How is council tax worked out?

Your band

Every home in England is in one of eight bands, A to H, set by the Valuation Office Agency from what the home would have sold for on 1 April 1991. Homes built since are valued as if they had existed then.

Who sets the charge

Each council that sends bills (a district, unitary, metropolitan or London borough council) sets its own Band D charge. Its bill also collects the precepts of the other bodies covering the area: the county council in two-tier areas, the Greater London Authority in London, the police and crime commissioner, the fire and rescue authority, a mayoral combined authority where there is one, and the parish or town council. The Band D charges add up to the Band D bill, and every other band pays its fixed share of that.

Limits on rises

For 2026-27 a council with adult social care duties had to hold a referendum to raise its Band D charge by 5% or more (up to 2% of which for adult social care), with higher limits agreed for a few councils. District councils could rise by up to £5 or 3%, police and crime commissioners by £15 and fire authorities by £5. Parish and town councils have no limit (MHCLG).

What the figures here are

Council figures are the average Band D for the whole council area, including the average parish precept, as published by MHCLG. Parish figures add the parish's own precept to the council's charge and the other precepts. Councils round each part of the bill to the penny, so a real bill can differ by a few pence, and where a council charges special expenses or levies in only part of its area the difference was up to £33.52 in the bills we checked (see Sources). Discounts (such as 25% when one adult lives in a home), council tax reduction, exemptions and premiums on empty or second homes are not included.

Paying

Bills are usually split into 10 monthly payments; councils will spread them over 12 if you ask. Your council's bill is the final word on what you owe.