| % change | (0.31%) |
| Service | Net expenditure for 2025 to 2026 £m | Capital charges £m | Total net expenditure £m |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education | 193.77 | 13.76 | 207.53 |
| Social care | 79.03 | 1.20 | 80.23 |
| Leisure and recreation | 11.75 | 1.44 | 13.19 |
| Roads and lighting | 10.62 | 5.04 | 15.66 |
| Cleansing and refuse disposal | 10.25 | 0.61 | 10.86 |
| Transport subsidies and concessionary fares | 1.83 | 0.00 | 1.83 |
| Planning and building control | 1.11 | 0.20 | 1.31 |
| Environmental health | 0.84 | 0.00 | 0.84 |
| Other services | 29.89 | 1.32 | 31.21 |
| Adjustment for capital charges | -12.48 | ||
| Total net expenditure | 339.09 | 23.57 | 350.18 |
