Council Tax Collection Statistics: 2022-2023

Key Points

• In 2022-23 for Scotland as a whole, the total amount of Council Tax billed (after Council Tax Reduction) was £2.837 billion. Of this total, £2.728 billion, or 96.2 per cent, was collected by 31 March 2023. This provisional in-year collection rate is higher than the figure for the previous year (95.7 per cent).
• Between 1999-00 and 2022-23, the overall total amount of Council Tax billed in Scotland was £47.975 billion, of which £46.632 billion, or 97.2 per cent, was collected by 31 March 2023.
• Provisional in-year Council Tax collection rates for 2022-23 ranged from 92.7 per cent to 98.4 per cent across the 32 local authorities.
• In-year collection rates have improved steadily since 1998-99 and had levelled off at around 96.0 per cent which reflects improvements in the collection of Council Tax in the billing year. The collection rates since 2020-21 have been lower, at 94.8 per cent in 2020-21 and 95.7 per cent in 2021-22, due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The 2022-23 rate of 96.2 per cent is now slightly higher than pre-pandemic collection rates.
• Council Tax collection figures for 2022-23 will reflect the Cost of Living payments, administered by local authorities on behalf of the Scottish Government. Eligible households for these £150 payments included those in receipt of a Council Tax Reduction or in Council Tax bands A-D and were usually paid as a credit to Council Tax accounts, meaning the funds could be used towards payment of Council Tax and/or water and sewerage charges.

All figures are net of discounts (e.g. single person discount) and exemptions. They are after Council Tax Benefit/Reduction and exclude Water and Sewerage Charges but will include any Cost of Living payments used to meet individual Council Tax liabilities. Therefore, the amounts billed represent what those liable have been asked to pay towards their Council Tax (not including Water and Sewerage).