Perth and Kinross Council has achieved the second highest Council Tax collection rate in Scotland, generating a significant increase in income to support local services and investment.
A report to the Finance and Resources Committee highlights that £148 million in Council Tax, including £35.5 million for water charges, was billed during the 2025/26 financial year, with an in-year collection rate of 97.5%, 2.3% higher than the national average.
This represents an increase in income of around £13 million compared to the previous year and makes Perth and Kinross the second best performing council in Scotland for collection rates.
The average collection rate in Scotland was 95.2%.
The strong collection performance provides vital funding for the Council's priorities, including meeting the rising cost of health and social care, investing in road repairs, and supporting ongoing improvements to Perth city centre.
The report noted most residents continue to pay their Council Tax, with more than three quarters (around 78.5%) paying by Direct Debit. This helps keep collection rates high while reducing administrative costs.
Councillors on the Finance and Resources Committee were also told that while a small proportion of debt must be written off each year for accounting purposes, this represents only a very small percentage of the total billed.
For 2024/25 £2,368,919 has been deemed uncollectable. This was up from £600,816 written off for the previous 12 months due to a one-time exercise to write off all unrecoverable debt from 1993 to 2005 following a change in legislation.
For 2025/26, proposed Council Tax write-offs account for approximately 1.6% of the total billed, reflecting historic cases where recovery is no longer possible after extensive collection efforts.
The Council continues to take a supportive approach to residents experiencing financial difficulty, ensuring that customers are signposted to welfare advice, benefits support and tenancy services to help maximise household income and access all available support.
Councillor Stewart Donaldson, convener of Perth and Kinross Council's Finance and Resources Committee said: "We are pleased to see such a strong Council Tax collection rate, which reflects both the commitment of our residents and the hard work of Council staff.
"This income is essential in allowing us to deliver the services that matter most to our communities. It helps fund vital areas such as health and social care, maintain and improve our road network, and support ongoing investment across Perth and Kinross
"We recognise the financial pressures many households are facing and will continue to offer support and advice to anyone who needs help managing their Council Tax."
The report also outlined continued improvements to collection processes, including encouraging payment at point of service and using digital channels to make it easier for people to pay.
Councillors approved the necessary accounting write-offs as part of the Council's year-end financial procedures.
However, the Council will continue to pursue outstanding debts where it is cost-effective to do so, and cases can be reopened if new information becomes available.
