PlainCouncilTax
What does Band D
really cost where you live?
Look up any UK billing authority’s annual charges, compare neighbours, and read the national Band D picture, free and independent. Rates from MHCLG, Scotland and Wales; England & Wales dwelling mix from the VOA.
Average Band D across 350 UK authorities is £2,337 for 2026-27, ranging from £1,028 (Wandsworth) to £2,765 (Dorset Council)
According to PlainCouncilTax's joined 2026-27 Band D corpus (MHCLG England, Scottish Government CTAS, Welsh Government), the unweighted authority-mean is £2,337, up 5.1% on 2025-26. Dwelling-stock mix for England and Wales comes from the separate VOA 2025 stock release; Scotland has no VOA stock rows here.
- £2,337 UK avg Band D
- +5.1% avg YoY rise
- 350 authorities
- E&W dwellings
- 27.3M
- Authorities
- 350
- Avg Band D
- £2,337
- Spread
- 2.7×
The national picture · 2026-27
According to PlainCouncilTax's joined 2026-27 Band D corpus (MHCLG England, Scottish Government CTAS, Welsh Government / StatsWales), across 350 UK billing authorities the average Band D council tax is £2,337 for 2026-27, up 5.1% on last year, ranging from £1,028 in Wandsworth to £2,765 in Dorset Council. England & Wales dwelling-stock context comes from the separate VOA 2025 stock release.
- £2,337
- average Band D
- +5.1%
- average year-on-year rise
- 2.7×
- dearest vs cheapest spread
- 350
- authorities covered
How we calculate these UK-wide figures
The average Band D is the simple mean of every council's own Band D rate across our 350-authority coverage set, not a population-weighted figure. The year-on-year rise averages each council's individual percentage change, so a small authority's increase counts the same as a large city's. The dearest-vs-cheapest spread compares the two extremes directly. See our methodology page for the full source-to-figure lineage.
Distribution of Council Tax Bands across England
A quarter of English dwellings are in Band A. Less than 1% are in Band H. The 1991 valuation framework still anchors all of this.
The 10 dearest UK billing authorities
Band D charges range more than 2.7-fold across the UK. These authorities set the highest 2026-27 Band D bills, each including all precepting-authority components.
Top 10 dearest billing authorities, Band D 2026-27
Annual Band D charge including police, fire, adult social care and parish precepts
Council tax across the UK regions
The same banding rules, very different bills. Mapped geographically, the regional averages show the pattern the rankings alone do not: the cheapest Band D charges cluster in Scotland and London, the dearest across the North and rural England.
Do expensive councils raise Council Tax less?
You might expect the dearest authorities to restrain their year-on-year rises. They do not. Because the referendum cap limits the English council-and-social-care increase to roughly 5%, almost every billing authority lands in the same narrow band regardless of how high its bill already is; uncapped Scottish councils sit higher.
Band D charge vs year-on-year increase, 350 UK billing authorities (2026-27)
Each point is one council; crosshair marks the UK medians
Median Band D is £2,415 and the median rise is 4.9% for 2026-27. The clustering is descriptive: published totals include different precepts and the three nations use different annual increase arrangements.
About This Data
PlainCouncilTax joins each nation's published Band D tables for 350 UK billing authorities with the separate VOA England & Wales stock-of-properties release (27.3M dwellings in this corpus; Scotland has no VOA stock rows here). Band letters A–H (A–I in Wales) reflect 1 April 1991 open-market values in England and Scotland and 1 April 2003 values in Wales; the bands have not been revalued since. This is not a property-address register.
On supported England and Wales council pages, VOA stock aggregates sit beside each billing authority's published annual charge schedule so a Band C share can be read next to that council's current Band D, including precepting components where the published total includes them. Guides cover how to challenge a band, who qualifies for single-person and disabled-band reduction discounts, and what to do when a bill is unaffordable.
How we compile it
- Ingest each nation's published Band D tables and the VOA England & Wales stock aggregates.
- Recompute every band (A–H, plus Welsh I) from the council-set Band D using the statutory multipliers.
- Derive rankings, averages and year-on-year change as our own analysis, labelled as such.
- Refresh as the source agencies publish revisions; the vintage date shows on each page.
Independence & corrections
PlainCouncilTax is an independent publisher, not affiliated with any council or government body, and takes no payment from covered authorities. We publish official government data as-is; we do not rate, rank by service quality, or recommend one council over another. Numbers are rendered directly from the source records, not typed in by an editor. Spot an error? Report a correction and we fix it at source.
Primary sources
- MHCLG · Council Tax levels in England 2026-27
- Scottish Government & StatsWales · Scottish and Welsh charges
- VOA · England & Wales stock aggregates
Data current as of 2026-05-17. This is published reference information compiled from official sources, not financial or legal advice; confirm your exact charge with your billing authority. See the full methodology, editorial policy, and disclaimer.
Common questions
What is PlainCouncilTax?
PlainCouncilTax is a free, independent data portal that publishes UK council tax band lookups and annual billing-authority charges. We join each nation's published Band D tables (MHCLG for England, Scottish Government CTAS, Welsh Government) with the VOA England & Wales stock-of-properties release, then organise them into searchable, comparable pages. Rates update with the annual April financial-year releases; the VOA stock series refreshes on its own cadence.
Where does the data come from?
Band D rates come from MHCLG (England), Scottish Government CTAS, and Welsh Government / StatsWales. England and Wales dwelling-stock context comes from the VOA 2025 stock-of-properties release (aggregate band counts, not an address register); Scotland has Band D rates here but no VOA stock rows. Statutory band multipliers come from the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and Scotland's April 2017 E–H reform. We do not import a property-address register; use the VOA or Scottish Assessors for a specific property's band.
Is this data free to use?
Yes. All band lookups, comparisons, and guides on PlainCouncilTax are completely free. There are no paywalls, account requirements, or subscription fees. The underlying Band D tables and VOA stock aggregates are published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. See our methodology page for details on sourcing and processing.
How often is the data updated?
We review Band D rates when the national annual tables publish for the new financial year. The separate VOA England and Wales stock distribution is refreshed when a new annual release is ingested. Pages label the relevant financial year or source vintage; PlainCouncilTax does not import a property-address register.
Can I challenge my council tax band?
Yes. The VOA accepts formal proposals to alter a band, you can submit one yourself, free of charge, without an agent. Our challenging-your-band guide walks through the proposal grounds, the evidence the VOA looks for, and what to expect from the review timeline. Note that bands can be revised up as well as down following a proposal, so check comparable nearby properties before submitting.
Published by PlainCouncilTax, an independent UK Council Tax data publisher. Editorial & corrections: editorial policy.
Editorial Guides
In-depth explainers covering the council tax system end to end.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is PlainCouncilTax?
PlainCouncilTax is a free, independent data portal that publishes UK council tax band lookups and annual billing-authority charges. We join each nation's published Band D tables (MHCLG for England, Scottish Government CTAS, Welsh Government) with the VOA England & Wales stock-of-properties release, then organise them into searchable, comparable pages. Rates update with the annual April financial-year releases; the VOA stock series refreshes on its own cadence.
Where does the data come from?
Band D rates come from MHCLG (England), Scottish Government CTAS, and Welsh Government / StatsWales. England and Wales dwelling-stock context comes from the VOA 2025 stock-of-properties release (aggregate band counts, not an address register); Scotland has Band D rates here but no VOA stock rows. Statutory band multipliers come from the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and Scotland's April 2017 E–H reform. We do not import a property-address register; use the VOA or Scottish Assessors for a specific property's band.
Is this data free to use?
Yes. All band lookups, comparisons, and guides on PlainCouncilTax are completely free. There are no paywalls, account requirements, or subscription fees. The underlying Band D tables and VOA stock aggregates are published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. See our methodology page for details on sourcing and processing.
How often is the data updated?
We review Band D rates when the national annual tables publish for the new financial year. The separate VOA England and Wales stock distribution is refreshed when a new annual release is ingested. Pages label the relevant financial year or source vintage; PlainCouncilTax does not import a property-address register.
Can I challenge my council tax band?
Yes. The VOA accepts formal proposals to alter a band, you can submit one yourself, free of charge, without an agent. Our challenging-your-band guide walks through the proposal grounds, the evidence the VOA looks for, and what to expect from the review timeline. Note that bands can be revised up as well as down following a proposal, so check comparable nearby properties before submitting.
Editorial research & rankings
Cheapest council tax in the UK 2026-27
The 20 lowest Band D charges across all UK billing authorities, with spread vs the national average.
Highest Band H charges 2026-27
Top-end Band H charges, 18/9 of Band D multiplier on highest-value 1991 properties.
Top councils by Band D charge
Reference-band ranking, the statutory headline rate each council sets annually.
Highest Band H rankings 2026-27
Annual Band H charge ranking (URL keeps legacy -2025 slug).
Highest Band D 2026-27
Reference-band ranking sorted by absolute charge.
Biggest YoY increases
2025-26 → 2026-27 rate-of-change ranking.