Durham Council Tax 2026
North East, England · 256,330 domestic properties
According to MHCLG, Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026-27, Durham's Band D Council Tax is £2,622.15 for 2026-27, the 23rd highest of 350 UK billing authorities (higher than 93% of them) and 12% above the UK average of £2,337.00. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Walsall, Isle of Wight, Stockport, Broxtowe, then South Hams, Reading. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Barnsley, Newcastle upon Tyne, Sheffield, Rochdale.
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 Walsall, Isle of Wight, Stockport, Broxtowe, then South Hams, Reading. See our methodology page for the full source-to-figure lineage.
- £2,622.15
- Band D charge · 2026 statutory
- Among the highest in the UK
- +2.78%
- year-on-year vs £2,551.17
- Lower-quarter rise
- +12.2%
- vs UK avg £2,337.00
- £5,244.30
- Band H · 18/9 of Band D
Nearest published Band D rates sit with Walsall, Isle of Wight, Stockport, Broxtowe, then South Hams, Reading. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Barnsley, Newcastle upon Tyne, Sheffield, Rochdale. Open Walsall for the closest published Band D on the same vintage.
Durham · year-on-year Band D
What changed for Durham
Durham's Band D Council Tax rose from £2,551.17 (2025-26) to £2,622.15 (2026-27). Among 350 billing authorities by percentage rise, it ranks 344.
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 changesDurham bands A-H schedule
Per-band charge 2026
Durham's nearest Band D charges nationwide
Durham is 23rd of 350 on the national Band D list at £2,622.15. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Walsall, Isle of Wight, Stockport, Broxtowe, then South Hams, Reading. The six closest published 2026-27 rates, led by Walsall, 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 North East ranking further down when you care about local neighbours, and the stock-weighted average when you care what most of Durham's 256,330 dwellings actually pay. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Barnsley, Newcastle upon Tyne, Sheffield, Rochdale.
National high-charge outlier: this rate is inside the costliest 10% of the UK corpus, so nearby national peers are a more useful benchmark than the UK average alone.
| Council | Band D | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Walsall | £2,627.48 | +£5.33 |
| Isle of Wight | £2,625.79 | +£3.64 |
| Stockport | £2,618.90 | −£3.25 |
| Broxtowe | £2,618.21 | −£3.94 |
| South Hams | £2,615.22 | −£6.93 |
| Reading | £2,612.77 | −£9.38 |
Band A–H charge table (2026/2027)
| Band | Annual Charge | Monthly | Sole occupant (−25%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | £1,748.10 | £174.81 | £1,311.07 |
| B | £2,039.45 | £203.95 | £1,529.59 |
| C | £2,330.80 | £233.08 | £1,748.10 |
| D | £2,622.15 | £262.22 | £1,966.61 |
| E | £3,204.85 | £320.49 | £2,403.64 |
| F | £3,787.55 | £378.76 | £2,840.66 |
| G | £4,370.25 | £437.03 | £3,277.69 |
| H | £5,244.30 | £524.43 | £3,933.23 |
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 Durham's 256,330 properties actually pay
Most homes in Durham sit in Band A, the bottom of the valuation list: 144,180 of 256,330 dwellings (56.2%). Band A is charged at two-thirds of the Band D rate, so the headline figure above describes a property type that is in the minority here. More than half of those homes — 56.2% — sit in that single band, an unusually concentrated stock. 83.4% 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 £2,075.09 per dwelling, £547.06 (20.9%) below the £2,622.15 Band D headline, because most of the stock sits in bands charged at less than the Band D rate. On that measure Durham is 224th of 318 authorities with published stock counts, against a £2,269.00 average. That places Durham 5th of the 12 billing authorities in North East, above the regional median of £2,065.00.
How to read this stock pattern
Band D is a poor description of the largest group in Durham's housing stock. The dominant group is Band A, where the statutory charge is two-thirds of the Band D rate, while the reference band describes a different part of the valuation list. The £2,075.09 stock-weighted figure is therefore the more representative area-level comparison. It does not predict an individual bill, because discounts, exemptions and the property's actual valuation band still determine liability.
The distribution is unusually concentrated: one band alone contains 56.2% of all published dwellings. That gives the modal-band comparison real descriptive weight and makes the gap between its charge and Band D easier to interpret. It also means the statutory charge shown for that band applies to the largest share of the local stock before discounts or exemptions. The table remains necessary because the other 7 bands describe the minority of properties that the headline cannot represent.
Durham occupies the middle half of the North East stock-weighted distribution, above its £2,065.00 median. The regional result gives more context than a UK-wide rank without turning the difference into a superlative. It also shows that the council's band mix, not only its published Band D rate, determines where it sits among nearby authorities. The remaining distance from the median is an area-level comparison rather than a household saving or premium.
Closest housing-stock shape: Blackburn with Darwen
Blackburn with Darwen is an exceptionally close stock-shape match for Durham: moving 2.5% of dwellings between valuation bands would make the two published distributions align. That is a stricter comparison than sharing a modal band, because all published bands contribute to the distance.
Four largest band differences
- The largest separation falls on the reference band itself. Band D contains 9.3% of Durham's stock but 7.8% of Blackburn with Darwen's, so the national headline describes more of the local distribution here.
- A smaller distinction sits at lower Band C, where Blackburn with Darwen holds 14.1% of its stock and Durham holds 12.8%. The peer is more bottom-weighted at this rung of the valuation list.
- A smaller distinction sits at lower Band B, where Blackburn with Darwen holds 15.5% of its stock and Durham holds 14.4%. The peer is more bottom-weighted at this rung of the valuation list.
- A smaller distinction appears in the upper part of the ladder at Band F. Durham places 1.8% of dwellings there versus 1.3% for Blackburn with Darwen, giving this profile the heavier upper-band tail at that point.
How the wider profile compares
Blackburn with Darwen is more concentrated across Bands A to C in aggregate, by 2.0% of its stock. Durham's closest match is therefore achieved despite the peer carrying more homes below the reference band.
Durham carries 0.6% more of its stock in Bands E and above than Blackburn with Darwen. The extra upper-tail weight is small enough for this to remain the nearest peer, but large enough to distinguish the two areas.
Both profiles peak in Band A, 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 0.1% and 0.1%. 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 is closely balanced
- Band B leans toward Blackburn with Darwen
- Band C leans toward Blackburn with Darwen
- Band D leans toward Durham
- Band E is closely balanced
- Band F is closely balanced
- Band G is closely balanced
- Band H is closely balanced
This sequence is read from the lowest published band to the highest.
Other close England matches for Durham: Barnsley (2.6% redistribution distance); Newcastle upon Tyne (3.4% redistribution distance); Sheffield (3.8% redistribution distance); Rochdale (4.3% redistribution distance). Ranked across every published band in the England valuation system, this shortlist shows whether Blackburn with Darwen stands alone or sits in a cluster of similarly shaped authorities.
| Band | Properties | Share of stock | Annual charge |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 144,180 | 56.2% | £1,748.10 |
| B | 36,900 | 14.4% | £2,039.45 |
| C | 32,740 | 12.8% | £2,330.80 |
| D | 23,760 | 9.3% | £2,622.15 |
| E | 11,630 | 4.5% | £3,204.85 |
| F | 4,520 | 1.8% | £3,787.55 |
| G | 2,320 | 0.9% | £4,370.25 |
| H | 280 | 0.1% | £5,244.30 |
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 Durham 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.
- Nuneaton & Bedworth£2,079.56
- Fenland£2,078.59
- East Staffordshire£2,074.97
- Newport£2,073.12
- City of Nottingham£2,071.05
Durham's nearest year-on-year movers
Durham moved Band D from £2,551.17 to £2,622.15 (+2.78%, competition rank 344th of 350). The closest published movements sit with Wandsworth, Westminster, Harborough.
Muted-rise signal for Durham: the increase is below 4%, placing this authority among the slower-moving part of the current dataset.
- Wandsworth3.05%
- Westminster3.00%
- Harborough2.79%
- Lincoln2.75%
- Doncaster2.71%
- Merton2.50%
How Durham compares in North East
Among the 12 billing authorities in North East, Durham's 2026-27 Band D charge of £2,622.15 ranks 2nd of 12, higher than 83% of them (£96.15 above the North East average of £2,526.00). Its nearest-charged neighbours in the region:
Regional high-charge outlier: this authority sits in the costliest fifth of North East.
| Region rank | Council | Band D 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Gateshead | £2,715.81 |
| 2nd | Durham | £2,622.15 |
| 3rd | Northumberland | £2,596.94 |
| 4th | Stockton-on-Tees | £2,589.83 |
Regional rank out of 12 North East billing authorities by 2026-27 Band D charge (1 = dearest). See the full UK ranking or the complete directory.
Questions answered from Durham's data
These answers use Durham's £2,622.15 Band D rate, the England statutory multipliers, and the VOA stock mix (modal Band A, 83.4% below D).
Is Durham Council Tax above the UK average?
Durham's 2026-27 Band D rate is £2,622.15, 12.2% above the UK average of £2,337.00. It has competition rank 23rd of 350, with equal charges sharing a rank. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Walsall, Isle of Wight, Stockport, Broxtowe, then South Hams, Reading.
Which councils have charges closest to Durham?
The closest published Band D rates are Walsall (£2,627.48), Isle of Wight (£2,625.79), Stockport (£2,618.90), Broxtowe (£2,618.21), South Hams (£2,615.22), Reading (£2,612.77). The comparison table above shows the six nearest authorities and the exact difference from Durham.
What is the average Council Tax bill in Durham?
Across Durham's 256,330 domestic properties, the stock-weighted average charge is £2,075.09 for 2026-27. That is £547.06 below the £2,622.15 Band D rate, because the most common band here is Band A (56.2% of the stock) and 83.4% of dwellings are banded below D. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Barnsley, Newcastle upon Tyne, Sheffield, Rochdale. Property counts are from the VOA 2025 stock release; the weighting is our calculation.
How did Durham Council Tax change for 2026-27?
Band D moved from £2,551.17 to £2,622.15, a 2.78% rise. Its competition rank by annual increase is 344th of 350; the closest movements include Wandsworth, Westminster, Harborough.
Advice boundary for Durham
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. Durham is unitary, so this figure combines its own charge (including adult social care) with police and fire precepts where separate, plus any average parish precept. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Walsall, Isle of Wight, Stockport, Broxtowe, then South Hams, Reading. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Barnsley, Newcastle upon Tyne, Sheffield, Rochdale. For a binding figure consult your Durham 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 Durham are the area Band D and statutory band multiples with no county tier. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Walsall, Isle of Wight, Stockport, Broxtowe, then South Hams, Reading.