Maidstone Council Tax 2026
South East, England · 78,830 domestic properties
According to MHCLG, Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026-27, Maidstone's Band D Council Tax is £2,502.59 for 2026-27, the 97th highest of 350 UK billing authorities (higher than 72% of them) and 7% above the UK average of £2,337.00. Nearest published Band D rates sit with West Berkshire, Norwich, Lancaster, Nuneaton & Bedworth, then Wirral, Wokingham. Closest published housing-stock shapes include West Berkshire, Dacorum, Enfield, Rochford.
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 West Berkshire, Norwich, Lancaster, Nuneaton & Bedworth, then Wirral, Wokingham. See our methodology page for the full source-to-figure lineage.
- £2,502.59
- Band D charge · 2026 statutory
- Above the UK average
- +4.11%
- year-on-year vs £2,403.78
- Lower-quarter rise
- +7.1%
- vs UK avg £2,337.00
- £5,005.18
- Band H · 18/9 of Band D
Nearest published Band D rates sit with West Berkshire, Norwich, Lancaster, Nuneaton & Bedworth, then Wirral, Wokingham. Closest published housing-stock shapes include West Berkshire, Dacorum, Enfield, Rochford. Open West Berkshire for the closest published Band D on the same vintage.
Maidstone · year-on-year Band D
What changed for Maidstone
Maidstone's Band D Council Tax rose from £2,403.78 (2025-26) to £2,502.59 (2026-27). Among 350 billing authorities by percentage rise, it ranks 299.
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 changesMaidstone bands A-H schedule
Per-band charge 2026
Maidstone's nearest Band D charges nationwide
Maidstone is 97th of 350 on the national Band D list at £2,502.59. Nearest published Band D rates sit with West Berkshire, Norwich, Lancaster, Nuneaton & Bedworth, then Wirral, Wokingham. The six closest published 2026-27 rates, led by West Berkshire, 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 Maidstone's 78,830 dwellings actually pay. Closest published housing-stock shapes include West Berkshire, Dacorum, Enfield, Rochford.
| Council | Band D | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| West Berkshire | £2,505.37 | +£2.78 |
| Norwich | £2,503.44 | +£0.85 |
| Lancaster | £2,503.19 | +£0.60 |
| Nuneaton & Bedworth | £2,502.16 | −£0.43 |
| Wirral | £2,500.59 | −£2.00 |
| Wokingham | £2,497.70 | −£4.89 |
Band A–H charge table (2026/2027)
| Band | Annual Charge | Monthly | Sole occupant (−25%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | £1,668.39 | £166.84 | £1,251.29 |
| B | £1,946.46 | £194.65 | £1,459.85 |
| C | £2,224.52 | £222.45 | £1,668.39 |
| D | £2,502.59 | £250.26 | £1,876.94 |
| E | £3,058.72 | £305.87 | £2,294.04 |
| F | £3,614.85 | £361.49 | £2,711.14 |
| G | £4,170.98 | £417.10 | £3,128.23 |
| H | £5,005.18 | £500.52 | £3,753.89 |
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 Maidstone's 78,830 properties actually pay
Maidstone's housing stock peaks below the reference point, in Band C, which covers 21,310 of 78,830 dwellings (27.0%). 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. Bands C and D between them account for 53.2% of the stock. 44.9% 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 £2,595.64 per dwelling, £93.05 (3.7%) above the £2,502.59 Band D headline. On that measure Maidstone is 49th of 318 authorities with published stock counts, against a £2,269.00 average. That places Maidstone 29th of the 64 billing authorities in South East, above the regional median of £2,511.00.
How to read this stock pattern
Maidstone'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 44.9% 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.
This is a two-band centre rather than a single-band market. Bands C and D together contain 53.2% of dwellings, so neither band should be presented as a complete account of the area. The stock-weighted result combines both groups and the smaller tails into one comparable measure. The table shows where that mean comes from and prevents the distribution being flattened into an overconfident "typical property" claim.
Maidstone occupies the middle half of the South East stock-weighted distribution, above its £2,511.00 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: Chelmsford
Chelmsford is the closest full-distribution match for Maidstone. The profiles are close rather than identical: 4.2% 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 falls on the reference band itself. Band D contains 26.2% of Maidstone's stock but 22.7% of Chelmsford's, so the national headline describes more of the local distribution here.
- Another material separation sits at lower Band C, where Chelmsford holds 29.3% of its stock and Maidstone holds 27.0%. The peer is more bottom-weighted at this rung of the valuation list.
- A smaller distinction sits at lower Band B, where Chelmsford holds 13.3% of its stock and Maidstone holds 12.2%. The peer is more bottom-weighted at this rung of the valuation list.
- A smaller distinction sits at lower Band A, where Chelmsford holds 6.3% of its stock and Maidstone holds 5.8%. The peer is more bottom-weighted at this rung of the valuation list.
How the wider profile compares
Chelmsford is more concentrated across Bands A to C in aggregate, by 4.0% of its stock. Maidstone's closest match is therefore achieved despite the peer carrying more homes below the reference band.
Maidstone carries 0.5% more of its stock in Bands E and above than Chelmsford. 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 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 0.5% and 0.6%. 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 Chelmsford
- Band B leans toward Chelmsford
- Band C leans toward Chelmsford
- Band D leans toward Maidstone
- 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 Maidstone: West Berkshire (5.4% redistribution distance); Dacorum (6.3% redistribution distance); Enfield (6.3% redistribution distance); Rochford (6.8% redistribution distance). Ranked across every published band in the England valuation system, this shortlist shows whether Chelmsford stands alone or sits in a cluster of similarly shaped authorities.
| Band | Properties | Share of stock | Annual charge |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 4,540 | 5.8% | £1,668.39 |
| B | 9,580 | 12.2% | £1,946.46 |
| C | 21,310 | 27.0% | £2,224.52 |
| D | 20,630 | 26.2% | £2,502.59 |
| E | 11,010 | 14.0% | £3,058.72 |
| F | 6,640 | 8.4% | £3,614.85 |
| G | 4,730 | 6.0% | £4,170.98 |
| H | 390 | 0.5% | £5,005.18 |
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 Maidstone 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.
- Cotswold£2,611.02
- Welwyn Hatfield£2,601.52
- Winchester£2,590.44
- Brentwood£2,587.80
- Vale of Glamorgan£2,584.06
Maidstone's nearest year-on-year movers
Maidstone moved Band D from £2,403.78 to £2,502.59 (+4.11%, competition rank 299th of 350). The closest published movements sit with Neath Port Talbot, Tamworth, Dover.
- Neath Port Talbot4.12%
- Tamworth4.12%
- Dover4.11%
- Gravesham4.11%
- Cannock Chase4.10%
- Castle Point4.10%
How Maidstone compares in South East
Among the 64 billing authorities in South East, Maidstone's 2026-27 Band D charge of £2,502.59 ranks 29th of 64, higher than 55% of them (£27.59 above the South East average of £2,475.00). Its nearest-charged neighbours in the region:
| Region rank | Council | Band D 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|
| 27th | Mole Valley | £2,519.86 |
| 28th | West Berkshire | £2,505.37 |
| 29th | Maidstone | £2,502.59 |
| 30th | Wokingham | £2,497.70 |
| 31st | Runnymede | £2,492.99 |
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 Maidstone's data
These answers use Maidstone's £2,502.59 Band D rate, the England statutory multipliers, and the VOA stock mix (modal Band C, 44.9% below D).
Is Maidstone Council Tax above the UK average?
Maidstone's 2026-27 Band D rate is £2,502.59, 7.1% above the UK average of £2,337.00. It has competition rank 97th of 350, with equal charges sharing a rank. Nearest published Band D rates sit with West Berkshire, Norwich, Lancaster, Nuneaton & Bedworth, then Wirral, Wokingham.
Which councils have charges closest to Maidstone?
The closest published Band D rates are West Berkshire (£2,505.37), Norwich (£2,503.44), Lancaster (£2,503.19), Nuneaton & Bedworth (£2,502.16), Wirral (£2,500.59), Wokingham (£2,497.70). The comparison table above shows the six nearest authorities and the exact difference from Maidstone.
What is the average Council Tax bill in Maidstone?
Across Maidstone's 78,830 domestic properties, the stock-weighted average charge is £2,595.64 for 2026-27. That is £93.05 above the £2,502.59 Band D rate, because the most common band here is Band C (27.0% of the stock) and 44.9% of dwellings are banded below D. Closest published housing-stock shapes include West Berkshire, Dacorum, Enfield, Rochford. Property counts are from the VOA 2025 stock release; the weighting is our calculation.
How did Maidstone Council Tax change for 2026-27?
Band D moved from £2,403.78 to £2,502.59, a 4.11% rise. Its competition rank by annual increase is 299th of 350; the closest movements include Neath Port Talbot, Tamworth, Dover.
Advice boundary for Maidstone
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 Maidstone: district charge plus county, police, fire where separate, and the average parish precept across the district. Nearest published Band D rates sit with West Berkshire, Norwich, Lancaster, Nuneaton & Bedworth, then Wirral, Wokingham. Closest published housing-stock shapes include West Berkshire, Dacorum, Enfield, Rochford. For a binding figure consult your Maidstone 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 Maidstone 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 West Berkshire, Norwich, Lancaster, Nuneaton & Bedworth, then Wirral, Wokingham.