Banded on what your house was worth in 1991, capped at 5%, and nine councils were given permission to go further.
Including parish precepts. In force from 1 April 2026.
Source: MHCLG
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Compared against the England Band D average. If you are not in Band D this will read high or low for that reason alone, and the band ratios are in the table below.
What you pay here depends on where you live. Put your postcode in and we will show your area's figure rather than the national one.
Below: what is changing, what you could be paying, and what you might be owed. The longer detail stays folded until you want it.
Routinely unclaimed. We do not administer any of these and take nothing for pointing at them.
25% off
You are the only adult resident.
Exempt entirely
Every resident is a full time student.
Disregarded, and 50% off where everyone in the household is disregarded
Medically certified and receiving a qualifying benefit.
Billed at the band below yours. If you are already Band A, 17% off.
The property has features essential to a disabled resident, such as an extra bathroom or space for a wheelchair.
Up to 100% off
Income based. Each English council runs its own scheme, so the rules differ by address.
Knowing what a bill should cost is no use if you cannot afford it. None of this costs anything and none of it goes through us.
Up to 100% off. Every English council runs its own scheme so the rules differ by address, but it is means tested and nobody applies it automatically.
Bands were set on 1991 values, often by a valuer driving past. You can challenge yours with the Valuation Office Agency for free, but check your neighbours' bands first, because a challenge can move it up as well as down.
You have a legal right to this. It does not reduce the bill but it cuts the monthly payment by a fifth.
Miss one instalment and councils can demand the whole year at once. Ring them first and that usually does not happen.
A government scheme giving 60 days of legal protection from enforcement and interest while you get debt advice. Free, and you apply through a debt adviser.
The things that stop the headline figure being misread.
Already dated. Nothing here is a forecast.
Wales holds its first council tax revaluation under a new five yearly cycle. Scotland introduces Bands I and J for properties over £1m.
The full published figures, for anyone who wants to check our working or find their own line.
Every other English authority was held to 5%, being 3% core plus a 2% adult social care precept. No authority exceeded its own principle, and 274 used the maximum flexibility available to them.
Scroll sideways to see every column
| Authority | Permitted increase | Made up of |
|---|---|---|
| North Somerset | 9% | 2% social care plus 7% |
| Shropshire | 9% | 2% social care plus 7% |
| Worcestershire | 9% | 2% social care plus 7% |
| Trafford | 7.5% | 2% social care plus 5.5% |
| Warrington | 7.5% | 2% social care plus 5.5% |
| Windsor and Maidenhead | 7.5% | 2% social care plus 5.5% |
| Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | 6.75% | 2% social care plus 4.75% |
Scroll sideways to see every column
| Class | Band D | Change |
|---|---|---|
| London | £2,068 | +4.4% |
| Metropolitan | £2,409 | +5.2% |
| Unitary | £2,490 | +5.3% |
| Shire | £2,452 | +4.6% |
| Average per dwelling, all bands | £1,868 | +5.5% |
Band D is the reference. Every other band is a fixed statutory fraction of it, so if you know your council's Band D you can work out any band. English and Scottish bands are based on what the property was worth on 1 April 1991. Welsh bands use 1 April 2003 and there are nine of them.
Scroll sideways to see every column
| Band | England and Wales ratio | 1991 value, England |
|---|---|---|
| A | 6/9 of Band D | Up to £40,000 |
| B | 7/9 | £40,001 to £52,000 |
| C | 8/9 | £52,001 to £68,000 |
| D | 9/9 | £68,001 to £88,000 |
| E | 11/9 | £88,001 to £120,000 |
| F | 13/9 | £120,001 to £160,000 |
| G | 15/9 | £160,001 to £320,000 |
| H | 18/9 | Over £320,000 |
Up £111 or 4.9% on 2025/26, including parish precepts. Nine authorities were given permission to exceed the 5% referendum threshold, three of them up to 9%. No authority exceeded its own principle. The adult social care precept raised £688m, about £35 on a Band D bill. Dorset is highest at £2,765 and Wandsworth lowest at £1,028.
Source: MHCLG
The Welsh headline average for 2026/27 is not published here. The Welsh Government website refused every automated request. The only Welsh figure we could verify is £1,830.62, which is the unitary and county element alone and excludes police and community precepts, so it is not comparable with the English figure.
Scotland publishes no national average Band D for 2026/27. Its Band D series ends at 2025/26. Any site quoting a Scottish 2026/27 average is not quoting the government.
MHCLG states the increase as £111 although the rounded levels imply £112. The official figure is computed from unrounded numbers, so £111 is correct.
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