Perth and Kinross Council Tax Debt Help

Struggling With Perth and Kinross Council Tax?

Perth and Kinross stretches from the city of Perth on the Tay, south to Kinross and Loch Leven, west through Strathearn to Crieff and Comrie, east to Blairgowrie and Coupar Angus, and north into Highland Perthshire around Dunkeld, Pitlochry and Aberfeldy. Bills here have climbed: council tax went up by 8.9% for 2026-27, and the water and wastewater charges on the same bill rose by 8.67%. Wherever you live in the area, if you have fallen behind, there are clear ways back. This page explains how the council collects council tax, who it uses to recover arrears, and how to deal with a debt 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 Perth and Kinross 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 Perth and Kinross Council

Perth and Kinross Council is one of Scotland’s 32 councils. National Records of Scotland puts the area’s population at 154,930 in mid-2025, the 12th largest council area, in around 72,120 households. Its main towns are Perth, Crieff, Blairgowrie, Pitlochry, Auchterarder, Kinross, Aberfeldy and Coupar Angus. The council’s headquarters is at 2 High Street, Perth, PH1 5PH, and council tax is dealt with from Pullar House on Kinnoull Street.

Council tax and business rates are billed and collected by the council’s Local Taxes team, which also handles discounts, exemptions, surcharges and the recovery of arrears. The valuation band on your home is set by the Tayside Valuation Joint Board, the Assessor shared with Angus and Dundee City, not by the council itself.

Perth and Kinross council tax contact details

These are the council’s main contact points for council tax. The council asks anyone having difficulty paying to phone as soon as possible, rather than waiting for a reminder.

Council tax is normally paid in ten monthly instalments from April to January, or in one sum by 1 June. Paying by Direct Debit lets you spread the bill over 12 months instead, which lowers each payment. If ringing the council yourself feels difficult, we can speak to Local Taxes for you and help set up an arrangement.

Council tax in Perth and Kinross

Council tax is an annual charge on domestic property, set each year by Perth and Kinross 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 Tayside Valuation Joint Board, not by the council. Your bill also includes separate water and wastewater charges, which the council collects on behalf of Scottish Water. Those charges are still due even if you get full Council Tax Reduction.

Bills are issued in spring for the year that begins on 1 April. 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.

Perth and Kinross council tax bands and charges 2026-27

For 2026-27, Perth and Kinross Council increased council tax by 8.9% at Band D, from £1,537.04 to £1,673.84, which is £136.80 more a year before water charges. Scottish Water’s combined charges rose by 8.67% at Band D, so the full Band D bill is now £2,326.16. The table shows the council tax for each band and the total including water and wastewater, as the council publishes them.

If you think your home is in the wrong band, contact the Tayside Valuation Joint Board in Perth on 01738 630303. You must keep paying on your existing band while an appeal is decided, and 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

With bills rising, make sure yours is as low as it should be. When you phone about payment difficulties, the council says it will first check you are getting every discount and reduction you are entitled to.

• Council Tax Reduction (CTR): a means-tested reduction for people on a low income. Universal Credit does not cover council tax, so you still need to apply to the council, online through its “Apply Once” form or on 01738 476049. CTR reduces the council tax element only, not the water and wastewater charges.
• 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 council has used its powers on second and empty homes. Since 1 April 2024 a second home has been charged at 200% of the normal council tax, though job-related homes and purpose-built holiday homes keep a 50% discount. A home left empty and unfurnished can be exempt for up to six months, then get a 10% discount for six months more, or up to 24 months if it is actively marketed for sale or let. After that a surcharge applies, and from 1 July 2026 the council raised it from 100% to 200%, so the owner pays three times the normal council tax. The surcharges do not apply to water and wastewater charges. Our empty dwellings guide explains the rules, and if you are being charged a surcharge you do not think applies, raise it with Local Taxes straight away.

Business rates in Perth and Kinross

Business rates, or non-domestic rates, are the commercial equivalent of council tax and are billed by the council’s Local Taxes team. 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 Tayside Valuation Joint Board, multiplied by the poundage.

For 2026-27 the Scottish Government set three rates:

Many smaller businesses, from Perth city centre shops to rural cafés and guest houses, pay little or nothing through the Small Business Bonus Scheme. A single property with a rateable value up to £12,000 can qualify for 100% relief, with tapered relief up to £20,000. Other reliefs, such as charity relief, empty property relief and Fresh Start, may also apply. If a business falls behind, rates are recovered in the same way as council tax, through a summary warrant that adds a 10% penalty.

Which sheriff officers does the council use?

When council tax goes unpaid and a summary warrant has been granted, Perth and Kinross 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 names its firm on its own website: its page on payment difficulties says it uses Stirling Park as its sheriff officers, and asks anyone contacted by them to respond immediately. Perth and Kinross sits in the Sheriffdom of Tayside, Central and Fife, and the sheriff court in the area is Perth Sheriff Court on Tay Street.

One local detail is worth knowing. The council says that if it knows you receive Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance, it will usually apply for deductions from your benefit rather than pass your account to Stirling Park.

If Stirling Park has contacted you, our Stirling Park guide explains who they are and how to respond, and our sheriff officers and council tax hub covers every firm. We can also deal with them for you.

What happens if you fall behind in Perth and Kinross

Perth and Kinross sets out its own recovery stages on its website. Knowing them helps you see where you are and how much room you still have to act.

1. Reminder notice. Miss an instalment or underpay, and the council sends a reminder giving you 14 days to bring payments up to date. No more than two reminders are issued.
2. Loss of instalments. If you do not catch up, or you miss a third payment, the rest of the year’s bill becomes due at once.
3. Summary warrant. The council applies to the sheriff for a summary warrant. There is no court hearing, and a 10% statutory penalty is added (Local Government Finance Act 1992, Schedule 8, paragraph 2).
4. Sheriff officer enforcement. Stirling Park can serve a charge for payment giving you 14 days to pay (28 if you are outside the UK), then use a wage (earnings) arrestment or a bank arrestment, adding further costs.

Before an earnings arrestment you must be given a debt advice and information package (Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987, section 47). The deduction from your pay is set by statutory tables (SSI 2024/293, in force from 6 April 2025), and your employer may take £1 per deduction. With a bank arrestment, the first £1,000 is protected. See how much can be taken from your wages. You can offer payment at any stage, even after a summary warrant, and acting early keeps the cost down.

What to do if the council contacts you about arrears

Whether the letter comes from the council or from Stirling Park, 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 Stirling Park feels overwhelming, we can take it on for you with your permission and help you reach something affordable.

Solutions if you are struggling with Perth and Kinross 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 Perth and Kinross residents are:

• Special payment arrangement: an affordable plan agreed with the council or Stirling Park. Whether it is accepted is their decision.
• Debt Arrangement Scheme: approval of a Debt Payment Programme recalls an earnings arrestment.
• Trust deed: a protected trust deed ends an earnings arrestment from the date of protection.

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 Perth and Kinross

Alongside our service, there is free advice locally, including from the council itself. You never need to pay for good council tax debt advice.

• Perth and Kinross Council Welfare Rights Team: the council’s free, confidential service, offering benefit checks, help with claims and appeals, and basic debt and money advice. You can refer yourself through the council’s online form.
• Perth Citizens Advice Bureau: free advice on debt, benefits and money, on 01738 450580, Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm.
• Scotland’s Financial Health Service: a free debt and budgeting helpline run with Money Advice Scotland, on 0800 707 6696.
• National Debtline: free confidential telephone debt advice, on 0808 808 4000.
• StepChange Debt Charity: free national debt advice, on 0800 138 1111.

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

Perth and Kinross Council at a glance

Where to find free, impartial information

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

• Perth and Kinross 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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