Council Tax collection statistics: 2018-2019

Council Tax collection rates for each local authority for billing year 2018 to 2019, and all previous years.


2. Council Tax collection rates

Table 2: In-year Council Tax percentage received, by year to which the bill refers by Local Authority1

Percentage collected in billing year
2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19a
Scotland 94.3 94.4 94.7 95.1 95.2 95.2 95.4 95.7 95.8 96.0 96.0
Aberdeen City 94.5 94.0 93.3 93.7 94.2 94.2 95.2 95.3 95.2 95.0 94.6
Aberdeenshire 96.0 95.7 95.8 96.2 96.2 96.2 96.4 96.1 96.1 96.1 96.4
Angus2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 96.5 96.5 97.4 97.9 97.7 97.6 97.6 97.8 97.9 97.8 97.6
Argyll and Bute 96.0 95.9 96.1 96.1 96.3 95.8 95.2 96.0 95.8 95.8 96.1
City of Edinburgh3,4 93.0 92.8 94.3 94.6 94.5 94.9 95.2 96.4 96.6 96.9 97.1
Clackmannanshire2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 92.9 93.1 93.3 95.2 95.3 95.1 95.1 95.8 95.9 95.9 96.0
Dumfries and Galloway 95.3 95.4 95.5 95.7 95.8 96.0 96.0 96.1 95.9 96.1 96.1
Dundee City2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 91.3 91.4 92.9 93.3 93.1 92.7 93.3 93.6 93.4 93.9 94.1
East Ayrshire2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 94.1 94.1 94.2 94.3 93.8 93.7 94.0 93.9 94.1 94.2 94.1
East Dunbartonshire 96.3 96.5 96.6 96.6 96.6 96.2 96.6 96.7 96.8 97.1 96.8
East Lothian7, 8, 9 96.1 95.4 95.3 95.8 96.4 96.2 96.5 97.7 97.2 97.0 96.9
East Renfrewshire2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 96.2 96.5 96.8 97.2 97.6 97.8 98.0 97.6 97.8 97.8 97.6
Falkirk3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 96.1 96.0 96.1 96.1 95.6 95.6 95.6 96.0 96.4 96.6 96.6
Fife2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 93.5 93.9 93.8 95.2 95.4 95.5 95.4 95.7 95.8 95.8 95.7
Glasgow City2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 90.0 92.0 92.3 92.6 93.1 93.9 94.6 94.7 94.9 95.0 95.0
Highland 95.3 95.0 95.4 95.5 95.6 95.5 95.2 95.6 96.1 96.1 96.1
Inverclyde 93.3 93.7 94.0 94.2 94.2 94.5 94.8 95.1 95.3 95.5 95.7
Midlothian2, 4 94.1 92.7 93.0 93.6 93.9 93.5 93.8 94.4 94.5 95.1 95.1
Moray2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 96.7 96.8 97.0 97.3 95.6 95.1 94.4 95.6 95.9 96.7 96.9
Na h-Eileanan Siar2 94.6 94.5 94.6 94.6 95.2 95.2 95.6 95.9 96.1 95.7 96.5
North Ayrshire4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 93.6 93.8 93.6 93.6 93.5 94.8 94.6 94.7 94.7 94.8 94.3
North Lanarkshire2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 94.2 94.5 94.5 94.4 94.0 93.6 93.9 93.8 94.0 94.2 94.1
Orkney Islands3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 97.4 97.7 97.6 97.5 98.1 97.7 97.8 98.0 98.0 97.9 98.0
Perth and Kinross2, 6, 7 96.2 96.3 97.2 97.7 97.4 97.2 97.0 98.5 97.9 97.8 97.9
Renfrewshire2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 94.5 94.6 95.1 95.6 95.9 96.0 96.0 96.0 96.0 96.1 96.0
Scottish Borders9 96.7 96.6 96.4 96.5 96.6 96.6 96.5 96.5 96.6 96.6 96.8
Shetland Islands 96.5 96.5 96.4 96.5 96.5 96.9 97.2 97.3 97.2 97.4 97.3
South Ayrshire8, 9 94.7 94.8 95.2 94.8 94.9 94.8 94.8 94.6 94.9 96.1 95.8
South Lanarkshire2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 94.9 94.9 94.7 95.6 95.7 95.7 95.8 95.9 96.0 96.2 96.2
Stirling3, 4 97.1 97.2 97.4 97.3 97.7 97.7 97.4 97.7 97.8 97.8 97.7
West Dunbartonshire2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 93.0 94.1 94.1 94.2 94.4 94.5 95.0 94.4 95.1 95.4 95.6
West Lothian5, 6, 7, 8, 9 94.0 94.4 94.4 94.1 94.7 94.3 94.8 95.1 95.6 96.1 96.3

Source: Up to 2012-13 - Statutory Performance Indicators published by Audit Scotland; From 2013-14 - Information supplied by local authorities to Scottish Government through the CTRR statistical return.
1 The figures exclude Council Tax Benefit/Reduction and Water and Sewerage Charges. They are before any amounts written off for bad or doubtful debt and reflect any correction to liabilities following billing.
2 For 2011-12;
3 For 2012-13;
4 For 2013-14;
5 For 2014-15;
6 For 2015-16;
7 For 2016-17;
8 For 2017-18,
9 For 2018-19: local authorities have reported collection rates on a 'line by line' accounting basis. Prior returns did not request this.
a Provisional figures.

Table 2 shows the Council Tax in-year collection rates - that is, the amount of Council Tax collected by the end of the relevant billing year, as a percentage of billed Council Tax. In-year collection rates have increased steadily from 87.2% for Scotland as a whole in 1998-99; to 94.3% in 2008-09; to 96.0% in 2018-19. This may in part be due to local authorities' more efficient and timely collection methods (for example, increasing use of direct debit and other 'electronic' methods).

Improvements are particularly clear for the local authorities which previously had the lowest rates of in-year collection. For example, the in-year collection rate for Glasgow City improved substantially from 90.0% in 2008-09 to 95.0% in 2018-19. Hence, variation of in-year collection rates between local authorities is now far less pronounced than in earlier years.

The trends described above are illustrated in Chart 2, which shows the increasing in-year collection rate for Scotland and the reduction in variation between collection rates for individual local authorities.

Until 2012-13, the Accounts Commission published the comparative in-year Council Tax collection rates for each local authority. The local government community, through the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers (SOLACE) and the Improvement Service, now produce this performance information through the Local Government Benchmarking Framework.

Chart 2: In-year Council Tax percentage received, by year to which the bill refers - Scotland, and minimum and maximum for Local Authorities

Chart 2: In-year Council Tax percentage received, by year to which the bill refers - Scotland, and minimum and maximum for Local Authorities

Table 3: Percentage of Council Tax received as at 31 March 2019, by year to which the bill refers and Local Authority1

Year to which bill refers
2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19
Scotland 97.1 97.2 97.3 97.3 97.3 97.2 97.1 97.0 96.7 96.6 96.0
Aberdeen City 97.4 97.3 97.3 97.4 97.4 97.4 97.5 97.2 97.0 96.8 94.6
Aberdeenshire 98.7 98.6 98.6 98.7 98.6 98.5 98.3 98.1 97.6 97.3 96.4
Angus2 98.3 98.2 98.6 99.3 99.0 98.8 98.7 98.8 98.7 98.4 97.6
Argyll & Bute 98.2 98.2 98.1 98.1 98.2 98.2 97.6 97.5 97.0 96.8 96.1
City of Edinburgh 96.6 96.6 96.9 96.8 96.7 97.1 97.3 97.1 96.8 96.8 97.1
Clackmannanshire2 97.5 97.8 97.9 97.9 97.8 97.8 97.9 97.7 97.1 96.8 96.0
Dumfries & Galloway 98.1 98.2 98.1 98.1 98.1 97.9 97.8 97.5 97.2 97.1 96.1
Dundee City2 96.1 96.1 97.1 97.1 96.9 96.4 96.0 95.7 95.6 95.4 94.1
East Ayrshire2 98.2 98.3 98.4 98.1 98.1 97.7 97.7 97.1 96.4 95.5 94.1
East Dunbartonshire 98.2 98.3 98.9 98.4 98.4 98.3 98.4 98.3 98.0 97.7 96.8
East Lothian2 97.9 98.0 98.0 98.1 98.1 97.9 98.0 98.9 98.2 97.6 96.9
East Renfrewshire2 98.4 98.5 98.6 99.3 99.1 99.2 99.1 98.8 98.6 98.4 97.6
Falkirk2 98.2 98.2 98.2 98.2 97.9 97.6 97.7 97.7 97.6 97.4 96.6
Fife2 97.5 97.7 97.7 97.7 97.8 97.7 97.4 97.3 97.0 96.6 95.7
Glasgow City2 92.5 94.1 94.4 94.5 94.5 94.7 94.6 94.5 94.4 94.7 95.0
Highland 98.4 98.2 98.3 98.2 98.2 97.9 97.6 97.5 97.4 97.1 96.1
Inverclyde 96.9 96.8 96.9 97.0 96.9 96.8 96.9 96.9 96.3 96.1 95.7
Midlothian 96.5 96.3 96.1 96.6 96.8 96.6 96.4 96.6 96.4 96.3 95.1
Moray 2 98.8 98.9 98.9 98.8 98.6 98.1 97.4 98.0 97.5 97.5 96.9
Na h-Eileanan Siar 98.6 98.4 98.4 98.4 98.3 98.1 98.2 98.1 97.7 97.5 96.5
North Ayrshire2 96.7 96.8 96.5 96.4 96.3 97.4 97.1 96.7 96.1 95.5 94.3
North Lanarkshire2 96.5 96.5 96.5 96.2 96.1 95.7 95.5 95.2 95.2 95.2 94.1
Orkney Islands2 99.3 99.4 99.4 99.4 99.3 99.3 99.3 99.1 98.9 98.7 98.0
Perth & Kinross2 98.0 98.0 98.1 98.1 98.3 98.4 98.2 98.0 97.8 97.5 97.9
Renfrewshire2 96.9 97.3 97.2 97.2 97.6 96.9 96.4 96.3 96.2 96.1 96.0
Scottish Borders 98.1 98.0 97.8 98.0 97.9 97.9 97.7 97.6 97.6 97.4 96.8
Shetland Islands 99.6 99.5 99.5 99.5 99.4 99.3 99.3 99.2 98.9 98.5 97.3
South Ayrshire 98.0 97.9 97.8 97.9 97.6 97.5 97.5 97.1 97.2 96.9 95.8
South Lanarkshire2 97.2 97.2 97.1 97.8 97.8 97.7 97.6 97.5 97.2 97.0 96.2
Stirling2 98.8 98.9 98.8 98.8 98.8 98.7 98.7 98.8 98.7 98.5 97.7
West Dunbartonshire2 95.8 95.0 94.9 94.4 94.2 93.6 92.9 92.4 92.0 91.5 95.6
West Lothian2 96.9 96.8 96.8 96.7 96.4 96.1 96.2 96.3 96.4 96.2 96.3

Source: Information supplied by local authorities to the Scottish Government on the CTRR statistical return.
1 All figures are net of discounts (e.g. single person discount), exemptions and surcharges. The figures exclude Council Tax Benefit/Reduction and Water and Sewerage Charges. They are before any amounts written off for bad or doubtful debt and reflect any correction to liabilities following billing.
2 These local authorities have reported their collection rates on a 'line by line' accounting basis. Statistical collections prior to 2011-12 did not ask for this information.

Table 3 shows the percentage of Council Tax for specific billing years, received by 31 March 2019. For 2018-19 this is the same as the in-year collection rate but, for other years, this includes late payments collected in years after the billing year.

For the earlier years, it is unlikely that much more Council Tax will be collected - hence, for these years, the percentages received are converging towards final collection rates.

Previous research has indicated that deprivation is linked to non-payment of Council Tax and this is likely to be a factor in variations between local authorities of these near-final collection rates for earlier years.

Table 4 gives a further representation of how in-year collection has improved over the last decade, from 94.3% for Scotland as a whole in 2008-09 to 96.0% in 2018-19. Conversely, the percentages of Council Tax being collected after each billing year have fallen sharply, from 2.8% for the 2008-09 billing year to 0.6% for the 2017-18 billing year. This pattern is a direct consequence of two factors - there is less Council Tax still left to collect, and less time has elapsed to collect it in (e.g. the 0.6% collected after 2017-18 is over a period of one year only).

Table 5 shows an alternative presentation of in-year and subsequent collection rates. The upper diagonal shows the in-year collection rate for Scotland as a whole and the table should be read by selecting a column and reading downwards. For example, for billing year 2008-09 (the left-most column of figures) the in-year collection rate was 94.3%. By the end of the next year (2009-10), the collection rate had risen to 95.4%. It had risen to 95.8% by the end of 2010-11, then more slowly to 97.1% by 2018-19. This pattern is shown in Chart 3.

Taking these collection rates together, the overall pattern for Scotland is:

  • In-year collection is now well over 95%.
  • A further 0.6% or so is collected in the following year.
  • 'Final' collection can reasonably be expected to exceed 97%.

Chart 3: 2008-09 Council Tax percentage received as at 31 March each year

Chart 3: 2008-09 Council Tax percentage received as at 31 March each year

Table 4: In-year Council Tax percentage received and total Council Tax percentage received as at 31 March 2019, by year to which the bill refers1

Year to which bill refers
2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19
Percentage collected in billing year 94.3 94.4 94.7 95.1 95.2 95.2 95.4 95.7 95.8 96.0 96.0
Percentage collected after billing year 2.8 2.8 2.6 2.3 2.1 2.0 1.7 1.2 0.9 0.6 0.0
Percentage received as at 31 March 2019 97.1 97.2 97.3 97.3 97.3 97.2 97.1 97.0 96.7 96.6 96.0

Source: In-year to 2012-13 - Statutory Performance Indicators published by Audit Scotland; Otherwise information supplied by local authorities to Scottish Government on the CTRR statistical return.
1 All figures are net of discounts (e.g. single person discount), exemptions and surcharges. The figures exclude Council Tax Benefit/Reduction and Water and Sewerage Charges. They are before any amounts written off for bad or doubtful debt and reflect any correction to liabilities following billing.

Table 5: Percentage of Council Tax received as at 31 March each year, by year to which the bill refers1

Year to which bill refers
2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19
Percentage received as at year end (31 March) 2008-09 94.3
2009-10 95.4 94.4
2010-11 95.8 95.6 94.7
2011-12 96.1 96.0 95.9 95.1
2012-13 96.3 96.4 96.3 96.0 95.2
2013-14 96.5 96.6 96.5 96.4 96.1 95.2
2014-15 96.7 96.7 96.8 96.7 96.5 96.2 95.4
2015-16 96.8 96.9 96.9 96.9 96.8 96.6 96.3 95.7
2016-17 96.9 97.0 97.1 97.1 97.0 96.8 96.7 96.4 95.8
2017-18 97.0 97.1 97.2 97.2 97.2 97.1 96.9 96.7 96.4 96.0
2018-19 97.1 97.2 97.3 97.3 97.3 97.2 97.1 97.0 96.7 96.6 96.0

Source: In-year to 2012-13 - Statutory Performance Indicators published by Audit Scotland; Otherwise information supplied by local authorities to Scottish Government on the CTRR statistical return.
1 All figures are net of discounts (e.g. single person discount), exemptions and surcharges. The figures exclude Council Tax Benefit/Reduction and Water and Sewerage Charges. They are before any amounts written off for bad or doubtful debt and reflect any correction to liabilities following billing.

Contact

Email: maria.melling@gov.scot

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