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Where your council tax goes in Scottish Borders
Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.
A Band D council tax bill in Scottish Borders is £1,618.52 for 2026-27, split between Scottish Borders £1,618.52. Shared out in proportion to what each body spends, the largest single line is education at Scottish Borders: £770.52 of the bill. Council tax pays for 13% 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.
Key figures
- £1,618.52Band D bill, 2026-27
- £1,618.52Goes to Scottish Borders itself (100%)
- £770.52Largest line: education
- 13.3%Of the council's money that comes from council tax, 2024-25
Source: Scottish Government.
Who gets your bill
Figures are for a Band D home. Bands A to H pay a fixed fraction of this, set in law.
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.
Your bill: £1,618.52
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Scottish Borders £1,618.52
Scottish Borders
£1,618.52 of your bill goes to Scottish Borders. It is shared out below in proportion to how Scottish Borders spent its money in 2024-25, its latest published return.
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Education £770.52
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Adult social care £391.88
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Children's social care £154.86
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Environment and regulation £85.22
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Roads and transport £73.25
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Housing (not council homes) £32.63
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Running the council £31.77
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Planning and development £13.28
Which councils count as similar
Medians are across the 10 Scottish councils closest in population: East Lothian, Angus, East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, North Ayrshire, Midlothian, East Renfrewshire, Moray, Stirling. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Education
£770.52 of your bill goes to education at Scottish Borders. Here is how its £162.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Secondary schools £309.43
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Primary schools £274.49
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Early years and nursery £98.32
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Special schools and alternative provision £81.64
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Community learning £5.85
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Other education £0.79
Adult social care
£391.88 of your bill goes to adult social care at Scottish Borders. Here is how its £82.6m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Paid to the Integration Joint Board £349.99
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Adult social care run by the council directly £38.26
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Other adult services £3.58
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Criminal justice social work £0.04
Environment and regulation
£85.22 of your bill goes to environment and regulation at Scottish Borders. Here is how its £18.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Waste disposal £39.74
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Waste collection £22.07
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Other environmental services £8.24
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Environmental health, food safety, pest control and licensing £6.45
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Trading standards £3.62
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Flood defence, land drainage and coast protection £3.18
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Cemeteries and crematoria £0.80
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Not itemised in the return £1.12
"Not itemised in the return" is the difference between the service total and the lines the return lists.
Roads and transport
£73.25 of your bill goes to roads and transport at Scottish Borders. Here is how its £15.4m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Road and bridge maintenance £28.56
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Winter service (gritting) £21.04
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Support for bus, rail and other public transport £11.56
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Street lighting (including energy) £7.50
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Traffic management and road safety £2.49
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Parking £2.04
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Concessionary bus fares £0.05
Parks, leisure, libraries and culture
£65.10 of your bill goes to parks, leisure, libraries and culture at Scottish Borders. Here is how its £13.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Parks and open spaces (including play areas) £20.61
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Museums, arts, heritage and archives £20.33
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Libraries £14.26
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Sport and leisure £9.88
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Tourism £0.02
Housing (not council homes)
£32.63 of your bill goes to housing (not council homes) at Scottish Borders. Here is how its £6.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Other General Fund housing £17.06
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Housing benefit administration and discretionary payments £6.59
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Homelessness and temporary accommodation £5.17
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Private sector housing renewal £2.30
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Supporting People and welfare services £1.51
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. Scottish Borders reported no Housing Revenue Account for 2024-25: it has no council homes of its own, or they were transferred to a housing association. What council tax does and doesn't pay for.
Running the council
£31.77 of your bill goes to running the council at Scottish Borders. Here is how its £6.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Corporate and democratic core £15.42
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Other central services £5.06
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Council tax and rates valuation £4.63
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Collecting council tax and business rates £3.84
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Emergency planning £1.20
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Elections and electoral registration £1.01
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Registering births, deaths and marriages £0.17
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Not itemised in the return £0.45
"Not itemised in the return" is the difference between the service total and the lines the return lists.
Planning and development
£13.28 of your bill goes to planning and development at Scottish Borders. Here is how its £2.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Economic development and business support £8.48
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Planning policy £3.92
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Environmental initiatives £0.88
Parks, street cleaning and roads here
What Scottish Borders 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 for Parks and open spaces (including play areas) | £4.3m | £37 | £29 | — | up 2.5% on 2023-24 |
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Road and bridge maintenanceDetails for Road and bridge maintenance | £6.0m | £52 | £43 | £3,121 (similar: £6,678) | up 3.9% on 2023-24 |
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Winter service (gritting)Details for Winter service (gritting) | £4.4m | £38 | £12 | £2,300 (similar: £2,044) | up 2.0% on 2023-24 |
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Street lighting (including energy)Details for Street lighting (including energy) | £1.6m | £14 | £14 | £820 (similar: £2,777) | up 2.8% on 2023-24 |
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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 it adds up to
| Service | Per resident | Median |
|---|---|---|
EducationDetails for Education | £1,390 | £1,454 |
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Adult social careDetails for Adult social care | £707 | £695 |
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Children's social careDetails for Children's social care | £279 | £170 |
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Environment and regulationDetails for Environment and regulation | £154 | £135 |
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Roads and transportDetails for Roads and transport | £132 | £88 |
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Parks, leisure, libraries and cultureDetails for Parks, leisure, libraries and culture | £117 | £110 |
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Housing (not council homes)Details for Housing (not council homes) | £59 | £56 |
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Running the councilDetails for Running the council | £57 | £89 |
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Planning and developmentDetails for Planning and development | £24 | £35 |
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- Scottish Borders spent 40.3% 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. Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Scottish Government, Scottish Local Government Finance Statistics, 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. The dataset is on the data page. See also council tax in Scottish Borders and everything else about Scottish Borders.
Common questions
- What does council tax pay for in Scottish Borders?
- A Band D bill of £1,618.52 is split between Scottish Borders. In proportion to spending, the largest line is education, £770.52.
- 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 | Scottish Government | the 2026–27 financial year | annual | Open Government Licence v3.0 |
| Scottish Local Government Finance Statistics | Scottish Government | 3 February 2026 | annual | Open Government Licence v3.0 |
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.