How long can council tax debt be chased in Scotland?

Council tax debt in Scotland can be chased for up to 20 years, not the 5 years that applies to most debts. Since 28 February 2025, the law has said in terms that the five-year rule does not apply to council tax or to the surcharge, fees and expenses of collecting it. Sources differ on exactly when the 20 years start, so check your dates with an adviser before you pay, or before you assume an old bill has lapsed.

Why is council tax different from other debts?

In Scotland, most debts from a contract, such as credit cards and loans, are extinguished if five years pass without a payment, a written admission or a relevant claim by the creditor. This is called prescription. Our guide to statute-barred debt in Scotland explains the five-year rule in full.

Council tax is on a list of debts that the five-year rule does not apply to. Schedule 1 of the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 now excludes any obligation to pay:

• council tax
• non-domestic rates (business rates)
• any surcharge, fees, expenses or other sum recoverable in connection with enforcing those debts

That wording was added by the Prescription (Scotland) Act 2018 and came into force on 28 February 2025. At the same time, the 2018 Act brought most other debts owed under an Act of Parliament into the five-year rule. Council tax, taxes owed to the Crown, some benefit overpayments and child support maintenance were deliberately kept out, so they fall under the longer 20-year period instead.

Water and sewerage charges are billed and collected with council tax, but they are not named in that list. If your arrears include water charges, ask an adviser how the time limit applies to that part.

When do the 20 years start?

This is where sources disagree.

The law does not define “enforceable” separately for council tax. In practice, the dates on your council’s reminders and final notice will matter, as will the date of any summary warrant.

A summary warrant is an order the council gets from the sheriff court, without a hearing, to collect council tax arrears. It adds a 10% surcharge and lets sheriff officers enforce the debt. See what a summary warrant is. How the 20-year period applies once a summary warrant has been granted is a technical question, so ask an adviser to look at your paperwork.

Does paying something restart the clock?

Under the old law, yes: a payment, a written admission or a court claim restarted the full 20 years. That changed on 28 February 2025. The Scottish Parliament’s explanatory notes to the 2018 Act say the aim was to make the 20-year period a true long stop, so that it can no longer be restarted by a relevant claim or by an acknowledgement.

Under the law as it now stands:

• a payment or written admission by you does not restart the 20 years
• if the council makes a relevant claim, such as court action, before the 20 years run out, the period is extended only until that claim or those proceedings end
• a debt that had already been extinguished before 28 February 2025 stays extinguished (the commencement regulations, SSI 2022/78, regulation 3)

Citizens Advice Scotland’s page, written in 2019, still says a payment or letter might restart the time limit. That reflects the old law. The law does not say in plain terms how payments or letters from before 28 February 2025 are treated now, so an adviser should check the full history before you rely on a date.

What can the council still do about old arrears?

Everything it can do about recent arrears. If there is a summary warrant, sheriff officers can serve a charge for payment and then arrest your wages or bank account. Citizens Advice Scotland says the council may also ask for deductions from certain benefits, such as Universal Credit. Our guide to council tax arrears in Scotland explains each step.

Moving house, or moving to another council area, does not end the debt. The council that billed you can still collect it.

What should you check on an old council tax bill?

Before you agree to pay, ask the council or the sheriff officers for a statement showing:

• which property and which years the arrears are for
• the council tax charged for each year, and any discounts or reductions applied
• the date of each summary warrant and the 10% surcharge added
• every payment or deduction already made
• any sheriff officer fees added

Then check whether you were liable at all. You may not have been if you had moved out, if the property was exempt, or if you should have had a discount, such as the single adult discount. If you were on a low income at the time, ask whether Council Tax Reduction should have applied.

If you lived with a partner or another liable adult, you were probably jointly liable, which means each of you can be asked for the whole amount. The Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 requires the Scottish Government to review how joint liability for council tax arrears affects people who have experienced domestic abuse. That duty has been in force since 12 January 2026, but it is a review, not yet a change to the law.

Can old council tax arrears go into a debt solution?

Council tax arrears can be included in the formal Scottish debt solutions, but your current council tax bill must still be paid.

• Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS): arrears from before your debt payment programme starts can be included. You repay the debt in full, and interest, fees and charges are frozen.
• Protected trust deed: arrears from before you sign can be included. A trust deed has fees, affects your credit rating for 6 years and puts your name on the public Register of Insolvencies. See which debts can go into a trust deed.
• Sequestration (bankruptcy in Scotland) and informal arrangements with the council are other routes.

If some of the arrears may be more than 20 years old, tell the adviser, so those years are checked before anything is signed. Which option, if any, fits depends on your whole situation.

Official sources

• Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, Schedule 1: debts the five-year rule does not apply to
• Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, section 7: the 20-year prescription
• Prescription (Scotland) Act 2018 (Commencement, Saving and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2022
• Prescription (Scotland) Act 2018: explanatory notes
• Citizens Advice Scotland: check if you have to pay a debt