Lowest Council Tax in Scotland 2026-27: Band D by Council
South Lanarkshire has the lowest Band D council tax among Scotland's 32 billing authorities for 2026-27, at £1,468.47 - about 37% below the £2,337.00 UK authority mean. Scotland's own authority mean is £1,661.92. The dearest Scottish authority (Midlothian, £1,816.16) charges 1.24× the cheapest for the same band.
Band D is the shared reference charge. Scotland's higher-band multipliers (post-2017) differ from England and Wales, so a Band H ranking would not simply reverse this list. A low Band D does not by itself mean a low household bill.
Ranking derived from our database of UK billing authority charges for the 2026-27 financial year. Last updated: .
All Scottish authorities by Band D (lowest first)
| # | Council | Band D 2026-27 | YoY change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Lanarkshire | £1,468.47 | 6.50% |
| 2 | Shetland Islands | £1,487.90 | 7.30% |
| 3 | Na h-Eileanan Siar | £1,505.50 | 8.50% |
| 4 | North Lanarkshire | £1,554.56 | 7.00% |
| 5 | Fife | £1,573.70 | 5.00% |
| 6 | Dumfries & Galloway | £1,578.65 | 8.50% |
| 7 | Angus | £1,598.65 | 9.38% |
| 8 | Scottish Borders | £1,618.52 | 8.50% |
| 9 | East Renfrewshire | £1,620.15 | 6.00% |
| 10 | City of Edinburgh | £1,626.05 | 4.00% |
| 11 | West Lothian | £1,627.59 | 7.40% |
| 12 | Highland | £1,633.99 | 7.00% |
| 13 | Orkney Islands | £1,669.07 | 6.00% |
| 14 | Perth & Kinross | £1,673.84 | 8.90% |
| 15 | Inverclyde | £1,673.85 | 7.90% |
| 16 | West Dunbartonshire | £1,681.53 | 7.80% |
| 17 | Clackmannanshire | £1,683.67 | 5.60% |
| 18 | North Ayrshire | £1,685.84 | 8.50% |
| 19 | Aberdeenshire | £1,686.04 | 10.00% |
| 20 | Renfrewshire | £1,690.56 | 7.50% |
| 21 | South Ayrshire | £1,694.96 | 8.00% |
| 22 | East Lothian | £1,697.62 | 7.50% |
| 23 | Glasgow City | £1,706.00 | 5.90% |
| 24 | Falkirk | £1,715.09 | 8.77% |
| 25 | East Ayrshire | £1,717.28 | 6.90% |
| 26 | Dundee City | £1,729.69 | 7.75% |
| 27 | Moray | £1,731.14 | 10.00% |
| 28 | Aberdeen City | £1,747.54 | 6.80% |
| 29 | East Dunbartonshire | £1,751.67 | 9.50% |
| 30 | Stirling | £1,752.87 | 8.75% |
| 31 | Argyll & Bute | £1,783.33 | 9.70% |
| 32 | Midlothian | £1,816.16 | 9.00% |
Methodology
This ranking filters the coverage set to authorities whose country is Scotland, sorts by the 2026-27 area Band D charge ascending, and lists every matching authority. Source figures are the Scottish Government CTAS series for the area Band D charge. See our methodology. Data vintage: 2026-08-12.