Guildford Council Tax 2026
South East, England · 62,720 domestic properties
According to MHCLG, Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026-27, Guildford's Band D Council Tax is £2,547.30 for 2026-27, the 66th highest of 350 UK billing authorities (higher than 81% of them) and 9% above the UK average of £2,337.00. Nearest published Band D rates sit with South Gloucestershire, Burnley, Middlesbrough, Adur, then Redcar & Cleveland, North Yorkshire. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Epping Forest, Hammersmith & Fulham, Three Rivers, Runnymede.
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 South Gloucestershire, Burnley, Middlesbrough, Adur, then Redcar & Cleveland, North Yorkshire. See our methodology page for the full source-to-figure lineage.
- £2,547.30
- Band D charge · 2026 statutory
- Above the UK average
- +4.88%
- year-on-year vs £2,428.89
- Middle-half rise
- +9.0%
- vs UK avg £2,337.00
- £5,094.60
- Band H · 18/9 of Band D
Nearest published Band D rates sit with South Gloucestershire, Burnley, Middlesbrough, Adur, then Redcar & Cleveland, North Yorkshire. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Epping Forest, Hammersmith & Fulham, Three Rivers, Runnymede. Open South Gloucestershire for the closest published Band D on the same vintage.
Guildford · year-on-year Band D
What changed for Guildford
Guildford's Band D Council Tax rose from £2,428.89 (2025-26) to £2,547.30 (2026-27). Among 350 billing authorities by percentage rise, it ranks 185.
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 changesGuildford bands A-H schedule
Per-band charge 2026
Guildford's nearest Band D charges nationwide
Guildford is 66th of 350 on the national Band D list at £2,547.30. Nearest published Band D rates sit with South Gloucestershire, Burnley, Middlesbrough, Adur, then Redcar & Cleveland, North Yorkshire. The six closest published 2026-27 rates, led by South Gloucestershire, 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 East ranking further down when you care about local neighbours, and the stock-weighted average when you care what most of Guildford's 62,720 dwellings actually pay. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Epping Forest, Hammersmith & Fulham, Three Rivers, Runnymede.
| Council | Band D | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| South Gloucestershire | £2,550.59 | +£3.29 |
| Burnley | £2,549.42 | +£2.12 |
| Middlesbrough | £2,549.16 | +£1.86 |
| Adur | £2,548.28 | +£0.98 |
| Redcar & Cleveland | £2,544.48 | −£2.82 |
| North Yorkshire | £2,544.34 | −£2.96 |
Band A–H charge table (2026/2027)
| Band | Annual Charge | Monthly | Sole occupant (−25%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | £1,698.20 | £169.82 | £1,273.65 |
| B | £1,981.23 | £198.12 | £1,485.92 |
| C | £2,264.27 | £226.43 | £1,698.20 |
| D | £2,547.30 | £254.73 | £1,910.48 |
| E | £3,113.37 | £311.34 | £2,335.03 |
| F | £3,679.43 | £367.94 | £2,759.57 |
| G | £4,245.50 | £424.55 | £3,184.13 |
| H | £5,094.60 | £509.46 | £3,820.95 |
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 Guildford's 62,720 properties actually pay
Guildford is one of the authorities where Band D genuinely is the commonest band — 16,960 of 62,720 dwellings (27.0%). The headline rate above therefore describes the typical home here, rather than sitting above it as it does in most of the country. It takes 3 bands — C, D, E — to cover half the stock, a wider spread than most authorities show. 29.8% 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 £2,929.84 per dwelling, £382.54 (15.0%) above the £2,547.30 Band D headline. On that measure Guildford is 12th of 318 authorities with published stock counts, against a £2,269.00 average. That places Guildford 10th of the 64 billing authorities in South East, above the regional median of £2,511.00.
How to read this stock pattern
Here the standard Band D benchmark and the most common property group point to the same part of the distribution. That makes Guildford less sensitive than most authorities to the familiar criticism that Band D is merely a reference property. The stock-weighted amount is still useful: it incorporates the lower and upper bands instead of treating the modal group as the whole area. It should be read as a corpus comparison, not as the bill of a particular address.
Guildford 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.
Guildford sits in the upper quarter of South East on the stock-weighted ordering, above the regional median of £2,511.00. 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: Reigate & Banstead
Reigate & Banstead is the closest full-distribution match for Guildford. The profiles are close rather than identical: 3.7% 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: Guildford has 3.7% of dwellings there, against 1.9% in Reigate & Banstead. That extra lower-band weight pulls its stock profile away from the peer.
- A smaller distinction appears in the upper part of the ladder at Band H. Guildford places 3.0% of dwellings there versus 1.8% for Reigate & Banstead, giving this profile the heavier upper-band tail at that point.
- A smaller distinction is at reference Band D: its share is 27.0% in Guildford and 28.1% in Reigate & Banstead. The familiar benchmark represents a larger slice of the peer's housing stock.
- A smaller distinction is an upper-band difference at Band E. Reigate & Banstead records 18.0% of dwellings there, compared with 17.0% in Guildford, so the peer carries more of its stock at that higher rung.
How the wider profile compares
Guildford has the stronger combined lower-band tilt: Bands A to C account for 1.1% more of its stock than they do in Reigate & Banstead. The nearest match still leaves that bottom-of-ladder difference visible.
Across Bands E and above the combined shares differ by 0.0%. As with the lower bands, this net comparison does not erase any opposing gaps between individual upper bands.
Both profiles peak in Band D, 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 C is the most stable point in the comparison, with shares of 20.5% and 20.2%. 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 leans toward Guildford
- Band B leans toward Reigate & Banstead
- Band C is closely balanced
- Band D leans toward Reigate & Banstead
- Band E leans toward Reigate & Banstead
- Band F leans toward Reigate & Banstead
- Band G leans toward Guildford
- Band H leans toward Guildford
This sequence is read from the lowest published band to the highest.
Other close England matches for Guildford: Epping Forest (5.0% redistribution distance); Hammersmith & Fulham (5.3% redistribution distance); Three Rivers (5.5% redistribution distance); Runnymede (5.9% redistribution distance). Ranked across every published band in the England valuation system, this shortlist shows whether Reigate & Banstead stands alone or sits in a cluster of similarly shaped authorities.
| Band | Properties | Share of stock | Annual charge |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 2,290 | 3.7% | £1,698.20 |
| B | 3,550 | 5.7% | £1,981.23 |
| C | 12,830 | 20.5% | £2,264.27 |
| D | 16,960 | 27.0% | £2,547.30 |
| E | 10,680 | 17.0% | £3,113.37 |
| F | 6,930 | 11.0% | £3,679.43 |
| G | 7,610 | 12.1% | £4,245.50 |
| H | 1,870 | 3.0% | £5,094.60 |
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 Guildford 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.
- Monmouthshire£2,956.82
- Sevenoaks£2,936.70
- Reigate & Banstead£2,936.52
- Kingston upon Thames£2,925.63
- Woking£2,914.95
Guildford's nearest year-on-year movers
Guildford moved Band D from £2,428.89 to £2,547.30 (+4.88%, competition rank 185th of 350). The closest published movements sit with Arun, Cumberland, Gloucester.
- Arun4.90%
- Cumberland4.90%
- Gloucester4.88%
- Waverley4.87%
- Rushmoor4.86%
- South Norfolk4.86%
How Guildford compares in South East
Among the 64 billing authorities in South East, Guildford's 2026-27 Band D charge of £2,547.30 ranks 21st of 64, higher than 67% of them (£72.30 above the South East average of £2,475.00). Its nearest-charged neighbours in the region:
| Region rank | Council | Band D 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|
| 19th | Elmbridge | £2,557.75 |
| 20th | Adur | £2,548.28 |
| 21st | Guildford | £2,547.30 |
| 22nd | Folkestone & Hythe | £2,538.75 |
| 23rd | Epsom & Ewell | £2,530.84 |
Regional rank out of 64 South East billing authorities by 2026-27 Band D charge (1 = dearest). See the full UK ranking or the complete directory.
Questions answered from Guildford's data
These answers use Guildford's £2,547.30 Band D rate, the England statutory multipliers, and the VOA stock mix (modal Band D, 29.8% below D).
Is Guildford Council Tax above the UK average?
Guildford's 2026-27 Band D rate is £2,547.30, 9.0% above the UK average of £2,337.00. It has competition rank 66th of 350, with equal charges sharing a rank. Nearest published Band D rates sit with South Gloucestershire, Burnley, Middlesbrough, Adur, then Redcar & Cleveland, North Yorkshire.
Which councils have charges closest to Guildford?
The closest published Band D rates are South Gloucestershire (£2,550.59), Burnley (£2,549.42), Middlesbrough (£2,549.16), Adur (£2,548.28), Redcar & Cleveland (£2,544.48), North Yorkshire (£2,544.34). The comparison table above shows the six nearest authorities and the exact difference from Guildford.
What is the average Council Tax bill in Guildford?
Across Guildford's 62,720 domestic properties, the stock-weighted average charge is £2,929.84 for 2026-27. That is £382.54 above the £2,547.30 Band D rate, because the most common band here is Band D (27.0% of the stock) and 29.8% of dwellings are banded below D. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Epping Forest, Hammersmith & Fulham, Three Rivers, Runnymede. Property counts are from the VOA 2025 stock release; the weighting is our calculation.
How did Guildford Council Tax change for 2026-27?
Band D moved from £2,428.89 to £2,547.30, a 4.88% rise. Its competition rank by annual increase is 185th of 350; the closest movements include Arun, Cumberland, Gloucester.
Advice boundary for Guildford
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 Guildford: district charge plus county, police, fire where separate, and the average parish precept across the district. Nearest published Band D rates sit with South Gloucestershire, Burnley, Middlesbrough, Adur, then Redcar & Cleveland, North Yorkshire. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Epping Forest, Hammersmith & Fulham, Three Rivers, Runnymede. For a binding figure consult your Guildford 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 Guildford 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 South Gloucestershire, Burnley, Middlesbrough, Adur, then Redcar & Cleveland, North Yorkshire.