Scotland’s Chief Statistician has released the latest Council Tax Collection Statistics, revealing a slight dip in in-year collection rates despite more than £3.2 billion being recovered by local authorities in 2025-26.
The figures show that a total of £3.389 billion in Council Tax was billed across Scotland during the financial year, after accounting for Council Tax Reduction. Of this, £3.227 billion – or 95.2 per cent – had been collected by 31 March 2026. This represents a small decrease from the 95.5 per cent recorded in the previous year.
Across Scotland’s 32 local authorities, provisional in-year collection rates varied notably, ranging from 91.0 per cent to 97.7 per cent. Despite the marginal year-on-year drop, collection performance remains broadly consistent with the past decade, during which rates have typically exceeded 95 per cent. The only recent exception was in 2020-21, when the Covid-19 pandemic impacted payment levels.
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Looking at the longer-term picture, the data highlights the sustained effectiveness of council tax collection. Between 1999-00 and 2025-26, Scottish local authorities billed a total of £57.411 billion, of which £55.802 billion – equivalent to 97.2 per cent – had been collected by the end of March 2026.
The statistics are used by the Scottish Government to monitor council performance and inform national financial planning. They are also submitted to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for national accounts and to the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA).
The full publication, which covers data from 1999-00 through to 2025-26, is available on the Scottish Government website. The next annual update, covering the 2026-27 financial year, is scheduled for release in June 2027.
