Council tax on a second home in the Outer Hebrides
A second home in the Western Isles has paid double council tax since April 2024, and the cap that stopped a council charging more than double came off in April 2026.
In brief
- A second home, for council tax, is a furnished property that is nobody's main residence and is occupied for at least 25 days a year. Under 25 days and it is treated as an empty home instead.
- Comhairle nan Eilean Siar has charged 200% council tax on second homes since 1 April 2024 and budgeted in February 2026 to raise the levy to 225% for 2026/27: confirm the current rate with the council tax team. Water and wastewater charges stay at the standard rate.
- On a Band D property in 2026/27 that is £3,011.00 of council tax, plus £652.32 of water and wastewater: £3,663.32 in all.
- Two exemptions from the double charge: up to six months from the date the property is marketed for sale or for long-term let, and six months on a long-empty house bought by an owner who is renovating it.
- From 1 April 2026 the national ceiling that limited the premium to double the ordinary rate is gone, and councils set their own rate.
Who the charge applies to
The council's own definition is short. A second home is a property that is nobody's main residence but is furnished and occupied for at least 25 days a year by people whose main residence is elsewhere. A property used for fewer than 25 days is classed as an empty home rather than a second home.
A house bought for holidays and family visits is a second home from the day it is furnished, and the liable person is the owner rather than whoever is staying. Where circumstances change the council asks to be told, and the dates it wants are the day you moved in permanently, the day you stopped using it, or the day it went on the market.
What it costs
Before April 2024 a second home paid the ordinary full charge. The Comhairle approved the increase in February 2024, under powers the Scottish Government gave every council, and from 1 April 2024 a second home has been charged 200% council tax. The water and wastewater element is not doubled with it.
Three of the eight bands, on the Comhairle's published 2026/27 charges as they stood on 15 September 2026. The doubled column is the council's rule applied, not a figure it prints, and the full band table is on what a house costs to run.
| Band | 1991 value | Council tax, standard | Council tax, second home | With water and wastewater |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | up to £27,000 | £1,003.67 | £2,007.34 | £2,442.22 |
| D | £45,001 to £58,000 | £1,505.50 | £3,011.00 | £3,663.32 |
| E | £58,001 to £80,000 | £1,978.06 | £3,956.12 | £4,753.40 |
Bands are set on 1991 values, so what a house sells for today says little about which band it is in. The Band D council tax rose 8.5% on the year for 2026/27.
The two exemptions, and how to get them
Marketed for sale or for long-term let. The local policy does not charge the double rate for a period not exceeding six months from the date the property is marketed for sale or for long-term let. The council has to be told, and mygov.scot says councils will want evidence, such as the listing itself.
Renovating a house you have just bought. The 2023 regulations added a national exclusion: a dwelling unoccupied for over a year, bought by the liable person within the last six months, and demonstrably undergoing repairs or renovations that improve it, cannot be charged the premium. The council can agree a longer period. This is the exemption that matters to anyone taking on one of the islands' long-empty houses, and buying an empty or derelict house covers the rest of that purchase.
If you stop using it as a second home
Emptying the house of furniture does not end the charge. The council's position is that it is then classed as an empty property and still charged double council tax under the empty homes policy, unless it qualifies for an exemption such as agricultural use.
Letting it as self-catering is the other route. A self-catering property leaves the council tax list for non-domestic rates only when it holds a short-term let licence, is available to let for 140 nights or more in the financial year, and is actually let for 70 nights or more, and the move can only start from the point all three are true. Non-domestic rates carry their own bill, so this is a change of regime rather than an escape.
What changed on 1 April 2026
Until 1 April 2026 a Scottish council could not charge more than double the ordinary rate on a second home. The Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 repealed the cap from that date, the 2026 regulations set a national default, and mygov.scot states the consequence directly: that limit no longer applies, and premiums can be higher. The Scottish Government's Circular 6/2026, dated 25 March 2026, describes a national default premium of 100% that a council may set above or below.
The Comhairle's 2026/27 budget, approved on 24 February 2026, carries an additional levy on second and long-term empty properties worth £362,000, conditional on that legislation, which the Leader's pre-budget statement put at 225%. Its own second homes page still stated 200% on 15 September 2026. Ask the council tax team what the rate is for the current year before completing: the answer decides a four-figure annual bill.
The numbers behind the policy
On the Scottish Government's September 2025 figures the Comhairle had the highest rate of second homes of any Scottish council area, at 588 per 10,000 dwellings, and the combined count of second and long-term empty properties fell from 896 to 834 in the two years after the charge came in.
Before you buy
The Additional Dwelling Supplement on Land and Buildings Transaction Tax is charged on top of the purchase price of a second home, and Home Reports, offers and missives has the rate and the reclaim rules. Where the house sits on a croft the residency duty is a separate question again: see buying a croft or a house on a croft. Everything advertised in the islands today is on the full list.
Sources
- Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, second homes: frequently asked questions — the 25-day definition, the 200% charge, the six-month exemption, the empty property charge and the self-catering rules. Checked 15 September 2026.
- Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, council tax bands and charges 2026/27 — every figure in the table. Checked 15 September 2026.
- Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, budget 2026/27 (24 February 2026) — the £362,000 additional levy. Checked 15 September 2026.
- Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Leader's pre-budget statement (February 2026) — the 225% levy recommended for 2026/27. Read 22 September 2026; the rest checked 15 September 2026.
- mygov.scot, council tax for empty homes and second homes — the three tests and the end of the double-rate ceiling. Updated 1 April 2026, checked 15 September 2026.
- mygov.scot, non-domestic rates guidance for self-catering and short-term lets — the 140 and 70 night thresholds. Updated 30 March 2026, checked 15 September 2026.
- The Council Tax (Variation for Unoccupied Dwellings) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2023 — the renovation exclusion. Checked 15 September 2026.
- The Council Tax (Variation for Unoccupied Dwellings) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2026, SSI 2026/169 — the made regulations setting the national default from 1 April 2026. Checked 15 September 2026.
- Scottish Government, local government finance circular 6/2026 (25 March 2026) — the national default premium of 100%. Checked 15 September 2026.
- Scottish Empty Homes Partnership, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar — the empty homes count. Checked 15 September 2026.
- Scottish Government, second homes and empty properties, September 2025 — 588 per 10,000 dwellings, the highest rate of any council area. 16 December 2025, checked 15 September 2026.
- BBC News, second home numbers in the Western Isles falling slower than expected — the fall from 896 to 834. 1 September 2026, checked 15 September 2026.
Last checked 15 September 2026. Every source named above was read on that date, and rules, rates and timetables all move, so check the current position before you rely on a figure here. Corrections to hello@outerhebridesproperty.co.uk.