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Independent. Not run by or affiliated with The Highland Council.

Where your council tax goes in Highland

A Band D home pays £2,286.31 this year, up 7.5%. Council tax covers about 21% of what the council spends on day-to-day services; government grants pay 54%, and business rates 23%.

Band D bill£2,286up 7.5% on last year
Council budget£859mday-to-day, including schools
Paid by council tax21%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
£2,286.31
£228.63 a month over 10 instalments
The Highland Council£1,633.99Scottish 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 £1,633.99 to the council pays for

Schools and education£760
Social work and care£442
Debt costs and levies£174
Streets, waste and transport£141
Housing and homelessness£42
Parks, libraries and leisure£41
Community safety and regulation£15
Running the council£14
Planning and the local economy£5
Show your bill as a table
Band D, 2026/27: where your council tax goes
Your billShare
Schools and education£759.7733.2%
Social work and care£441.8419.3%
Debt costs and levies£174.377.6%
Streets, waste and transport£140.606.1%
Housing and homelessness£42.071.8%
Parks, libraries and leisure£41.331.8%
Community safety and regulation£15.180.7%
Running the council£13.750.6%
Planning and the local economy£5.100.2%
The Highland Council, all services£1,633.9971.5%
Water£301.9513.2%
Sewerage£350.3715.3%
Scottish Water (water and sewerage), all£652.3228.5%
Your bill£2,286.31100%

Split in proportion to the £859m 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 21p 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 budgetDrawn from the capital fund to Net budgetDrawn from council reserves to Net budgetNet budget to Schools and educationNet budget to Social work and careNet budget to Debt costs and leviesNet budget to Streets, waste and transportNet budget to Housing and homelessnessNet budget to Parks, libraries and leisureNet budget to Community safety and regulationNet budget to Running the councilNet budget to Planning and the local economySourced from a published documentCouncil tax£183.3m, 21%Sourced from a published documentGeneral Revenue Grant£461.0m, 54%Sourced from a published documentBusiness rates (Scotland's shared pot)£196.4m, 23%Sourced from a published documentOther income£1.7mSourced from a published documentDrawn from the capital fund£9.7mSourced from a published documentDrawn from council reserves£7.2mSourced from a published documentSchools and education£399.6m, 46%Sourced from a published documentSocial work and care£232.4m, 27%Sourced from a published documentDebt costs and levies£91.7m, 11%Sourced from a published documentStreets, waste and transport£73.9m, 9%Sourced from a published documentHousing and homelessness£22.1mSourced from a published documentParks, libraries and leisure£21.7mSourced from a published documentCommunity safety and regulation£8.0mSourced from a published documentRunning the council£7.2mSourced from a published documentPlanning and the local economy£2.7m£859m
Show the budget as a table
Where the money comes from, 2026/27
£mShare of the net budget
Council tax£183.3m21.3%
General Revenue Grant£461.0m53.6%
Business rates (Scotland's shared pot)£196.4m22.9%
Other income£1.7m0.2%
Drawn from the capital fund (one-off)£9.7m1.1%
Drawn from council reserves (one-off)£7.2m0.8%
Net budget£859.4m100%
What it pays for, 2026/27
£mShare of the net budget
Schools and education£399.6m46.5%
Social work and care£232.4m27.0%
Debt costs and levies£91.7m10.7%
Streets, waste and transport£73.9m8.6%
Housing and homelessness£22.1m2.6%
Parks, libraries and leisure£21.7m2.5%
Community safety and regulation£8.0m0.9%
Running the council£7.2m0.8%
Planning and the local economy£2.7m0.3%
Net budget£859.4m100%

Where the money comes from

Council tax£183.3m
General Revenue Grant£461.0m
Business rates (Scotland's shared pot)£196.4m
Other income£1.7m
Drawn from the capital fund£9.7m
Drawn from council reserves£7.2m
Net budget£859.4m

What it pays for

Schools and education£399.6m
Social work and care£232.4m
Debt costs and levies£91.7m
Streets, waste and transport£73.9m
Housing and homelessness£22.1m
Parks, libraries and leisure£21.7m
Community safety and regulation£8.0m
Running the council£7.2m
Planning and the local economy£2.7m
sourcedAll lines

Council tax over the years

The council’s own share of a Band D bill went from £1,372.29 in 2022/23 to £1,633.99 in 2026/27, up 19%.

Band D council tax in Highland each year
YearThe council’s shareWhole bill, with water and sewerage
2022/23£1,372.29not published
2023/24£1,427.18not published
2024/25£1,427.19not published
2025/26£1,527.09£2,127.48
2026/27£1,633.99£2,286.31

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

Highland Independent 18, SNP 18, Liberal Democrats 16, Highland Alliance 7, Conservative 6, Green 3, Non-Aligned 3, Labour 2 and Reform UK 1 of the 74 councillors on the council’s list. No party has more than half the seats. Highland’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.

Aird and Loch Ness

Badenoch and Strathspey

Black Isle

Caol and Mallaig

Cromarty Firth

Culloden and Ardersier

Dingwall and Seaforth

East Sutherland and Edderton

Eilean á Chèo

Fort William and Ardnamurchan

Inverness Central

Inverness Millburn

Inverness Ness-side

Inverness South

Inverness West

Nairn and Cawdor

North, West and Central Sutherland

Tain and Easter Ross

Thurso and Northwest Caithness

Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh

Wick and East Caithness

Still to come for Highland

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