Key points
- £19.0 million in Scottish Landfill Tax (SLfT) was declared payable in Q1 2026/27 (April – June 2026). Total standard rate tonnage was 141,600 tonnes and total lower rate tonnage was 64,900 tonnes.
- Standard rate tonnage increased substantially from 67,200 tonnes in Q4 2025/26 to 141,600 tonnes in Q1 2026/27, but remained the lowest Q1 (April to June) total on record. Lower rate tonnage fell to 64,900 tonnes, the lowest quarterly total since SLfT was introduced in 2015.
- 22 operators submitted returns for the latest quarter, covering 40 sites. Note that some sites also submit nil returns for some quarters as operators are liable to submit a return until they are de-registered.
Introduction
This publication is part of a quarterly series of Scottish Landfill Tax (SLfT) statistics which started in April 2015. The publication provides data on the total number of returns, total number of sites, total tax payable, total contributions to the Scottish Landfill Communities Fund and standard and lower rate waste tonnages as reported to Revenue Scotland.
An Official Statistics Publication for Scotland
These statistics are official statistics. Official statistics are statistics that are produced by Crown bodies, those acting on behalf of Crown bodies, or those specified in statutory orders, as defined in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.
Revenue Scotland statistics are regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.
Quarterly statistics
SLfT declared by quarter
Total SLfT declared payable in Q1 2026/27 was £19.0m
Figure 1: Column chart showing SLfT declared by quarter from 2015/16 to 2026/27, with a decreasing trend over time; an additional line shows the four quarter moving average for SLfT declared due.
Total SLfT declared due in Q1 2026/27 was 5% lower than in Q1 2025/26. The general trend in recent years has been for SLfT revenues to decrease year on year. The decrease between Q1 2025/26 and Q1 2026/27 was due to falls in both standard and lower rate tonnages. The effect of these falls was partly offset by increases in both the standard and lower rates of SLfT per tonne.
Tonnage by quarter
Standard rate tonnage in Q1 2026/27 was 141,600 tonnes. Lower rate tonnage in Q1 2026/27 was 64,900 tonnes.
Figure 2: Line chart showing standard and lower rate tonnages by quarter from 2015/16 to 2026/27.
Standard rate tonnage in Q1 2026/27 (141,600 tonnes) was 12% lower than in Q1 2025/26 (160,300 tonnes). Lower rate tonnage in Q1 2026/27 (64,900 tonnes) was 35% lower than in Q1 2025/26 (99,400 tonnes). Standard rate tonnage this quarter was the lowest quarter one total to date. Lower rate tonnage this quarter was the lowest quarterly total to date.
Background to SLfT
Scottish Landfill Tax (SLfT) is a tax on the disposal or unauthorised disposal of waste to landfill and is charged by weight. SLfT is a devolved tax which replaced UK Landfill Tax in Scotland only from 1 April 2015.
We have published a document covering SLfT background information, including data sources, methodology, quality, revisions policy and corrections.
Further information about Scottish Landfill Tax and the Scottish Landfill Communities Fund is available on the Revenue Scotland website.
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Enquiries
For enquiries about this publication please contact:
statistics@revenue.scot