# Where your council tax goes in City of Edinburgh url: https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/council-tax/scotland/city-of-edinburgh/where-it-goes/ updated: 29 September 2026 licence: Our words, analysis, charts and derived calculations: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), credit [Tekstak Ltd](https://tek-stak.co.uk). Figures: each source's own licence, listed under Sources. publisher: [Tekstak Ltd](https://tek-stak.co.uk) # Where your council tax goes in City of Edinburgh Last updated 29 September 2026. Figures refresh every night. [How each figure is worked out](/methodology/). A Band D council tax bill in **City of Edinburgh** is **£1,626.05** for 2026-27, split between City of Edinburgh £1,626.05. Shared out in proportion to what each body spends, the largest single line is education at City of Edinburgh: **£761.84** of the bill. Council tax pays for 14% of the council's own spending; the rest is government grant, business rates and fees. Figures for the 2026–27 financial year. Source: [Scottish Government](https://www.gov.scot/publications/council-tax-datasets/). ## Key figures - £1,626.05Band D bill, 2026-27 As of 6 April 2026 - £1,626.05Goes to City of Edinburgh itself (100%) As of 6 April 2026 - £761.84Largest line: education As of 3 February 2026 - 13.6%Of the council's money that comes from council tax, 2024-25 As of 3 February 2026 Source: [Scottish Government](https://www.gov.scot/publications/council-tax-datasets/). ## Who gets your bill Your council tax band A B C D E F G H Figures are for a **Band D** home. Bands A to H pay a fixed fraction of this, set in law. 1626.05 City of Edinburgh 100% In Scotland the whole bill goes to the council. Police and fire have been funded nationally since 2013, and the water and sewerage charges on the same bill belong to Scottish Water. ## And where does that bit go? Choose any part of the bill to see how it divides, then keep going as far as the published returns allow. Every level has its own link you can share. ### Where the rest comes from **Council tax pays for 13.6%** of the money City of Edinburgh had to spend in 2024-25. ********** - Council tax 13.6% £330.2m - Business rates 16.7% £407.6m - General government grant 25.8% £629.3m - Government grants for specific services 10.3% £251.6m - Fees, charges and other income 33.6% £817.5m Council tax is pooled with the council's other money, not ring-fenced for any service. The split on this page shares your bill out in proportion to what each body spends; it does not say what any one pound paid for. - Your bill ### Your bill: £1,626.05 - [City of Edinburgh](#d-council) £1,626.05 ** Your council · 100.0% of the bill - [Your bill](#d-bill) - City of Edinburgh ### City of Edinburgh £1,626.05 of your bill goes to City of Edinburgh. It is shared out below in proportion to how City of Edinburgh spent its money in 2024-25, its latest published return. - [Education](#d-council~education) £761.84 ** 46.9% of this part · £582.1m in 2024-25 · £1,096 per resident; similar councils £1,456 · up 13.2% on 2023-24 - [Adult social care](#d-council~adult-social-care) £473.15 ** 29.1% of this part · £361.5m in 2024-25 · £680 per resident; similar councils £659 · up 8.6% on 2023-24 - Children's social care £118.03 ** 7.3% of this part · £90.2m in 2024-25 · £170 per resident; similar councils £186 · up 0.7% on 2023-24 - [Environment and regulation](#d-council~environment) £86.38 ** 5.3% of this part · £66.0m in 2024-25 · £124 per resident; similar councils £137 · up 9.9% on 2023-24 - [Housing (not council homes)](#d-council~housing) £64.40 ** 4.0% of this part · £49.2m in 2024-25 · £93 per resident; similar councils £49 · up 19.4% on 2023-24 Not council homes: [see the note](#d-council~housing). - [Parks, leisure, libraries and culture](#d-council~culture-leisure) £58.96 ** 3.6% of this part · £45.1m in 2024-25 · £85 per resident; similar councils £100 · up 12.5% on 2023-24 - [Running the council](#d-council~central) £57.13 ** 3.5% of this part · £43.7m in 2024-25 · £82 per resident; similar councils £47 · down 25.4% on 2023-24 - [Planning and development](#d-council~planning-development) £6.15 ** 0.4% of this part · £4.7m in 2024-25 · £8.84 per resident; similar councils £35 · up 101.6% on 2023-24 Roads and transport brought in £467k more than it cost in 2024-25, so it takes no share of your bill. **Which councils count as similar** Medians are across the 10 Scottish councils closest in population: Glasgow City, Fife, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, Aberdeenshire, Highland, Aberdeen City, Renfrewshire, West Lothian, Falkirk. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates. - [Your bill](#d-bill) - [City of Edinburgh](#d-council) - Education ### Education £761.84 of your bill goes to education at City of Edinburgh. Here is how its £582.1m of net spending on it divides in the return. - Primary schools £258.34 ** 33.9% of this · £197.4m in 2024-25 · £371 per resident; similar councils £516 · up 4.8% on 2023-24 - Secondary schools £256.14 ** 33.6% of this · £195.7m in 2024-25 · £368 per resident; similar councils £519 · up 6.9% on 2023-24 - Early years and nursery £125.88 ** 16.5% of this · £96.2m in 2024-25 · £181 per resident; similar councils £197 · up 86.0% on 2023-24 - Special schools and alternative provision £104.64 ** 13.7% of this · £80.0m in 2024-25 · £150 per resident; similar councils £156 · down 0.6% on 2023-24 - Community learning £16.85 ** 2.2% of this · £12.9m in 2024-25 · £24 per resident; similar councils £15 · up 20.5% on 2023-24 - [Your bill](#d-bill) - [City of Edinburgh](#d-council) - Adult social care ### Adult social care £473.15 of your bill goes to adult social care at City of Edinburgh. Here is how its £361.5m of net spending on it divides in the return. - Paid to the Integration Joint Board £449.00 ** 94.9% of this · £343.1m in 2024-25 · £646 per resident; similar councils £617 · up 8.0% on 2023-24 - Adult social care run by the council directly £22.88 ** 4.8% of this · £17.5m in 2024-25 · £33 per resident; similar councils £28 · up 19.7% on 2023-24 - Other adult services £0.76 ** 0.2% of this · £583k in 2024-25 · £1.10 per resident; similar councils £3.22 · down 7.0% on 2023-24 - Criminal justice social work £0.51 ** 0.1% of this · £391k in 2024-25 · £0.74 per resident; similar councils £2.01 · up 58.3% on 2023-24 - [Your bill](#d-bill) - [City of Edinburgh](#d-council) - Environment and regulation ### Environment and regulation £86.38 of your bill goes to environment and regulation at City of Edinburgh. Here is how its £66.0m of net spending on it divides in the return. - Waste collection £31.01 ** 35.9% of this · £23.7m in 2024-25 · £45 per resident; similar councils £41 · up 11.5% on 2023-24 - Other environmental services £23.45 ** 27.1% of this · £17.9m in 2024-25 · £34 per resident; similar councils £17 · up 6.8% on 2023-24 - Waste disposal £19.66 ** 22.8% of this · £15.0m in 2024-25 · £28 per resident; similar councils £52 · up 22.8% on 2023-24 - Environmental health, food safety, pest control and licensing £4.60 ** 5.3% of this · £3.5m in 2024-25 · £6.62 per resident; similar councils £11 · down 50.6% on 2023-24 - Trading standards £3.00 ** 3.5% of this · £2.3m in 2024-25 · £4.32 per resident; similar councils £7.43 · up 4.5% on 2023-24 - Flood defence, land drainage and coast protection £1.17 ** 1.4% of this · £896k in 2024-25 · £1.69 per resident; similar councils £1.50 · down 7.7% on 2023-24 - Cemeteries and crematoria £0.15 ** 0.2% of this · £113k in 2024-25 · £0.21 per resident; similar councils £2.22 - Not itemised in the return £3.34 ** 3.9% of this · £2.6m in 2024-25 · £4.80 per resident; similar councils £1.11 "Not itemised in the return" is the difference between the service total and the lines the return lists. - [Your bill](#d-bill) - [City of Edinburgh](#d-council) - Housing (not council homes) ### Housing (not council homes) £64.40 of your bill goes to housing (not council homes) at City of Edinburgh. Here is how its £49.2m of net spending on it divides in the return. - Homelessness and temporary accommodation £33.41 ** 51.9% of this · £27.5m in 2024-25 · £52 per resident; similar councils £17 · up 36.3% on 2023-24 - Supporting People and welfare services £20.15 ** 31.3% of this · £16.6m in 2024-25 · £31 per resident; similar councils £4.91 · up 9.5% on 2023-24 - Other General Fund housing £5.94 ** 9.2% of this · £4.9m in 2024-25 · £9.19 per resident; similar councils £7.39 · down 11.2% on 2023-24 - Housing benefit administration and discretionary payments £3.31 ** 5.1% of this · £2.7m in 2024-25 · £5.12 per resident; similar councils £16 · up 17.1% on 2023-24 - Private sector housing renewal £1.59 ** 2.5% of this · £1.3m in 2024-25 · £2.46 per resident; similar councils £4.11 · up 14.7% on 2023-24 **Council homes are not in this.** Council housing is paid for through the Housing Revenue Account, from tenants' rents, and the law keeps it separate from the General Fund that council tax goes into. City of Edinburgh's Housing Revenue Account took in £134.4m and spent £90.0m in 2024-25. [What council tax does and doesn't pay for](/what-council-tax-pays-for/#ring-fence). - [Your bill](#d-bill) - [City of Edinburgh](#d-council) - Parks, leisure, libraries and culture ### Parks, leisure, libraries and culture £58.96 of your bill goes to parks, leisure, libraries and culture at City of Edinburgh. Here is how its £45.1m of net spending on it divides in the return. - Sport and leisure £15.44 ** 26.2% of this · £11.8m in 2024-25 · £22 per resident; similar councils £42 · up 29.5% on 2023-24 - Libraries £15.37 ** 26.1% of this · £11.7m in 2024-25 · £22 per resident; similar councils £17 · up 1.8% on 2023-24 - Museums, arts, heritage and archives £10.82 ** 18.4% of this · £8.3m in 2024-25 · £16 per resident; similar councils £15 · up 23.0% on 2023-24 - Parks and open spaces (including play areas) £9.09 ** 15.4% of this · £6.9m in 2024-25 · £13 per resident; similar councils £26 · up 17.7% on 2023-24 - Tourism £8.23 ** 14.0% of this · £6.3m in 2024-25 · £12 per resident; similar councils £1.53 · down 7.1% on 2023-24 - [Your bill](#d-bill) - [City of Edinburgh](#d-council) - Running the council ### Running the council £57.13 of your bill goes to running the council at City of Edinburgh. Here is how its £43.7m of net spending on it divides in the return. - Other central services £21.44 ** 37.5% of this · £16.6m in 2024-25 · £31 per resident; similar councils £11 · down 42.4% on 2023-24 - Corporate and democratic core £11.95 ** 20.9% of this · £9.2m in 2024-25 · £17 per resident; similar councils £21 · up 4.2% on 2023-24 - Collecting council tax and business rates £9.11 ** 15.9% of this · £7.0m in 2024-25 · £13 per resident; similar councils £6.04 · down 13.4% on 2023-24 - Non-distributed costs (past pensions, unused assets) £6.93 ** 12.1% of this · £5.4m in 2024-25 · £10 per resident; similar councils £8.71 · down 1.6% on 2023-24 - Council tax and rates valuation £4.21 ** 7.4% of this · £3.3m in 2024-25 · £6.12 per resident; similar councils £7.26 · up 7.3% on 2023-24 - Elections and electoral registration £1.55 ** 2.7% of this · £1.2m in 2024-25 · £2.25 per resident; similar councils £2.08 · up 52.9% on 2023-24 - Emergency planning £0.45 ** 0.8% of this · £346k in 2024-25 · £0.65 per resident; similar councils £0.47 · down 18.8% on 2023-24 - Not itemised in the return £1.49 ** 2.6% of this · £1.2m in 2024-25 · £2.17 per resident; similar councils £0.41 · down 66.2% on 2023-24 "Not itemised in the return" is the difference between the service total and the lines the return lists. - [Your bill](#d-bill) - [City of Edinburgh](#d-council) - Planning and development ### Planning and development £6.15 of your bill goes to planning and development at City of Edinburgh. Here is how its £4.7m of net spending on it divides in the return. - Economic development and business support £2.46 ** 40.0% of this · £2.3m in 2024-25 · £4.28 per resident; similar councils £22 · up 99.9% on 2023-24 - Planning applications (development management) £1.95 ** 31.7% of this · £1.8m in 2024-25 · £3.39 per resident; similar councils £1.19 · up 135.1% on 2023-24 - Planning policy £1.26 ** 20.5% of this · £1.2m in 2024-25 · £2.19 per resident; similar councils £4.15 · up 5.9% on 2023-24 - Environmental initiatives £0.48 ** 7.8% of this · £444k in 2024-25 · £0.84 per resident; similar councils £2.74 · up 73.4% on 2023-24 ## Parks, street cleaning and roads here What City of Edinburgh spent, net of income, on the lines readers ask about most. Roads and street cleaning are also shown per mile of road the council looks after, where it is the highway authority. Gully cleaning and verge cutting are inside routine maintenance; no return splits them out. | Line | Net spending | Per resident | Similar councils, per resident | Per mile of road | Change | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Parks and open spaces (including play areas)Details | £6.9m | £13 | £26 | — | up 17.7% on 2023-24 | | Per resident£13Similar councils, per resident£26Per mile of road—Changeup 17.7% on 2023-24 | | | | | | | Road and bridge maintenanceDetails | £11.2m | £21 | £27 | £11,540 (similar: £5,610) | down 1.4% on 2023-24 | | Per resident£21Similar councils, per resident£27Per mile of road£11,540 (similar: £5,610)Changedown 1.4% on 2023-24 | | | | | | | Winter service (gritting)Details | £2.0m | £3.72 | £11 | £2,034 (similar: £2,334) | up 5.9% on 2023-24 | | Per resident£3.72Similar councils, per resident£11Per mile of road£2,034 (similar: £2,334)Changeup 5.9% on 2023-24 | | | | | | | Street lighting (including energy)Details | £5.8m | £11 | £15 | £5,922 (similar: £3,266) | up 14.6% on 2023-24 | | Per resident£11Similar councils, per resident£15Per mile of road£5,922 (similar: £3,266)Changeup 14.6% on 2023-24 | | | | | | Miles of road: Department for Transport road lengths, 2025; locally managed major roads and all minor roads. More on [what council tax does and doesn't pay for](/what-council-tax-pays-for/#local-environment). ## What it adds up to | Service | Per resident | Median | | --- | --- | --- | | EducationDetails | £1,096 | £1,454 | | Median£1,454 | | | | Adult social careDetails | £680 | £707 | | Median£707 | | | | Children's social careDetails | £170 | £174 | | Median£174 | | | | Environment and regulationDetails | £124 | £139 | | Median£139 | | | | Housing (not council homes)Details | £93 | £56 | | Median£56 | | | | Parks, leisure, libraries and cultureDetails | £85 | £115 | | Median£115 | | | | Running the councilDetails | £82 | £89 | | Median£89 | | | | Planning and developmentDetails | £8.84 | £35 | | Median£35 | | | | Roads and transportDetails | £-0.88 | £89 | | Median£89 | | | - City of Edinburgh spent **32.8%** of its gross service spending on its own staff in 2024-25 (median for Scottish councils: 42.2%); the rest went on suppliers, contractors, grants, benefits and other running costs. ## What this data does and doesn't show - These are each body's own figures, as reported to government in its revenue outturn return. Net spending is after the fees, charges and grants a service brings in. - Your bill is for 2026-27; it is shared out using the latest published return, which covers an earlier year. The mix of spending changes little from one year to the next, but it does change. - Council tax is not ring-fenced: this shows your bill in proportion to spending, not what your money bought. Where a precept is set aside for adult social care, it is shown against adult social care. - No council publishes spending at street or property level, so nothing here says what was spent near you. - Sub-service lines are the ones the national returns itemise. Councils describe their own budgets differently; their budget books and statements of accounts have more detail. ## Sources - Scottish Government, [Council Tax by Band](https://www.gov.scot/publications/council-tax-datasets/). Open Government Licence v3.0. - Scottish Government, [Scottish Local Government Finance Statistics](https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/statistics/2026/02/scottish-local-government-finance-statistics-2024-25/documents/la-level---net-revenue-expenditure-by-subservice/la-level---net-revenue-expenditure-by-subservice/govscot%3Adocument/Scottish%2BLocal%2BGovernment%2BFinance%2BStatistics%2B%2528SLGFS%2529%2B2024-25%2B-%2BLA%2BLevel%2B-%2BNet%2BRevenue%2BExpenditure%2Bby%2BSubservice%2B-%2B2026-01-09.xlsx), published 3 February 2026. Open Government Licence v3.0. How the split is worked out, and how the three nations' returns are matched to one list of services, is on the [methodology page](/methodology/#council-spending). The dataset is on the [data page](/data/#council-spending). See also [council tax in City of Edinburgh](/council-tax/scotland/city-of-edinburgh/) and [everything else about City of Edinburgh](/your-area/city-of-edinburgh/). ## Common questions What does council tax pay for in City of Edinburgh? A Band D bill of £1,626.05 is split between City of Edinburgh. In proportion to spending, the largest line is education, £761.84.Is council tax ring-fenced for particular services? No. Council tax is pooled with grants, business rates and fees. The adult social care precept is the exception: councils raise it for adult social care. ## Sources for this page | Source | Publisher | Figures as of | Updated | Licence | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Council Tax Assumptions: Council Tax by Band](https://www.gov.scot/publications/council-tax-datasets/) | Scottish Government | the 2026–27 financial year | annual | [Open Government Licence v3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/) | | [Scottish Local Government Finance Statistics](https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/statistics/2026/02/scottish-local-government-finance-statistics-2024-25/documents/la-level---net-revenue-expenditure-by-subservice/la-level---net-revenue-expenditure-by-subservice/govscot%3Adocument/Scottish%2BLocal%2BGovernment%2BFinance%2BStatistics%2B%2528SLGFS%2529%2B2024-25%2B-%2BLA%2BLevel%2B-%2BNet%2BRevenue%2BExpenditure%2Bby%2BSubservice%2B-%2B2026-01-09.xlsx) | Scottish Government | 3 February 2026 | annual | [Open Government Licence v3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/) | Each source's figures are used under the licence shown. Our own words, analysis, charts and derived calculations are ours, under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). ## Related pages - [Next in this section: Parking income in City of Edinburgh](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/parking/city-of-edinburgh/) - [Back to City of Edinburgh: your area](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/your-area/city-of-edinburgh/) - [How much is council tax and what does it pay for?](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/council-tax/) - [Who is my MP, and what does their office cost?](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/mps/) - [Where does my tax money actually go?](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/for-every-100-pounds-of-tax/) ## More from this publisher - [UK tax calculators](https://howlongisit.co.uk) Published by [Tekstak Ltd](https://tek-stak.co.uk). Our words, analysis, charts and derived calculations: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), credit [Tekstak Ltd](https://tek-stak.co.uk). The figures belong to the publishers listed under Sources and are used under their licences. Figures last updated 29 September 2026.