Council Tax helps fund more than 700 services across the Council, making a real difference to local lives and communities. 

For more than 20 years, Falkirk Council has had one of the lowest Council Tax levels in Scotland. However, to balance the budget and protect essential services, a significant increase was necessary.

 For more information on how Falkirk Council’s Council Tax rates over the years compare to those of other Local Authorities, visit the Scottish Government website and view the Council tax datasets.

We are legally required to create a budget that balances each year. This means the money we get from the Scottish Government, Council Tax, and other sources must cover the costs of providing services and investing in the protection and improvement of our communities. For more information on how your Council Tax is set, visit the Council's website.

Officers provided a report to Council highlighting a number of financial options to enable elected members to make an informed decision when setting the 2025/26 budget on 6 March.  

After consideration of the options, elected members approved a £488 million revenue budget to invest in services over the coming year and a five-year £231 million capital investment programme.  As part of this, it was agreed to increase Council Tax to 15.61%.  For further information on the budget and finances for 2025/26 visit the Councils webpage for Explaining the budget and finances.

The legal requirement to impose and collect Council Tax.

The legislation under which Falkirk Council is obliged to levy and collect Council Tax is freely available at legislation.gov.uk and is:

• The Local Government Finance Act 1992
• The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) (Scotland) Regulations 1992 as amended
• the Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002, and
• the Water and Sewerage Services to Dwellings (Collection of Unmetered Charges by Local Authority) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2017

Falkirk Council as a Local Authority has a statutory obligation to bill and collect the Council Tax.

Once liability of the Council Tax has been determined, persons liable to pay Council Tax do not have the choice to "opt out" of paying the Council Tax.  The Council will bill and collect the Council Tax as determined.  

The Council does not require agreement from persons liable to pay Council Tax prior to the issue and collection of the Council Tax charges.

If you are struggling to pay your Council Tax, you might be able to get help through Council Tax Reduction.  We have an online benefit calculator that will help you find out what benefits you can claim,or you can drop into one of our Advice and Support Hubs where one of our multi skill advisers will carry out a financial well-being check or self-refer to the Welfare Benefits Team.

Fees and charges help sustain essential services while keeping costs fair for residents and businesses.  

Some of these services are discretionary; these are services that we provide but do not have to by law. 

The new town hall is not being funded from the Council Tax increase for 2025/26.   The Town Hall is being part funded through the Councils General Services Capital Programme which represents the Councils contribution to the Falkirk and Grangemouth Growth Deal which has secured funding from both the United Kingdom and Scottish Governments. The £150m Growth Deal will create up to 1,660 new jobs and £628m worth of Economic Benefits to the area.  

On January 23, 2025, the Executive agreed to start a public consultation about the design and business case for the new town hall. The new building will have a regional theatre, a large auditorium for civic events, a new central library and learning hub, and a central hub for front facing council and partner services. The proposed investment will also support improvements to the High Street and provide the catalyst for further investment to regenerate the Town Centre. The new venue will have a transformational impact with an estimated 300,000 more people visiting the town centre, and £84.5m in growth and jobs. A final decision on the project and funding for the new town hall will be made during the budget meeting in March 2026.  

Your Council Tax does not support council housing.  The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) funds all housing related costs from the rents paid by tenants.

We are committed to providing quality housing and service provision to the people living in the Falkirk Council area. We have committed £182.5m to invest in our housing stock over the next 5 years.   This will be funded through the Housing Revenue Account, not through Council Tax.

Further information can be found through the Falkirk Council Homes and Property webpages.

Council tax bills for 2025/26 will begin being issued on 17 March 2025.

Further information can be found on our Council Tax charges for 2025/26 webpage.

We provide a full kerbside collection service for household waste and recyclables and residents can also use two Household Waste Recycling Centres at Roughmute and Kinneil.  These centres accept a wider range of domestic waste and recyclables, including bulky items. 

Falkirk has a strong recycling record, consistently recycling over half of all the waste collected, which helps protect and improve our environment.

The cost for Brown Bin collection will remain at £45 per bin for 2025/26. Residents who receive a council tax reduction are eligible for a 50% discount on this charge.

For information can be found on our household waste and recycling webpages.

The 15.61% increase in Council Tax includes a 1.5% allocation for capital expenditure, which will be invested in flood prevention projects, managing watercourses, upgrading road drainage systems and reduce the risk of flooding in residential area.  In addition, this will allow us to improve around 180,000 square metres of roads over the next year. 

This investment for 2025/26 will help prevent our roads and paths from getting worse, reduce the number of potholes, make roads more durable, and create a smoother and more accessible transport network.  

For information can be found on our roads webpage.

• Falkirk Council sets budget for 2025/26