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Independent. Not run by or affiliated with City of Edinburgh Council.

Where your council tax goes in Edinburgh

A Band D home pays £2,278.37 this year, up 5.3%. Council tax covers about 25% of what the council spends on day-to-day services; government grants pay 46%, and business rates 29%.

Band D bill£2,278up 5.3% on last year
Council budget£1,508mday-to-day, including schools
Paid by council tax25%of the budget
Council controlNo overall controlno party has more than half the seats

Your bill

Pick your band. The council keeps 71% of it; the rest goes to Scottish Water, for water and sewerage.

Band D, 2026/27
£2,278.37
£227.84 a month over 10 instalments
City of Edinburgh Council£1,626.05Scottish Water (water and sewerage)£652.32
Water£301.95
Sewerage£350.37
At Band D the water and sewerage charges went up £51.93 this year: £24.03 more for water and £27.90 more for sewerage.
sourcedBand D bill for 2026/27approxScottish Water (water and sewerage) by body (Scottish Water's leaflet)

Your £1,626.05 to the council pays for

Schools and education£685
Social work and care£546
Debt costs and levies£105
Housing and homelessness£99
Streets, waste and transport£62
Running the council£57
Parks, libraries and leisure£54
Community safety and regulation£13
Planning and the local economy£6
Show your bill as a table
Band D, 2026/27: where your council tax goes
Your billShare
Schools and education£684.6530.0%
Social work and care£546.1324.0%
Debt costs and levies£104.584.6%
Housing and homelessness£98.694.3%
Streets, waste and transport£61.912.7%
Running the council£56.672.5%
Parks, libraries and leisure£54.032.4%
Community safety and regulation£13.100.6%
Planning and the local economy£6.290.3%
City of Edinburgh Council, all services£1,626.0571.4%
Water£301.9513.3%
Sewerage£350.3715.4%
Scottish Water (water and sewerage), all£652.3228.6%
Your bill£2,278.37100%

Split in proportion to the £1,508m the council pays for itself, after the grants tied to particular services, which the budget return already takes off each one. Council tax pays about 25p of every £1 of that; government grants and business rates pay the rest.

sourcedSplit by service, 2026/27 budget return

The council’s budget

What the council spends on day-to-day services after fees and charges, and where the money comes from; grants tied to a particular service are already taken off it. It must balance by law.

FundingReserves (one-off)Services
Council tax to Net budgetGeneral Revenue Grant to Net budgetBusiness rates (Scotland's shared pot) to Net budgetOther income to Net budgetNet budget to Schools and educationNet budget to Social work and careNet budget to Debt costs and leviesNet budget to Housing and homelessnessNet budget to Streets, waste and transportNet budget to Running the councilNet budget to Parks, libraries and leisureNet budget to Community safety and regulationNet budget to Planning and the local economySourced from a published documentCouncil tax£381.0m, 25%Sourced from a published documentGeneral Revenue Grant£692.1m, 46%Sourced from a published documentBusiness rates (Scotland's shared pot)£435.1m, 29%Sourced from a published documentOther income£37.5mSourced from a published documentSchools and education£634.9m, 42%Sourced from a published documentSocial work and care£506.5m, 34%Sourced from a published documentDebt costs and levies£97.0mSourced from a published documentHousing and homelessness£91.5mSourced from a published documentStreets, waste and transport£57.4mSourced from a published documentRunning the council£52.6mSourced from a published documentParks, libraries and leisure£50.1mSourced from a published documentCommunity safety and regulation£12.1mSourced from a published documentPlanning and the local economy£5.8m£1,508m

Not drawn in the flow, because they are below zero: Put into council reserves (£37.8m). They are in the tables.

Show the budget as a table
Where the money comes from, 2026/27
£mShare of the net budget
Council tax£381.0m25.3%
General Revenue Grant£692.1m45.9%
Business rates (Scotland's shared pot)£435.1m28.9%
Other income£37.5m2.5%
Drawn from council reserves (one-off)−£37.8m−2.5%
Net budget£1,508.0m100%
What it pays for, 2026/27
£mShare of the net budget
Schools and education£634.9m42.1%
Social work and care£506.5m33.6%
Debt costs and levies£97.0m6.4%
Housing and homelessness£91.5m6.1%
Streets, waste and transport£57.4m3.8%
Running the council£52.6m3.5%
Parks, libraries and leisure£50.1m3.3%
Community safety and regulation£12.1m0.8%
Planning and the local economy£5.8m0.4%
Net budget£1,508.0m100%

Where the money comes from

Council tax£381.0m
General Revenue Grant£692.1m
Business rates (Scotland's shared pot)£435.1m
Other income£37.5m
Drawn from council reserves−£37.8m
Net budget£1,508.0m

What it pays for

Schools and education£634.9m
Social work and care£506.5m
Debt costs and levies£97.0m
Housing and homelessness£91.5m
Streets, waste and transport£57.4m
Running the council£52.6m
Parks, libraries and leisure£50.1m
Community safety and regulation£12.1m
Planning and the local economy£5.8m
sourcedAll lines

Council tax over the years

The council’s own share of a Band D bill went from £1,378.75 in 2022/23 to £1,626.05 in 2026/27, up 18%.

Band D council tax in Edinburgh each year
YearThe council’s shareWhole bill, with water and sewerage
2022/23£1,378.75not published
2023/24£1,447.69not published
2024/25£1,447.69not published
2025/26£1,563.51£2,163.90
2026/27£1,626.05£2,278.37

The whole bill is shown for the years whose water and sewerage charges are published in a form we can read; for earlier years only the council’s share is.

Councillors

SNP 15, Liberal Democrats 14, Labour 12, Green 11, Conservative 10 and Independent 1 of the 63 councillors on the council’s list. No party has more than half the seats. Edinburgh’s councillors were elected in May 2022 by single transferable vote, where voters number the candidates in order of choice; the next election is in May 2027. How each ward voted is not shown yet: Democracy Club has the winners but not the counts. The list is the council’s own, so it includes everyone elected at by-elections since.

Almond

City Centre

Colinton/Fairmilehead

Corstorphine/Murrayfield

Craigentinny/Duddingston

Drum Brae/Gyle

Forth

Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart

Inverleith

Leith

Leith Walk

Liberton/Gilmerton

Morningside

Pentland Hills

Portobello/Craigmillar

Sighthill/Gorgie

Southside/Newington

Still to come for Edinburgh

For Hammersmith & Fulham, Borough Book also tracks every party’s manifesto pledges, every council payment over £500, Cabinet and Full Council decisions, how this year’s budget gap was closed and a tool to balance next year. Those need the council’s own papers, read by hand, and come here next. See Hammersmith & Fulham.

sourcedBill, budget and history: the Scottish Government's returns and Scottish Water's charges, checked against their own totals (24 Jul 2026)
Where every figure on this page comes from