Council tax bills are now dropping through letterboxes across Scotland for 2026/2027 – and for many, they’ve gone up again.
Across the country, most councils have approved rises of around 5% to 10%, as local authorities face ongoing financial pressures and rising service costs.
Closer to home, both Lanarkshire councils have confirmed increases:
- In North Lanarkshire, council tax is rising by 7%, adding around £1.95 per week for a Band D home
- In South Lanarkshire, bills are increasing by 6.5%, with Band D charges now around £1,468 per year
While councils say the increases are needed to protect services and invest in communities, it’s another hit for households already dealing with the cost of living.
📬 With bills arriving now ahead of the new financial year starting in April, many families are starting to feel the impact. How much has YOUR council tax gone up by this year? Drop your increase in the comments below 👇
#Lanarkshire #CouncilTax #CostOfLiving #Scotland #LocalNews #MoneyMatters
I am a 72 yr old retired pensioner living in a 3 bedroom house in Blantyre. My council tax band is E and my next door neighbour who lives in a larger 4 bedroom detached private house with much larger land is also in Band E. I contacted the Assessors office months ago to complain that i believe i could be in Band D. I reported this MONTHS AGO and i have heard nothing back from the Assessors office.
My council tax for 2026-2027 has just risen by £14 per month. South Lanarkshire Council has set my annual total tax bill at over £2700+ a year which includes rises in cost for Sewarage and for water charge.
As a pensioner this equates to more than 3-4 months of my whole annual State Pension and if i then add another approx £2000 clawed back in addition by HMRC from BOTH my annual State Pension and from my Local Government Workplace annual pension. HMRC then claws back from my first day of retirement which should have been paid from my 65th birthday on 27th Feb 2019 but the DWP and the UK Government simply changed my official retirement new postponed retirement date to 6th July 2019 so the UK Gov and the DWP can cheat me oit of NonPayment of my State Pension for 19 weeks amounting to approximately £2740 which still has not been paid back to this present day. I am being Triple Taxed on my Total Annual Earnings on my SP & my Workplace pension plus council tax which has been set by SLC at a higher rate than my whole annual direct tax deducted by HMRC. These 3 taxes amount to approx £4740 in year 2026-2027. This is shocking and a DISGRACE. The real truth means i am left with just 7 months of my total 2 pension money to pay all of the rising cost of living for the year less several other tax deductions on VAT, Fuel Tax, Energy Bills Vat Tax,
A huge rise in Car Tax, Car Insurance rises, MOT Cost & annual car servicing cost up, oh and for 13 years South Lanarkshire council has failed to provide any local bus service to my development on the outskirts of Hamilton (West Craigs) and if paying in April 2026 a Council Tax bill of £209 up from £190 a month in 2025 and in May-Mar 2027 £204 a month. For every month i pay council tax it is approx equivalent to 1 whole week of my annual state pension. 12 weeks SP GONE.
Thanks for your detailed reply Roy. This puts things firmly in perspective. Council tax is becoming as large as having an additional mortgage. It really is crippling peoples finances and all at a time where council officials are still cutting services further. We fear it’ll get worse before better and raises the question again about how Scotland as a whole is governed.