# Council tax in Scottish Borders url: https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/council-tax/scotland/scottish-borders/ 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) # Council tax in Scottish Borders Last updated 29 September 2026. Figures refresh every night. [How each figure is worked out](/methodology/). Council tax in **Scottish Borders** for 2026-27 is **£1,619 a year for a Band D home**, £1,079 for Band A and £3,965 for the top band. That is £35 below the Scotland average of £1,653. It ranks 25 of 32 billing areas in Scotland. Figures are the council's own set rates. Figures for the 2026–27 financial year. Source: [Scottish Government](https://www.gov.scot/publications/council-tax-datasets/). ## Key figures - £1,619Band D a year, 2026-27 ▲ As of 6 April 2026 - £1,079Band A, the lowest As of 6 April 2026 - −£35Band D against the Scotland average of £1,653 Below average As of 6 April 2026 - 25 of 32Rank in Scotland, highest first As of 6 April 2026 Source: [Scottish Government](https://www.gov.scot/publications/council-tax-datasets/). ## What is the bill for each band? £1,619 Band D, Scottish Borders, 2026-27 | Band | A year | A month | | --- | --- | --- | | Band ADetails | £1,079.01 | £89.92 | | A month£89.92 | | | | Band BDetails | £1,258.85 | £104.90 | | A month£104.90 | | | | Band CDetails | £1,438.68 | £119.89 | | A month£119.89 | | | | Band DDetails | £1,618.52 | £134.88 | | A month£134.88 | | | | Band EDetails | £2,126.56 | £177.21 | | A month£177.21 | | | | Band FDetails | £2,630.10 | £219.17 | | A month£219.17 | | | | Band GDetails | £3,169.60 | £264.13 | | A month£264.13 | | | | Band HDetails | £3,965.37 | £330.45 | | A month£330.45 | | | ### What does this mean for you? Choose your band to see your bill in Scottish Borders for 2026-27. Your band is on your bill, or on the Valuation Office Agency’s search. Your band Band ABand BBand CBand DBand EBand FBand GBand H Band D in Scottish Borders: **£1,619 a year**, or £161.85 a month over the usual ten instalments. Living alone as the only adult, it would be £1,214 after the 25% discount. The council’s set rates, before any council tax reduction or other discount. You can ask to pay over twelve months instead of ten. Figures for the 2026–27 financial year. Source: [Scottish Government](https://www.gov.scot/publications/council-tax-datasets/). ## Who gets the money? In Scotland the whole bill goes to the council. Police and fire have been funded centrally since 2013, so there is no police or fire precept. Water and sewerage charges appear on the same bill but belong to Scottish Water and are not council tax. [Where your council tax goes: from your bill to each service](/council-tax/scotland/scottish-borders/where-it-goes/) ## How does it compare? Band D here is **£35 below** the Scotland average, 25 of 32 councils from the highest. **Scottish Borders among the Scotland councils nearest it, Band D 2026-27** - 21. Highland £1,634 - 22. West Lothian £1,628 - 23. City of Edinburgh £1,626 - 24. East Renfrewshire £1,620 - ◆25. Scottish Borders £1,619 - 26. Angus £1,599 - 27. Dumfries & Galloway £1,579 - 28. Fife £1,574 - 29. North Lanarkshire £1,555 Scotland average: £1,653 ◆ Scottish Borders Ranked highest first. [Every council](/councils/) is in the full table. **Show as a table** | Name | Band D | | --- | --- | | 21. Highland | £1,634 | | 22. West Lothian | £1,628 | | 23. City of Edinburgh | £1,626 | | 24. East Renfrewshire | £1,620 | | 25. Scottish Borders (Scottish Borders) | £1,619 | | 26. Angus | £1,599 | | 27. Dumfries & Galloway | £1,579 | | 28. Fife | £1,574 | | 29. North Lanarkshire | £1,555 | Figures for the 2026–27 financial year. Source: [Scottish Government](https://www.gov.scot/publications/council-tax-datasets/). ## How does Scottish Borders compare? The report card Official figures on complaints, finances, audit, pay and services for Scottish Borders, each from the body that published it and set against the figure for Scotland. See every council on the [council map](/councils/map/?council=S12000026). - Council tax rise this year8.5%Higher than the Scotland figure of 7.1% - Council tax per head£684Higher than the Scotland figure of £638 - Reserves as a share of net spending13%Lower than the Scotland figure of 16% - Recycling rate53.2%Higher than the Scotland figure of 44.3% - Planning decisions on time87.8%Higher than the Scotland figure of 62.9% Each figure is set against the figure for Scotland as a whole. They are plain comparisons, one measure at a time: there is no overall score and no ranking of councils. Higher is not always better or worse; what each measure does and does not show is on the [methodology page](/methodology/#council-report-cards). ### What do complaints to the ombudsman show? | Measure | Scottish Borders | For comparison | | --- | --- | --- | | Complaints receivedDetails | 44 | — | | For comparison— | | | | Complaints determinedDetails | 37 | — | | For comparison— | | | | InvestigationsDetails | 0 | — | | For comparison— | | | | Investigations fully or partly upheldDetails | 0 | 61% of investigations across Scottish councils | | For comparison61% of investigations across Scottish councils | | | Source: [Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, SPSO annual statistics: complaints by authority](https://www.spso.org.uk/statistics), 2025-26. ### How healthy are its finances? | Measure | Scottish Borders | For comparison | | --- | --- | --- | | Net revenue spending, 2024-25Details | £341.0m | — | | For comparison— | | | | Reserves at the end of 2024-25Details | £42.9m | — | | For comparison— | | | | Reserves as a share of net spendingDetails | 13% | 16% for Scotland | | For comparison16% for Scotland | | | | Outstanding borrowing at 30 June 2026Details | £391.3m | — | | For comparison— | | | General fund reserves (including amounts earmarked within it) at 31 March, as a share of general fund net revenue expenditure. Much of any council’s reserves is set aside for particular purposes. Borrowing is total outstanding loans of every kind; councils borrow mainly to pay for buildings, roads and housing, and the figure does not show what the borrowing was for. Source: [Scottish Government, Scottish Local Government Finance Statistics](https://www.gov.scot/collections/local-government-finance-statistics/), 2024-25; [Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Local authority borrowing and investment live table](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-local-government-finance), 30 June 2026. ### What have the auditors said? | Report | Title | Published | | --- | --- | --- | | Latest Best Value report (Accounts Commission) | [Best Value: Scottish Borders Council](https://audit.scot/publications/best-value-scottish-borders-council) | 28 November 2024 | | Latest annual audit report (Audit Scotland) | [Scottish Borders Council annual audit 2024/25](https://audit.scot/publications/scottish-borders-council-annual-audit-202425) | 15 October 2025 | The Accounts Commission reports on each council’s Best Value duty in a rolling programme, so the date of the latest report differs from council to council. Follow each link for the findings in full. Source: [Accounts Commission and Audit Scotland, Best Value and annual audit reports](https://audit.scot/best-value), latest report. Checked 22 September 2026. ### What are senior staff and councillors paid? Senior pay and councillor allowances for Scottish Borders have not yet been read from its statement of accounts. There is no central dataset of either; they are being added council by council, each with a link to the page of the accounts it comes from. ### How are its services rated? | Measure | Scottish Borders | For comparison | | --- | --- | --- | | Household waste recycled, calendar year, 2024Details | 53.2% | 44.3% for Scotland | | For comparison44.3% for Scotland | | | | Planning decisions on time, 2024-25Details | 87.8% | 62.9% for Scotland | | For comparison62.9% for Scotland | | | Inspections happen at different times, so a rating can be several years old; the date is shown with each. Planning figures are measured differently in each nation: share of local applications decided within two months, without processing agreements. Recycling rates are measured differently in England, Scotland and Wales, so compare within a nation. Source: [Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Household waste data](https://www.sepa.org.uk/environment/waste/waste-data/waste-data-reporting/household-waste-data/), 2024; [Scottish Government, Planning applications statistics](https://www.gov.scot/collections/planning-statistics/), 2024-25. ### What has happened recently? Decisions and publications by official bodies about Scottish Borders, newest first. Each links to the body that made or published it. News reports are not included. - 1 April 2026 Council tax [Council tax for 2026-27: Band D £1,619, up 8.5% on the year before](https://www.gov.scot/publications/council-tax-datasets/) Scottish Government - 15 October 2025 Audit [Scottish Borders Council annual audit 2024/25](https://audit.scot/publications/scottish-borders-council-annual-audit-202425) Audit Scotland - 28 November 2024 Audit [Best Value: Scottish Borders Council](https://audit.scot/publications/best-value-scottish-borders-council) Accounts Commission ### Does the council think something here is wrong? If you represent Scottish Borders and think a figure here is wrong, out of date or unfairly presented, email [hello@whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk](mailto:hello@whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk?subject=Right%20of%20reply%3A%20Scottish%20Borders%20report%20card) with this page’s address and the source you would point to. Every correction is logged, with its date, on the [corrections page](/corrections/). ## How much of the council's spending does this cover? Council tax paid for **13.3%** of the money Scottish Borders had to spend in 2024-25. The rest came from government grants (53.6%), business rates (8.1%) and fees, charges and other income (25.1%). That is why a grant cut can raise your bill even when the council has not changed what it does. [See where it goes](/council-tax/scotland/scottish-borders/where-it-goes/#d-bill). ## Where can I find out more? [What council tax is and why it works this way](/council-tax/), including why the bands are still based on 1991 property values in England and Scotland, and [how every area compares](/councils/), everything else on [Scottish Borders: parking, roads, your MP and local services](/your-area/scottish-borders/), and [Scottish Borders on the council map](/councils/map/?council=S12000026). ## Common questions How much is council tax in Scottish Borders? Band D is £1,619 a year for 2026-27. Band A is £1,079 and the top band £3,965.Is council tax in Scottish Borders higher than average? No. Band D here is £35 below the Scotland average of £1,653. ## 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/) | 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: Where your council tax goes in Scottish Borders](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/council-tax/scotland/scottish-borders/where-it-goes/) - [Back to Scottish Borders: your area](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/your-area/scottish-borders/) - [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.