Cotswold Council Tax 2026
South West, England · 46,310 domestic properties
According to MHCLG, Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026-27, Cotswold's Band D Council Tax is £2,391.65 for 2026-27, the 191st highest of 350 UK billing authorities (higher than 45% of them) and 2% above the UK average of £2,337.00. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Bolton, Stevenage, Harborough, Waltham Forest, then Ribble Valley, High Peak. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Stratford-on-Avon, Chichester, Wealden, Tunbridge Wells.
How we calculate this rank & percentile
We compare every UK billing authority with a published 2026-27 Band D rate (350 in total). Rank is one plus the number with a higher charge, so equal charges share a rank. Percentile is round(authorities with a lower charge ÷ 350 × 100). The UK average is the simple mean of every council's Band D rate in our coverage set. Because the rank spans all three nations, it compares what each authority charges, not what each charge buys. English bands rest on 1991 property values in eight bands, A to H, while Scotland uses its own 1991 thresholds and Wales revalued to 2003 values with a ninth band. An English Band D home is therefore not the same property profile as a Welsh or Scottish one. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Bolton, Stevenage, Harborough, Waltham Forest, then Ribble Valley, High Peak. See our methodology page for the full source-to-figure lineage.
- £2,391.65
- Band D charge · 2026 statutory
- Near the UK average
- +5.05%
- year-on-year vs £2,276.70
- Middle-half rise
- +2.3%
- vs UK avg £2,337.00
- £4,783.30
- Band H · 18/9 of Band D
Nearest published Band D rates sit with Bolton, Stevenage, Harborough, Waltham Forest, then Ribble Valley, High Peak. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Stratford-on-Avon, Chichester, Wealden, Tunbridge Wells. Open Bolton for the closest published Band D on the same vintage.
Cotswold · year-on-year Band D
What changed for Cotswold
Cotswold's Band D Council Tax rose from £2,276.70 (2025-26) to £2,391.65 (2026-27). Among 350 billing authorities by percentage rise, it ranks 133.
How to read this Band D change
This is a change in the published Band D charge, not advice about household bills. Precepts, discounts, and banding decide the amount you pay.
See UK year-on-year changesCotswold bands A-H schedule
Per-band charge 2026
Cotswold's nearest Band D charges nationwide
Cotswold is 191st of 350 on the national Band D list at £2,391.65. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Bolton, Stevenage, Harborough, Waltham Forest, then Ribble Valley, High Peak. The six closest published 2026-27 rates, led by Bolton, ignore geography on purpose, so a map neighbour is not mistaken for a charge twin. Read the difference column as a pound gap; cross-check the South West ranking further down when you care about local neighbours, and the stock-weighted average when you care what most of Cotswold's 46,310 dwellings actually pay. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Stratford-on-Avon, Chichester, Wealden, Tunbridge Wells.
| Council | Band D | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Bolton | £2,399.74 | +£8.09 |
| Stevenage | £2,391.97 | +£0.32 |
| Harborough | £2,389.87 | −£1.78 |
| Waltham Forest | £2,386.96 | −£4.69 |
| Ribble Valley | £2,386.50 | −£5.15 |
| High Peak | £2,384.66 | −£6.99 |
Band A–H charge table (2026/2027)
| Band | Annual Charge | Monthly | Sole occupant (−25%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | £1,594.43 | £159.44 | £1,195.82 |
| B | £1,860.17 | £186.02 | £1,395.13 |
| C | £2,125.91 | £212.59 | £1,594.43 |
| D | £2,391.65 | £239.17 | £1,793.74 |
| E | £2,923.13 | £292.31 | £2,192.35 |
| F | £3,454.61 | £345.46 | £2,590.96 |
| G | £3,986.08 | £398.61 | £2,989.56 |
| H | £4,783.30 | £478.33 | £3,587.48 |
England 1991 valuation ranges (Band A–H)
- Band A: Up to £40,000 (1991 valuation)
- Band B: £40,001 to £52,000
- Band C: £52,001 to £68,000
- Band D: £68,001 to £88,000 (reference band)
- Band E: £88,001 to £120,000
- Band F: £120,001 to £160,000
- Band G: £160,001 to £320,000
- Band H: Over £320,000
Source: MHCLG, Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026-27 (area Band D) + statutory England band ratios documented in our methodology. Monthly figure is the annual charge / 10 (most councils use 10 monthly instalments). The sole-occupant column applies the statutory 25% single-person discount, payable when only one adult lives in the property.
What Cotswold's 46,310 properties actually pay
Cotswold's housing stock peaks below the reference point, in Band C, which covers 11,560 of 46,310 dwellings (25.0%). A Band C home is charged at eight-ninths of the Band D rate, which is why the typical bill here lands under the headline figure. It takes 3 bands — C, D, E — to cover half the stock, a wider spread than most authorities show. 44.7% of dwellings on the England valuation list here are banded below D.
Weighting each band's statutory charge by the number of properties in it gives a stock-weighted average of £2,611.02 per dwelling, £219.37 (9.2%) above the £2,391.65 Band D headline. On that measure Cotswold is 47th of 318 authorities with published stock counts, against a £2,269.00 average. That places Cotswold 5th of the 27 billing authorities in South West, above the regional median of £2,376.53.
How to read this stock pattern
Cotswold's largest property group sits in the lower half of the valuation ladder rather than at the Band D reference used in national tables. Its modal Band C charge is eight-ninths of the Band D rate, and 44.7% of the published stock lies below D. The headline alone does not show how often each band occurs. The stock-weighted amount applies the full distribution for an area-level comparison, while remaining an average rather than a household quotation.
Cotswold has a broad valuation-band profile: the largest 3 groups are needed before the cumulative share passes half of the stock. No single band dominates the local picture, which makes a one-band headline especially incomplete. The weighted result is useful for comparing this authority with peers, but the spread across 8 published bands matters just as much. A broad mix also means the area-level mean is less representative of any one household than it is in a concentrated council.
Cotswold sits in the upper quarter of South West on the stock-weighted ordering, above the regional median of £2,376.53. This narrows the comparison from a UK rank to authorities facing the same broad regional context, while still correcting each one for its different band mix. The placement says the council's average published stock is relatively costly within that peer set; it does not convert the mean into an individual household charge.
Closest housing-stock shape: Winchester
Winchester is the closest full-distribution match for Cotswold. The profiles are close rather than identical: 5.4% of dwellings would need to shift between valuation bands for their published shares to align. The comparison therefore tests the whole ladder, not just the largest band.
Four largest band differences
- The largest separation is lower on the ladder at Band A: Cotswold has 8.0% of dwellings there, against 5.2% in Winchester. That extra lower-band weight pulls its stock profile away from the peer.
- Another material separation is at reference Band D: its share is 16.8% in Cotswold and 19.4% in Winchester. The familiar benchmark represents a larger slice of the peer's housing stock.
- A smaller distinction is lower on the ladder at Band C: Cotswold has 25.0% of dwellings there, against 23.4% in Winchester. That extra lower-band weight pulls its stock profile away from the peer.
- A smaller distinction sits at lower Band B, where Winchester holds 12.8% of its stock and Cotswold holds 11.7%. The peer is more bottom-weighted at this rung of the valuation list.
How the wider profile compares
Cotswold has the stronger combined lower-band tilt: Bands A to C account for 3.3% more of its stock than they do in Winchester. The nearest match still leaves that bottom-of-ladder difference visible.
Winchester carries the heavier upper tail across Bands E and above, exceeding Cotswold's combined share there by 0.7%. Total-variation distance counts those absolute band gaps without assuming they offset the lower-band pattern.
Both profiles peak in Band C, so the peer match agrees on the most common valuation group as well as the full-distribution distance. The band-by-band gaps above show why a shared mode does not make the profiles interchangeable.
Band H is the most stable point in the comparison, with shares of 1.7% and 1.3%. Reading that near-match beside the largest gaps prevents the peer label from hiding where the two published distributions actually agree.
Show every band direction
- Band A leans toward Cotswold
- Band B leans toward Winchester
- Band C leans toward Cotswold
- Band D leans toward Winchester
- Band E leans toward Winchester
- Band F leans toward Winchester
- Band G leans toward Cotswold
- Band H is closely balanced
This sequence is read from the lowest published band to the highest.
Other close England matches for Cotswold: Stratford-on-Avon (5.7% redistribution distance); Chichester (5.9% redistribution distance); Wealden (6.0% redistribution distance); Tunbridge Wells (6.0% redistribution distance). Ranked across every published band in the England valuation system, this shortlist shows whether Winchester stands alone or sits in a cluster of similarly shaped authorities.
| Band | Properties | Share of stock | Annual charge |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 3,700 | 8.0% | £1,594.43 |
| B | 5,430 | 11.7% | £1,860.17 |
| C | 11,560 | 25.0% | £2,125.91 |
| D | 7,780 | 16.8% | £2,391.65 |
| E | 6,750 | 14.6% | £2,923.13 |
| F | 5,330 | 11.5% | £3,454.61 |
| G | 4,970 | 10.7% | £3,986.08 |
| H | 790 | 1.7% | £4,783.30 |
Property-stock source, rounding and weighting notes
Property counts: VOA, Council Tax: stock of properties 2025 (Table CTSOP1.0_SUP, as at 9 September 2025), Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts are published rounded to the nearest 10, so shares are approximate and may not sum to exactly 100%. The stock-weighted average is our calculation: each band's 2026/2027 charge multiplied by its property count, divided by the total. It is a mean across the whole stock, not a bill any individual household receives.
Authorities charging a similar average across their stock
These are the closest authorities to Cotswold on the stock-weighted measure, which is a different ordering from the Band D neighbours above because it accounts for how each area's properties are banded.
- Rushcliffe£2,631.20
- West Devon£2,617.03
- Welwyn Hatfield£2,601.52
- Maidstone£2,595.64
- Winchester£2,590.44
Cotswold's nearest year-on-year movers
Cotswold moved Band D from £2,276.70 to £2,391.65 (+5.05%, competition rank 133rd of 350). The closest published movements sit with Blackpool, Blackburn with Darwen, New Forest.
- Blackpool5.06%
- Blackburn with Darwen5.05%
- New Forest5.05%
- Reading5.05%
- South Gloucestershire5.05%
- Brighton & Hove5.04%
How Cotswold compares in South West
Among the 27 billing authorities in South West, Cotswold's 2026-27 Band D charge of £2,391.65 ranks 22nd of 27, higher than 19% of them (£119.35 below the South West average of £2,511.00). Its nearest-charged neighbours in the region:
Regional low-charge outlier: this authority sits in the least costly fifth of South West.
| Region rank | Council | Band D 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|
| 20th | Swindon | £2,438.10 |
| 21st | Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole | £2,435.58 |
| 22nd | Cotswold | £2,391.65 |
| 23rd | Bath & North East Somerset | £2,383.42 |
| 24th | Cheltenham | £2,369.52 |
Regional rank out of 27 South West billing authorities by 2026-27 Band D charge (1 = dearest). See the full UK ranking or the complete directory.
Questions answered from Cotswold's data
These answers use Cotswold's £2,391.65 Band D rate, the England statutory multipliers, and the VOA stock mix (modal Band C, 44.7% below D).
Is Cotswold Council Tax above the UK average?
Cotswold's 2026-27 Band D rate is £2,391.65, 2.3% above the UK average of £2,337.00. It has competition rank 191st of 350, with equal charges sharing a rank. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Bolton, Stevenage, Harborough, Waltham Forest, then Ribble Valley, High Peak.
Which councils have charges closest to Cotswold?
The closest published Band D rates are Bolton (£2,399.74), Stevenage (£2,391.97), Harborough (£2,389.87), Waltham Forest (£2,386.96), Ribble Valley (£2,386.50), High Peak (£2,384.66). The comparison table above shows the six nearest authorities and the exact difference from Cotswold.
What is the average Council Tax bill in Cotswold?
Across Cotswold's 46,310 domestic properties, the stock-weighted average charge is £2,611.02 for 2026-27. That is £219.37 above the £2,391.65 Band D rate, because the most common band here is Band C (25.0% of the stock) and 44.7% of dwellings are banded below D. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Stratford-on-Avon, Chichester, Wealden, Tunbridge Wells. Property counts are from the VOA 2025 stock release; the weighting is our calculation.
How did Cotswold Council Tax change for 2026-27?
Band D moved from £2,276.70 to £2,391.65, a 5.05% rise. Its competition rank by annual increase is 133rd of 350; the closest movements include Blackpool, Blackburn with Darwen, New Forest.
Advice boundary for Cotswold
They are not personalised advice - expand a question for the figure that matches the tables above for the 2026-27 vintage, then follow the methodology or gov.uk links for a binding bill on a specific property.
Council Tax figure, precept and liability disclaimer
Council Tax charges shown on this page are derived from the published England Band D dataset and statutory England band ratios. They are intended as informational guidance, not as a personalised tax statement or legal advice. Your actual bill depends on your property's assigned band and on any discounts or exemptions that apply to your household. This area Band D is a two-tier total for Cotswold: district charge plus county, police, fire where separate, and the average parish precept across the district. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Bolton, Stevenage, Harborough, Waltham Forest, then Ribble Valley, High Peak. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Stratford-on-Avon, Chichester, Wealden, Tunbridge Wells. For a binding figure consult your Cotswold Council Tax bill or the official gov.uk Council Tax service. Figures published in 2026 reflect the 2026/2027 financial year only.
UK tools, directories and band challenge
- Compare councils side-by-side →
- Browse all UK councils →
- Band D national rollup →
- Challenge your band guide →
Charges shown for Cotswold are the area Band D and statutory band multiples, already including county, police, fire and average parish precepts where they apply. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Bolton, Stevenage, Harborough, Waltham Forest, then Ribble Valley, High Peak.