Forest of Dean Council Tax 2026
South West, England · 41,030 domestic properties
According to MHCLG, Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026-27, Forest of Dean's Band D Council Tax is £2,443.42 for 2026-27, the 152nd highest of 350 UK billing authorities (higher than 57% of them) and 5% above the UK average of £2,337.00. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Derbyshire Dales, Breckland, South Ribble, Plymouth, then Kirklees, Horsham. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Somerset, Huntingdonshire, Stafford, Eastbourne.
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 Derbyshire Dales, Breckland, South Ribble, Plymouth, then Kirklees, Horsham. See our methodology page for the full source-to-figure lineage.
- £2,443.42
- Band D charge · 2026 statutory
- Above the UK average
- +5.01%
- year-on-year vs £2,326.88
- Middle-half rise
- +4.6%
- vs UK avg £2,337.00
- £4,886.84
- Band H · 18/9 of Band D
Nearest published Band D rates sit with Derbyshire Dales, Breckland, South Ribble, Plymouth, then Kirklees, Horsham. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Somerset, Huntingdonshire, Stafford, Eastbourne. Open Derbyshire Dales for the closest published Band D on the same vintage.
Forest of Dean · year-on-year Band D
What changed for Forest of Dean
Forest of Dean's Band D Council Tax rose from £2,326.88 (2025-26) to £2,443.42 (2026-27). Among 350 billing authorities by percentage rise, it ranks 151.
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 changesForest of Dean bands A-H schedule
Per-band charge 2026
Forest of Dean's nearest Band D charges nationwide
Forest of Dean is 152nd of 350 on the national Band D list at £2,443.42. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Derbyshire Dales, Breckland, South Ribble, Plymouth, then Kirklees, Horsham. The six closest published 2026-27 rates, led by Derbyshire Dales, 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 Forest of Dean's 41,030 dwellings actually pay. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Somerset, Huntingdonshire, Stafford, Eastbourne.
| Council | Band D | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Derbyshire Dales | £2,444.70 | +£1.28 |
| Breckland | £2,443.67 | +£0.25 |
| South Ribble | £2,442.66 | −£0.76 |
| Plymouth | £2,441.85 | −£1.57 |
| Kirklees | £2,441.07 | −£2.35 |
| Horsham | £2,441.01 | −£2.41 |
Band A–H charge table (2026/2027)
| Band | Annual Charge | Monthly | Sole occupant (−25%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | £1,628.95 | £162.90 | £1,221.71 |
| B | £1,900.44 | £190.04 | £1,425.33 |
| C | £2,171.93 | £217.19 | £1,628.95 |
| D | £2,443.42 | £244.34 | £1,832.57 |
| E | £2,986.40 | £298.64 | £2,239.80 |
| F | £3,529.38 | £352.94 | £2,647.04 |
| G | £4,072.37 | £407.24 | £3,054.28 |
| H | £4,886.84 | £488.68 | £3,665.13 |
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 Forest of Dean's 41,030 properties actually pay
Forest of Dean's housing stock peaks below the reference point, in Band B, which covers 10,420 of 41,030 dwellings (25.4%). A Band B home is charged at seven-ninths of the Band D rate, which is why the typical bill here lands under the headline figure. It takes 3 bands — A, B, C — to cover half the stock, a wider spread than most authorities show. 65.5% 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 £2,267.81 per dwelling, £175.61 (7.2%) below the £2,443.42 Band D headline, because most of the stock sits in bands charged at less than the Band D rate. On that measure Forest of Dean is 145th of 318 authorities with published stock counts, against a £2,269.00 average. That places Forest of Dean 21st of the 27 billing authorities in South West, below the regional median of £2,376.53.
How to read this stock pattern
Forest of Dean'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 B charge is seven-ninths of the Band D rate, and 65.5% 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.
Forest of Dean 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.
Forest of Dean falls in the lower quarter of the South West stock-weighted ordering, below the regional median of £2,376.53. Its Band D figure may sit elsewhere in the national table, but applying the local stock mix produces a cheaper regional comparison. That difference is precisely why both measures are shown. Neither replaces an address-level bill, which depends on the property's valuation band and any applicable reductions.
Closest housing-stock shape: Shropshire
Shropshire is an exceptionally close stock-shape match for Forest of Dean: moving 2.2% 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 is lower on the ladder at Band C: Forest of Dean has 22.5% of dwellings there, against 20.9% in Shropshire. That extra lower-band weight pulls its stock profile away from the peer.
- A smaller distinction is an upper-band difference at Band F. Shropshire records 6.1% of dwellings there, compared with 5.4% in Forest of Dean, so the peer carries more of its stock at that higher rung.
- A smaller distinction is an upper-band difference at Band G. Shropshire records 3.2% of dwellings there, compared with 2.5% in Forest of Dean, so the peer carries more of its stock at that higher rung.
- A smaller distinction falls on the reference band itself. Band D contains 15.0% of Forest of Dean's stock but 14.5% of Shropshire's, so the national headline describes more of the local distribution here.
How the wider profile compares
Forest of Dean has the stronger combined lower-band tilt: Bands A to C account for 1.1% more of its stock than they do in Shropshire. The nearest match still leaves that bottom-of-ladder difference visible.
Shropshire carries the heavier upper tail across Bands E and above, exceeding Forest of Dean's combined share there by 1.6%. Total-variation distance counts those absolute band gaps without assuming they offset the lower-band pattern.
Both profiles peak in Band B, 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 0.2% and 0.2%. 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 is closely balanced
- Band C leans toward Forest of Dean
- Band D leans toward Forest of Dean
- Band E is closely balanced
- Band F leans toward Shropshire
- Band G leans toward Shropshire
- Band H is closely balanced
This sequence is read from the lowest published band to the highest.
Other close England matches for Forest of Dean: Somerset (2.3% redistribution distance); Huntingdonshire (2.7% redistribution distance); Stafford (3.3% redistribution distance); Eastbourne (4.2% redistribution distance). Ranked across every published band in the England valuation system, this shortlist shows whether Shropshire stands alone or sits in a cluster of similarly shaped authorities.
| Band | Properties | Share of stock | Annual charge |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 7,200 | 17.5% | £1,628.95 |
| B | 10,420 | 25.4% | £1,900.44 |
| C | 9,240 | 22.5% | £2,171.93 |
| D | 6,160 | 15.0% | £2,443.42 |
| E | 4,690 | 11.4% | £2,986.40 |
| F | 2,200 | 5.4% | £3,529.38 |
| G | 1,040 | 2.5% | £4,072.37 |
| H | 80 | 0.2% | £4,886.84 |
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 Forest of Dean 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.
Forest of Dean's nearest year-on-year movers
Forest of Dean moved Band D from £2,326.88 to £2,443.42 (+5.01%, competition rank 151st of 350). The closest published movements sit with Bristol, Derby City, Isles of Scilly.
- Bristol5.02%
- Derby City5.02%
- Isles of Scilly5.02%
- Plymouth5.01%
- Basingstoke & Deane5.00%
- Fife5.00%
How Forest of Dean compares in South West
Among the 27 billing authorities in South West, Forest of Dean's 2026-27 Band D charge of £2,443.42 ranks 18th of 27, higher than 33% of them (£67.58 below the South West average of £2,511.00). Its nearest-charged neighbours in the region:
| Region rank | Council | Band D 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|
| 16th | North Somerset | £2,491.22 |
| 17th | Torbay | £2,470.25 |
| 18th | Forest of Dean | £2,443.42 |
| 19th | Plymouth | £2,441.85 |
| 20th | Swindon | £2,438.10 |
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 Forest of Dean's data
These answers use Forest of Dean's £2,443.42 Band D rate, the England statutory multipliers, and the VOA stock mix (modal Band B, 65.5% below D).
Is Forest of Dean Council Tax above the UK average?
Forest of Dean's 2026-27 Band D rate is £2,443.42, 4.6% above the UK average of £2,337.00. It has competition rank 152nd of 350, with equal charges sharing a rank. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Derbyshire Dales, Breckland, South Ribble, Plymouth, then Kirklees, Horsham.
Which councils have charges closest to Forest of Dean?
The closest published Band D rates are Derbyshire Dales (£2,444.70), Breckland (£2,443.67), South Ribble (£2,442.66), Plymouth (£2,441.85), Kirklees (£2,441.07), Horsham (£2,441.01). The comparison table above shows the six nearest authorities and the exact difference from Forest of Dean.
What is the average Council Tax bill in Forest of Dean?
Across Forest of Dean's 41,030 domestic properties, the stock-weighted average charge is £2,267.81 for 2026-27. That is £175.61 below the £2,443.42 Band D rate, because the most common band here is Band B (25.4% of the stock) and 65.5% of dwellings are banded below D. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Somerset, Huntingdonshire, Stafford, Eastbourne. Property counts are from the VOA 2025 stock release; the weighting is our calculation.
How did Forest of Dean Council Tax change for 2026-27?
Band D moved from £2,326.88 to £2,443.42, a 5.01% rise. Its competition rank by annual increase is 151st of 350; the closest movements include Bristol, Derby City, Isles of Scilly.
Advice boundary for Forest of Dean
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 Forest of Dean: district charge plus county, police, fire where separate, and the average parish precept across the district. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Derbyshire Dales, Breckland, South Ribble, Plymouth, then Kirklees, Horsham. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Somerset, Huntingdonshire, Stafford, Eastbourne. For a binding figure consult your Forest of Dean 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 Forest of Dean 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 Derbyshire Dales, Breckland, South Ribble, Plymouth, then Kirklees, Horsham.