How are Scottish council tax bands calculated and why do higher bands cost proportionally more?

Full answer

Every domestic property in Scotland is placed in one of eight valuation bands, A to H, by the Scottish Assessors. Crucially, the band reflects what the home would have sold for on 1 April 1991, the fixed valuation date that has never been revalued, so a property's band can look out of step with its current market value. The 1991 value ranges run from under £27,000 (Band A) up to over £212,000 (Band H), with the bands in between covering successive value brackets. There has been no general revaluation, so improvements or extensions only trigger a re-banding when a property is next sold. Each of Scotland's 32 councils sets its own Band D charge for 2026/27, and every other band is then a fixed national multiplier of that Band D figure. The proportions are: Band A 240/360, Band B 280/360, Band C 320/360, Band D 360/360, Band E 473/360, Band F 585/360, Band G 705/360 and Band H 882/360. This is why higher bands cost proportionally more: the multiplier rises faster than the underlying value bracket. The Band E–H multipliers were deliberately increased in 2017 so larger homes contribute more. In practice, if a council sets Band D at £1,500, a Band A home pays around £1,000, a Band E home about £1,970, and a Band H home roughly £3,675. Many households reduce the bill: a single occupant gets a 25% discount, full-time students and the severely mentally impaired can be exempt, and the Council Tax Reduction scheme helps low-income households. Water and sewerage charges are added on top and follow the same banding. England and Wales use the same A–H (Wales A–I) banding concept but with different valuation dates and multipliers; Northern Ireland uses domestic rates based on capital value instead.

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