Stirling Council Tax Debt Help

Struggling With Stirling Council Tax?

The Stirling council area reaches well beyond the city and its castle. It takes in Bridge of Allan and Dunblane to the north, the eastern villages of Bannockburn, Fallin and Cowie, and a huge rural area to the west, running out through Balfron and Drymen and up to Callander and Killin. The council raised council tax by 8.75% for 2026-27, and National Records of Scotland recorded Stirling as one of the council areas whose population fell fastest in the year to mid-2025. If you have fallen behind, there are clear ways out. This page explains how Stirling Council collects council tax, who it uses to recover arrears, 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 Stirling 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 Stirling Council

Stirling Council is the unitary local authority for the Stirling area, one of Scotland’s 32 councils. National Records of Scotland estimates that 94,040 people lived in the Stirling council area on 30 June 2025, a fall of 0.6% (580 people) on the year before. The city of Stirling is the council’s base, and its headquarters is Old Viewforth, Stirling, FK8 2ET.

Council tax is billed and collected by the council’s revenues and benefits service, part of its finance function, which also handles discounts, Council Tax Reduction and arrears. The valuation band on your home is set by the Assessor for Central Scotland, based at Hillside House in Stirling and shared with Clackmannanshire and Falkirk, not by the council itself.

Stirling council tax contact details

If you are worried about paying, get in touch early rather than waiting for a reminder.

Stirling offers a wide choice of payment dates. Direct Debit can be weekly, fortnightly, monthly over 10 or 12 instalments, or in 13 four-weekly instalments. You can also pay online by card, by bank transfer, by phone, at Customer First, at a Post Office or PayPoint if you have a payment card, or by post. If ringing the council yourself feels difficult, we can do it for you.

Council tax in Stirling

Council tax is an annual charge on domestic property, set each year by Stirling 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 Central Scotland, not by the council. Your bill also includes separate water and wastewater charges, which the council collects on behalf of Scottish Water.

The council tax year runs from 1 April to 31 March. For the wider system, see our guides to council tax in Scotland, council tax liability and billing and collection.

Stirling council tax bands and charges 2026-27

On 26 February 2026, Stirling Council approved an 8.75% council tax rise for 2026-27. The council says it faced a £10.7 million shortfall in a £328.63 million revenue budget, bridged partly by savings and partly by the rise, and that around 3% of the increase covers a cut in Local Growth Fund money and supports community social care. Almost 79% of the council’s budget comes from the Scottish Government and business rates, with the rest raised from council tax. The Band D council tax is now £1,752.87, or £2,405.19 with water charges. The table shows the council tax on its own and then the total with Scottish Water charges added.

These are the charges for a home with at least two adults. If you disagree with your band, you can appeal to the Assessor for Central Scotland, but only within six months of becoming liable, 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 up again, make sure yours is as low as it should be. Most reductions can be applied for online.

• Council Tax Reduction (CTR): helps people on a low income, usually with savings under £16,000 unless you or your partner get Guaranteed Pension Credit. You can claim even if you get no other benefits, and it does not cover water and wastewater charges. Full-time students who do not work should apply for a student exemption instead.
• Single occupancy discount (25%): if you are the only adult in the property.
• Second adult rebate: if you share your home with another adult on a low income who is not your partner.
• Disabled band reduction: where a home has features needed by a disabled resident, the bill can be charged one band lower. See our disabled band reduction guide.
• Other discounts and exemptions: students, apprentices and carers can qualify. Our council tax discounts guide explains who qualifies.

Stirling has used its powers on second and empty homes. Since 1 April 2024, a second home, meaning a furnished property no one lives in as their main home but which is occupied for at least 25 days a year, has been charged 200%. A home empty for 12 months or more has its council tax increased by 100%, with some exceptions for homes being sold or let, and new owners carrying out repairs. Queries on second homes go to 01786 233210, and the council’s Empty Homes Officer can help bring a property back into use.

Business rates in Stirling

Business rates are billed by Stirling Council, but the poundage is set nationally by the Scottish Government. Your bill is the rateable value of your premises, set by the Assessor for Central Scotland, multiplied by the poundage.

For 2026-27 the Scottish Government set three rates:

Many small businesses pay little or no rates thanks to 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, and combined-value rules for businesses with more than one property. Other reliefs, such as charity relief, empty property relief and Fresh Start, may also apply. Unpaid rates also go to a summary warrant with a 10% surcharge.

Which sheriff officers does the council use?

When council tax goes unpaid and a summary warrant has been granted, the council passes the debt to sheriff officers to collect. Sheriff officers are officers of the court, not private bailiffs, and their powers are set by Scottish law.

Stirling does not name its firm on its council tax pages, but its own contracts register does. The August 2026 register lists a contract titled Sheriff Officers with Alex M Adamson, held by the council’s finance service, which is where council tax sits. It was awarded on 1 September 2025 through the Scotland Excel sheriff officers framework and runs to 31 August 2029. The register does not list the debts the contract covers, so check the firm named on any letter you receive.

The sheriff court for the area is Stirling Sheriff Court on Viewfield Place, in the sheriffdom of Tayside, Central and Fife. Our Alex M Adamson guide explains how that firm works, and our sheriff officers and council tax hub covers every firm.

What happens if you fall behind in Stirling

Stirling follows the standard Scottish recovery process. Knowing the stages shows how much room you still have to act.

1. Reminder notice. Miss an instalment and the council sends a reminder, giving you 7 days to bring the account up to date.
2. Loss of instalments. If it is still unpaid, you can lose the right to pay by instalments, and the full year’s balance becomes due.
3. Summary warrant. The council applies to the sheriff for a summary warrant, which is granted without a court hearing and adds a statutory 10% penalty.
4. Sheriff officer enforcement. The debt passes to sheriff officers, who can serve a charge for payment giving you 14 days to pay, then use a wage (earnings) arrestment or a bank arrestment, where the first £1,000 in the account is protected.

Because the penalty and fees are fixed by law, acting early keeps the cost down. You can offer payment at any stage, even after a summary warrant.

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.

Solutions if you are struggling with Stirling 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 Stirling residents are:

• A payment arrangement with the council or its sheriff officers, at a level you can keep up.
• The Debt Arrangement Scheme: once a Debt Payment Programme is approved, an existing earnings arrestment is recalled.
• A protected trust deed for larger debts, which 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 Stirling

You never need to pay for good council tax debt advice. Free help in the Stirling area includes:

• Advice Stirling (Stirling Council): free, confidential and impartial money, debt and benefit advice for anyone in the Stirling area, including help to negotiate with creditors and explain options such as the Debt Arrangement Scheme and trust deeds. Call 01786 233528 or email moneyadvice@stirling.gov.uk. It also runs outreach clinics in GP practices, including Fallin, Cowie, Killin, Drymen and Balfron.
• Stirling District Citizens Advice Bureau: free advice, including debt and money, on 01786 470239. Face-to-face advice is by appointment at the Norman MacEwan Centre, 3 Cameronian Street, Stirling, FK8 2DX.
• 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.

Stirling 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:

• Stirling 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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