Sources

Sources and methods

Every number on counciltaxband.com comes from the public datasets below. Each page names the ones it uses at the bottom.

  1. Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027 (Tables 1 to 9 and Table 10, published 25 March 2026)
    Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). Band A to H charges for each billing authority (Table 9), the council's own Band D, the major preceptors (county, Greater London Authority, police, fire, combined authority), special expenses, tax bases and the England averages. Accredited official statistics.
    Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 · cited on 9,249 pages
  2. Council Tax statistics for town and parish councils in England: 2026 to 2027
    Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). The precept, tax base and Band D amount of every parish council, parish meeting and charter trustees in 2026-27 and 2025-26 (10,245 rows). Used for every parish figure.
    Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 · cited on 9,204 pages
  3. Live tables on Council Tax: Band D Council Tax figures 1993 onwards, and Average Council Tax per dwelling
    Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). Area Band D council tax for each council and England from 1993-94, and the average council tax per dwelling.
    Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 · cited on 302 pages
  4. Council Tax: stock of properties, 2026 (table CTSOP1.0, properties by band at 31 March 2026)
    Valuation Office Agency (VOA). The number of homes in each band in each council area and in England (rounded to the nearest 10 by the VOA).
    Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 · cited on 306 pages
  5. Local Authority Districts (December 2024) Boundaries UK BUC: centroid points
    Office for National Statistics (ONS) Open Geography Portal. The centre point of each council area, used only to list nearby councils.
    Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2024 · cited on 296 pages
  6. How domestic properties are assessed for Council Tax bands (band values at 1 April 1991)
    Valuation Office Agency (VOA), GOV.UK. The 1991 value range of each band in England.
    Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 · cited on 10 pages
  7. Council Tax (GOV.UK guide: paying your bill, discounts)
    GOV.UK. That bills are usually split into 10 monthly payments (12 on request), and the 25% discount when one adult lives in a home.
    Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 · cited on 2 pages

Licences

Method

Council figures are MHCLG's 2026-27 statistics, built from the CTR1 returns every billing authority sends in February. The Band A to H charges are Table 9 (the area council tax for a home with two adults, including the average parish precept). The breakdown uses Table 10: line 9 (the council's own average Band D excluding parish precepts) and line 16 (the county or Greater London Authority, police, fire and combined authority). They add up to line 17 and to Table 9 for every council; the build stops if they do not.

Parish figures: the parish's Band D precept from MHCLG's town and parish council statistics is added to the council's own charge excluding special expenses and parish precepts (line 3 minus line 1a, divided by the tax base, line 7) and to the major precepts. Bands are Band D times the statutory ratio. Checks: the parish precepts in each council add up to Table 10 line 2; the parish bills, weighted by tax base with the unparished area, average back to the council's Band D. Parishes with no precept, and grouped parishes that precept through their group, are listed on the council page but have no page of their own. Parish rankings use the parish precept (exact) and leave out parishes with fewer than 100 Band D-equivalent homes.

Parish bills are estimates, and council figures are area averages. Councils may charge special expenses or levies (for parks, commons, cemeteries or halls) in only part of their area, and not every council reports them separately. We compared the figures here with the Band D bills councils publish for 2026-27, for every area we could fetch: Lancing (Adur): £2,563.59 published, £2,584.98 here (+£21.39); Sompting (Adur): £2,571.69 published, £2,562.65 here (−£9.04); Shoreham-by-Sea, Southwick and Coombes (Adur): £2,535.33 published, £2,526.26 here (−£9.07); Wandsworth: £1,020.35 published, £1,028.21 here (+£7.86); Wandsworth, Wimbledon and Putney Commons area: £1,061.73 published, £1,028.21 here (−£33.52); Worthing: £2,456.13 published, £2,456.13 here (+£0.00). The differences run from £0 (an exact match) to £33.52; other areas may differ by more. The parish precept itself always matches the government figures.

Change on 2025-26 uses the area Band D for 2025-26 from MHCLG's live table (revised figures). Homes by band are the VOA's counts at 31 March 2026, rounded to the nearest 10. Nearby councils use the ONS centroid of each council area.

Not included: discounts, council tax reduction, exemptions, empty and second home premiums, and special expenses that apply to part of a council's area (flagged where they exist). Your own bill from the council is the final word.