Council Tax in Highland 2026/27: Bands, Second-Home and Empty-Home Premiums

What council tax costs in Highland in 2026/27

Scottish Band D figures are the council's own charge and exclude the water and sewerage charges Scottish Water adds to the same bill, so they are not directly comparable with England or Wales. Band D is the reference charge for a home occupied by two adults; your band is on your bill.

How Highland compares in Scotland

• 2025/26 to 2026/27: Band D moved from £1,527.09 to £1,633.99, up 7.0%; the average change across Scotland’s 32 councils was 7.7%.
• Rank: 21 of 32 (1 = highest bill). The highest is Midlothian at £1,816.16 and the lowest South Lanarkshire at £1,468.47; the simple average is £1,661.92.

Second-home and empty-home premiums in Highland (2026/27)

Scottish councils may charge a premium on second homes and on homes empty long-term; the rate is set by each council and reported in its Council Tax Assumptions return. The premium is a percentage added to the normal bill, so 100% means the bill doubles. Highland’s 2026/27 position, from its own return:

For landlords in Highland

• Empty between tenancies: with no tenant the bill is yours — about £136.17 a month at Band D before any discount the council gives; the long-term-empty premium is a separate, later step. Council tax paid in a void is an allowable expense: council tax in void periods.
• Holiday lets and furnished second homes: Highland charges a 200% second-homes premium, so a furnished let that is nobody’s main home pays £4,901.97 at Band D. The tax side is on the holiday-let calculator.
• Buying here: the purchase tax is Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (with the Additional Dwelling Supplement), not SDLT — calculator.

Other councils in Scotland

East Renfrewshire, Falkirk, Fife, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, Midlothian, Moray, Na h-Eileanan Siar — all 32 Scotland councils ranked. England’s 296 councils are on the council tax rates 2026/27 table.

gov.scot Council tax datasets (CTAS 2026 return: Band D, bands A–H, second-home and long-term-empty premiums, 2026/27). Scottish Band D figures are the council's own charge and exclude the water and sewerage charges Scottish Water adds to the same bill, so they are not directly comparable with England or Wales. Premiums are the councils' own 2026/27 returns. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Averages and rankings are ours, across the 32 councils.