Dumfries & Galloway Council Tax Debt Help

Struggling With Dumfries and Galloway Council Tax?

Dumfries and Galloway is the council for Scotland’s south-west corner, a large, mostly rural region that stretches along the Solway coast from Gretna and Annan in the east, through Dumfries, Lockerbie and Moffat, out across the Stewartry towns of Castle Douglas, Kirkcudbright and Dalbeattie, and on to Newton Stewart, Wigtown and Stranraer in the far west of Galloway. It is one of the largest council areas in Scotland by land but has a relatively small, spread-out population, so getting to help in person is not always easy. Wherever you live in the region, the way council tax is billed and collected is the same, and if you have fallen behind, there are clear ways out. This page explains how the council operates, how arrears are recovered, and how to get a debt back under control before it reaches a wage arrestment.

How we can help:

• We deal with the council and its sheriff officers for you
• We help you agree a realistic, affordable payment plan
• We set out every debt solution open to Dumfries and Galloway residents
• We can help stop or avoid a wage arrestment
• Free, confidential help – with no obligation

Watch: how council tax recovery and sheriff action works in Scotland, and how to stop it.

About Dumfries and Galloway Council

Dumfries and Galloway Council is the unitary local authority for the south-west of Scotland, covering the three historic counties of Dumfriesshire in the east, the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright in the middle, and Wigtownshire, the western part of Galloway. It serves around 146,000 people spread across a large, largely rural area, with Dumfries as the main town and administrative centre, and other centres including Stranraer, Annan, Lockerbie, Castle Douglas, Newton Stewart, Kirkcudbright, Dalbeattie, Moffat, Gretna and Sanquhar.

Council tax and business rates are billed and collected by the council’s local taxation service, which also handles discounts, Council Tax Reduction and the recovery of arrears. The valuation band on your home is set by the Assessor for Dumfries and Galloway, whose office is at Militia House on English Street in Dumfries, and not by the council itself. The council’s headquarters is the Council Offices, English Street, Dumfries, DG1 2DD.

Dumfries and Galloway council tax contact details

These are the council’s main contact points for council tax. If you are worried about paying, it is far better to make contact early than to wait for a reminder.

You can pay by Direct Debit, online by card through the council’s forms portal, or by phone, spread over monthly instalments. If ringing the council yourself feels difficult, we can speak to the council for you and help set up an arrangement.

Council tax in Dumfries and Galloway

Council tax is an annual charge on domestic property, set each year by Dumfries and Galloway Council. What you pay depends on the valuation band of your home, which reflects its value on 1 April 1991 and is set by the Assessor for Dumfries and Galloway, not by the council. Your bill also includes separate water and wastewater charges, which the council collects on behalf of Scottish Water.

Bills are issued in spring for the year that begins on 1 April, and are usually spread across monthly instalments. If you want to understand the wider system, who is liable and how billing works, see our guides to council tax in Scotland, council tax liability and billing and collection.

Dumfries and Galloway council tax bands and charges 2026-27

For 2026-27, Dumfries and Galloway Council increased council tax by 8.5%, which took the Band D council tax to £1,578.65, an increase of about £123.67 over the year, or roughly £10.31 a month. The council publishes the council part of the bill on its own, so the table below shows the council tax on its own and the total once the Scottish Water charges are added. Band D is the standard reference band.

The council tax column is the Dumfries and Galloway charge on its own, and the right-hand column adds the standard Scottish Water charges to give the full bill. If you think your home is in the wrong band, you can check it on the Scottish Assessors website and, in limited circumstances, ask for a review, though a review can move a band up as well as down. Our council tax valuation guide explains how bands and challenges work.

Reductions, discounts and second homes

Before worrying about arrears, it is worth making sure your bill is as low as it should be. Dumfries and Galloway Council offers a range of reductions, and claiming the right one can cut what you owe and make catching up far easier.

• Council Tax Reduction (CTR): a means-tested reduction of up to 100% for people on a low income, usually with savings under £16,000. You apply to the council, separately from Universal Credit, and the reduction is credited straight to your council tax account. CTR reduces the council tax element only, not the water and wastewater charges, which have their own separate reduction.
• Single person discount (25%): if you are the only adult in the property, you can claim a 25% reduction.
• Disabled band reduction: if a resident needs an extra room, an additional bathroom or space to use a wheelchair indoors because of a disability, the bill can be charged one band lower. See our disabled band reduction guide.
• Other discounts and exemptions: students, apprentices, carers and people with a severe mental impairment can be disregarded, and some properties are exempt. Our council tax discounts guide explains who qualifies.

The Galloway coast and the hills have long attracted holiday and second homes, and the council has used its powers here: a property classed as a second home is charged double the normal council tax, and a home left empty for the long term is also charged at double, with the water and wastewater charges staying at the normal level. These premiums apply to second and empty homes, not to the home you live in, but if you are being charged a premium you do not think applies, raise it with the council straight away.

Business rates in Dumfries and Galloway

Business rates, or non-domestic rates, are the commercial equivalent of council tax and are billed by Dumfries and Galloway Council. The rate itself, the poundage, is set nationally by the Scottish Government and is the same across the country. Your bill is the rateable value of your premises, set by the Assessor for Dumfries and Galloway, multiplied by the poundage.

For 2026-27 the Scottish Government set three rates:

Many smaller rural businesses, farm diversifications, shops and tourism premises across the region pay little or nothing through the Small Business Bonus Scheme, which can give 100% relief on a single property with a rateable value up to £12,000, with tapered relief up to £20,000. Other reliefs, including charity, empty property and Fresh Start relief, may also apply. If a business falls behind, non-domestic rates are recovered in the same way as council tax: a final notice, then loss of the right to pay by instalments with the full balance due, then a summary warrant that adds a 10% surcharge.

Which sheriff officers does the council use?

When council tax or business rates go unpaid and a summary warrant has been granted, Dumfries and Galloway Council passes the account to sheriff officers to collect. Sheriff officers are officers of the court, not private bailiffs, and their powers are set by Scottish law.

The council does not name its sheriff officer firm on its public pages. Like most Scottish councils it appoints firms through a national framework, and whichever firm it instructs will hold a court commission covering the sheriffdom of South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway, acting through Dumfries Sheriff Court in the east or Stranraer Sheriff Court in the west. What matters more than the firm’s name is how you respond: their powers are the same as any sheriff officer in Scotland, and the same rules and protections apply.

If a sheriff officer has contacted you about a Dumfries and Galloway debt, you can see how sheriff officers work, what they can and cannot do, and every firm that acts for Scottish councils on our sheriff officers and council tax hub. We can also deal with them for you.

What happens if you fall behind in Dumfries and Galloway

Dumfries and Galloway follows the standard Scottish recovery process. Knowing the stages helps you see where you are and how much room you still have to act.

1. Reminder notice. Miss an instalment and the council sends a reminder, usually giving you around 7 days to bring the account up to date.
2. Final notice and loss of instalments. If it is not paid, you lose the right to pay by instalments and the full year’s balance becomes due, typically within 14 days.
3. Summary warrant. The council applies to the sheriff court for a summary warrant, which is granted without a hearing and adds a statutory 10% surcharge to what you owe.
4. Sheriff officer enforcement. The account is passed to the council’s sheriff officers, who can serve a charge for payment giving you 14 days, and then pursue a wage (earnings) arrestment, a bank arrestment or an attachment.

Because the 10% surcharge and the sheriff officer fees are fixed by law, acting early is what keeps the cost down. You can offer payment at any stage, even after a summary warrant, and the council would rather hear from you, or from us on your behalf, before things reach that point. Our billing and collection guide covers the process in more depth.

What to do if the council contacts you about arrears

Whether the letter comes from the council or from a sheriff officer, the sensible steps are the same.

1. Open it and act. Council tax arrears do not go away, and ignoring letters only moves the debt further along the recovery process.
2. Check it is right. Make sure the debt is yours, for the correct property and year, and that any discount, exemption or Council Tax Reduction you are due has been applied.
3. Ask for identification. A genuine sheriff officer carries a formal identity document, and you are entitled to see it before you deal with them.
4. Do not overcommit. Only agree to what you can genuinely afford, because a broken arrangement usually leads straight to a wage arrestment.
5. Get advice and set up a plan. A realistic arrangement, the Debt Arrangement Scheme or another solution is what actually stops enforcement.

If dealing with the council or a sheriff officer feels overwhelming, we can take it on for you with your permission and help you reach something affordable.

Solutions if you are struggling with Dumfries and Galloway council tax debt

The most effective way to deal with sheriff officers is to resolve the arrears behind the enforcement. Depending on your circumstances, the main routes for Dumfries and Galloway residents are:

Not sure which fits your situation? See our wage arrestment solutions overview, or get in touch and we will talk it through, free and with no obligation.

Free debt advice in Dumfries and Galloway

Alongside our service, the region has free advice available. You never need to pay for good council tax debt advice.

• Dumfries and Galloway Citizens Advice Service: free money, debt and benefits advice, including council tax debt, on the freephone helpline 0300 303 4321, with offices in Dumfries, Annan, Stranraer and Castle Douglas and outreach across the region.
• National Debtline: free confidential telephone debt advice, on 0808 808 4000.
• StepChange Debt Charity: free national debt advice, on 0800 138 1111.
• Advice Direct Scotland: free national advice on money and debt through moneyadvice.scot, on 0808 800 9060.

These services are independent and free. We work alongside this kind of support and can help you take the practical steps that stop enforcement.

Dumfries and Galloway at a glance

Frequently asked questions

Where to find free, impartial information

As well as speaking to us, you can check your rights with these independent, official sources:

• Dumfries and Galloway Council – Council Tax
• mygov.scot – Council Tax (Scottish Government)
• mygov.scot – Sheriff officer powers and your rights
• Citizens Advice Scotland – Debt and money
• mygov.scot – Non-domestic rates guidance

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