Scottish Landfill Tax: Revenue Scotland rates, registration and returns
What landfill site operators in Scotland must do under the Landfill Tax (Scotland) Act 2014, including who is liable, the 2026 to 2027 rates of £130.75 and £8.65 a tonne, registration, quarterly returns and payment within 44 days, and unauthorised disposals.
Scottish Landfill Tax (SLfT) replaced the UK Landfill Tax in Scotland for taxable disposals from 1 April 2015. It is set by the Landfill Tax (Scotland) Act 2014 and collected by Revenue Scotland, with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) supporting it. The Scottish Government sets the rates each year through the Scottish Budget.
The tax is charged on the operator of the landfill site, not on the business that sends waste to it. You are liable if you are the permit or authorisation holder for a landfill site in Scotland, and also if you knowingly permit or carry out a disposal at a site that should have had a permit or authorisation. SLfT therefore reaches illegal dumping as well, as a deterrent.
- Standard rate from 1 April 2026
- £130.75 per tonne (Scottish Landfill Tax (Standard Rate and Lower Rate) Order 2026, SSI 2026/97)
- Lower rate from 1 April 2026
- £8.65 per tonne, for qualifying materials (SSI 2026/97)
- Rates for earlier years
- Rates are set for each tax year. Use the rates order that applied on the date of the disposal
- Unauthorised disposals
- Taxable at the landfill tax rates. The 2026 rates order sets only a standard and a lower rate and does not set a separate unauthorised disposals rate
- Who registers
- Landfill site operators. You must notify Revenue Scotland within 30 days of first making taxable disposals, or forming the intention to make them, whichever is earlier
- Accounting periods
- Quarterly (1 April to 30 June, 1 July to 30 September, 1 October to 31 December, 1 January to 31 March)
- Return and payment deadline
- A self-assessed return and payment within 44 days of the quarter end, which means 13 August, 13 November, 13 February and 14 May
- Late returns and payments
- Interest and penalties apply. Revenue Scotland says it uses civil penalties and prosecution against deliberate non-compliance
- Landfill Communities Fund
- Closed to new contributions from 1 April 2026
What you must do
- Check whether you are a liable operator. If you hold a permit or registration for a landfill site in Scotland, or you run an in-house disposal site, you account for the tax on every taxable disposal at that site.
- Register with Revenue Scotland within 30 days of your first taxable disposal or of deciding to start making them, and get on the Scottish Landfill Tax Register.
- Work out the tax for each load. Tax is due on the weight of material disposed of, at the standard rate unless the material qualifies for the lower rate.
- File a return and pay every quarter. Submit your return and arrange payment within 44 days of quarter end. Missing the deadline can cost you interest and penalties.
- Claim credits where they apply. Revenue Scotland gives a credit where material that was already taxed is removed from the site, and bad debt relief where a customer becomes insolvent.
- Use SEPA for site authorisation. SLfT is separate from your landfill permit. SEPA, not Revenue Scotland, regulates the permit. The two bodies share data.
If you only send waste to landfill, you do not register for SLfT, because the tax is charged on the operator. How the tax is reflected in the gate fee is a matter between you and the operator. If waste is dumped at an unauthorised site, the person who knowingly permitted or carried out the disposal can be liable for the tax on top of any environmental penalty. For Wales see the Landfill Disposals Tax entry, which has a different regulator, deadlines and an unauthorised disposals rate.