Almost half of the £33.5m profit was made by Edinburgh City Council where £15.3m was raised.
Glasgow City Council made £10.3m and Aberdeen City Council made £5m.
The analysis of data returned annually to the Scottish government by local authorities showed 16 councils made a profit, 13 made a loss and the Shetland Islands broke even.
A total of £73.3m was raised across the country through parking in 2013/14, while the combined cost to councils of running parking activities was £39.8m.
It left a profit of £33.5m, up £200,000 on the previous year.
The RAC said councils needed to set out where the profits were going.
East Lothian Council did not provide accounts and North Lanarkshire Council does not charge for parking at its car parks.
Not all councils provided information on the number of penalty charge notices issued over the year but there were 230,000 in Edinburgh and it is estimated there are about 700,000 issued each year across the country.
Prof Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, said: "Not all authorities are generating a surplus but overall we are talking about big money.
"Nobody wants a parking free-for-all but when we are talking about such large sums, local authorities should be transparent with residents and drivers about what their parking policy is, why charges are set at the level they are and where the profits are going."
Scottish councils have made a record profit from parking charges and fines, figures from the RAC Foundation show.