Council Tax Reduction in Scotland: 2024-2025

Key Points

• There were 458,120 CTR recipients in Scotland in March 2025, a decrease of 0.7 per cent from 461,550 in March 2024. These recipients live in almost one-fifth of Scotland’s chargeable dwellings.
• The number of CTR recipients reported by councils each month remained relatively consistent over the course of 2024-25. The number of CTR recipients in each month remained above the record low of 454,180 in December 2022.
• From the introduction of the CTR scheme in April 2013 to March 2020, the number of CTR recipients in Scotland gradually decreased. However, there were large rises in caseload in 2020 due to the initial economic impact of Covid-19 before continuing its gradual decrease and stabilising throughout 2024-25. The number of CTR recipients is now 17 per cent (94,260 recipients) lower in March 2025 than when the scheme began.
• The weekly income forgone by local authorities due to the CTR scheme was £7.584 million in March 2025, compared to 7.543 million in March 2024 (an increase of 0.5 per cent).
• Council Tax and CTR reforms, alongside increases in Council Tax since April 2017 (excluding 2021-22 and 2024-25 where there were Council Tax freezes), have contributed to increases in the total weekly CTR awarded.
• The provisional income forgone on CTR in Scotland in 2024-25 was £390.3 million.
• On average, CTR recipients saved just over £850 a year on Council Tax as at March 2025.
• Of all CTR recipients in March 2025:
  • The majority (57 per cent or around 261,470 recipients) were in one of the 30 per cent most deprived areas in Scotland, the same as March 2024;
  • Just over a third  (36 per cent or around 164,150 recipients) were aged 65 and over, which is a similar proportion as seen in March 2024; 
  • A sixth (17 per cent or around 78,170 recipients) were lone parents, the same as in March 2024; and 
  • Just over four-fifths  (86 per cent, 389,070 CTR recipients) were in receipt of full CTR.

Changes in Council Tax and CTR since 1 April 2017

• The end of the Council Tax “freeze”, which can be seen with the trend of increasing Council Tax income forgone due to CTR, since April 2017 (excluding 2021 and 2024);
• The Working Age CTR scheme was amended from April 2022 so that those recipients who were receiving Universal Credit (UC) were handled in the same way as all other recipients.

Cyber-attack

• Due to a cyber-attack in late 2023, Na h-Eileanan Siar were unable to provide CTR extracts from December 2023 to October 2024. Therefore, reported figures in this period were based on their latest available extract.

An Official Statistics Publication for Scotland

These statistics are official statistics. Official statistics are statistics that are produced by crown bodies, those acting on behalf of crown bodies, or those specified in statutory orders, as defined in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.

Scottish Government statistics are regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

More information about Scottish Government statistics is available on the Scottish Government website.