Medway Council Tax 2026
South East, England · 121,900 domestic properties
According to MHCLG, Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026-27, Medway's Band D Council Tax is £2,328.55 for 2026-27, the 235th highest of 350 UK billing authorities (higher than 33% of them) and 0% below the UK average of £2,337.00. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Newcastle-under-Lyme, Uttlesford, Maldon, Basildon, then Barnsley, Lincoln. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Dover, Blaby, Broadland, Hackney.
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 Newcastle-under-Lyme, Uttlesford, Maldon, Basildon, then Barnsley, Lincoln. See our methodology page for the full source-to-figure lineage.
- £2,328.55
- Band D charge · 2026 statutory
- Near the UK average
- +5.11%
- year-on-year vs £2,215.38
- Middle-half rise
- -0.4%
- vs UK avg £2,337.00
- £4,657.10
- Band H · 18/9 of Band D
Nearest published Band D rates sit with Newcastle-under-Lyme, Uttlesford, Maldon, Basildon, then Barnsley, Lincoln. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Dover, Blaby, Broadland, Hackney. Open Newcastle-under-Lyme for the closest published Band D on the same vintage.
Medway · year-on-year Band D
What changed for Medway
Medway's Band D Council Tax rose from £2,215.38 (2025-26) to £2,328.55 (2026-27). Among 350 billing authorities by percentage rise, it ranks 113.
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 changesMedway bands A-H schedule
Per-band charge 2026
Medway's nearest Band D charges nationwide
Medway is 235th of 350 on the national Band D list at £2,328.55. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Newcastle-under-Lyme, Uttlesford, Maldon, Basildon, then Barnsley, Lincoln. The six closest published 2026-27 rates, led by Newcastle-under-Lyme, 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 Medway's 121,900 dwellings actually pay. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Dover, Blaby, Broadland, Hackney.
| Council | Band D | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Newcastle-under-Lyme | £2,334.25 | +£5.70 |
| Uttlesford | £2,333.82 | +£5.27 |
| Maldon | £2,328.37 | −£0.18 |
| Basildon | £2,327.24 | −£1.31 |
| Barnsley | £2,325.96 | −£2.59 |
| Lincoln | £2,323.08 | −£5.47 |
Band A–H charge table (2026/2027)
| Band | Annual Charge | Monthly | Sole occupant (−25%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | £1,552.37 | £155.24 | £1,164.28 |
| B | £1,811.09 | £181.11 | £1,358.32 |
| C | £2,069.82 | £206.98 | £1,552.37 |
| D | £2,328.55 | £232.86 | £1,746.41 |
| E | £2,846.01 | £284.60 | £2,134.51 |
| F | £3,363.46 | £336.35 | £2,522.60 |
| G | £3,880.92 | £388.09 | £2,910.69 |
| H | £4,657.10 | £465.71 | £3,492.83 |
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 Medway's 121,900 properties actually pay
Medway's housing stock peaks below the reference point, in Band B, which covers 38,910 of 121,900 dwellings (31.9%). 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. Bands B and C between them account for 61.2% of the stock. 70.6% 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 £2,117.11 per dwelling, £211.44 (9.1%) below the £2,328.55 Band D headline, because most of the stock sits in bands charged at less than the Band D rate. On that measure Medway is 208th of 318 authorities with published stock counts, against a £2,269.00 average. That places Medway 61st of the 64 billing authorities in South East, below the regional median of £2,511.00.
How to read this stock pattern
Medway'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 70.6% 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 B and C together contain 61.2% 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.
Medway falls in the lower quarter of the South East stock-weighted ordering, below the regional median of £2,511.00. 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: York
York is the nearest available full-distribution peer for Medway, although the match is not tight. Aligning the two published profiles would require 6.0% of dwellings to move between valuation bands. Even the closest council therefore has a materially different housing-stock shape.
Four largest band differences
- The largest separation is lower on the ladder at Band B: Medway has 31.9% of dwellings there, against 27.2% in York. That extra lower-band weight pulls its stock profile away from the peer.
- Another material separation sits at lower Band A, where York holds 14.0% of its stock and Medway holds 9.4%. The peer is more bottom-weighted at this rung of the valuation list.
- A smaller distinction falls on the reference band itself. Band D contains 16.0% of Medway's stock but 14.8% of York's, so the national headline describes more of the local distribution here.
- A smaller distinction is an upper-band difference at Band G. York records 2.1% of dwellings there, compared with 1.3% in Medway, so the peer carries more of its stock at that higher rung.
How the wider profile compares
Across Bands A to C the combined shares differ by only 0.2%. That net figure can hide opposing band-level gaps, so the individual Band A, B and C comparisons above remain the safer guide to where the lower-band stock differs.
York carries the heavier upper tail across Bands E and above, exceeding Medway's combined share there by 1.5%. Total-variation distance counts those absolute band gaps without assuming they offset the lower-band pattern.
Medway and York do not even peak in the same valuation band: the peer's largest group is Band C. Their total-variation match is therefore built from offsetting shares across the ladder, not from one identical headline category.
Band H is the most stable point in the comparison, with shares of 0.0% 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 leans toward York
- Band B leans toward Medway
- Band C is closely balanced
- Band D leans toward Medway
- Band E is closely balanced
- Band F is closely balanced
- Band G leans toward York
- Band H is closely balanced
This sequence is read from the lowest published band to the highest.
Other close England matches for Medway: Dover (6.2% redistribution distance); Blaby (6.9% redistribution distance); Broadland (7.6% redistribution distance); Hackney (8.6% redistribution distance). Ranked across every published band in the England valuation system, this shortlist shows whether York stands alone or sits in a cluster of similarly shaped authorities.
| Band | Properties | Share of stock | Annual charge |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 11,480 | 9.4% | £1,552.37 |
| B | 38,910 | 31.9% | £1,811.09 |
| C | 35,640 | 29.2% | £2,069.82 |
| D | 19,530 | 16.0% | £2,328.55 |
| E | 10,260 | 8.4% | £2,846.01 |
| F | 4,450 | 3.7% | £3,363.46 |
| G | 1,570 | 1.3% | £3,880.92 |
| H | 60 | 0.0% | £4,657.10 |
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 Medway 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.
- Breckland£2,126.61
- Walsall£2,123.22
- East Suffolk£2,114.93
- Lancaster£2,114.80
- Staffordshire Moorlands£2,113.88
Medway's nearest year-on-year movers
Medway moved Band D from £2,215.38 to £2,328.55 (+5.11%, competition rank 113th of 350). The closest published movements sit with Calderdale, Dorset Council, Tewkesbury.
- Calderdale5.12%
- Dorset Council5.12%
- Tewkesbury5.12%
- Bridgend5.11%
- Herefordshire5.11%
- Thurrock5.11%
How Medway compares in South East
Among the 64 billing authorities in South East, Medway's 2026-27 Band D charge of £2,328.55 ranks 56th of 64, higher than 13% of them (£146.45 below the South East average of £2,475.00). Its nearest-charged neighbours in the region:
Regional low-charge outlier: this authority sits in the least costly fifth of South East.
| Region rank | Council | Band D 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|
| 54th | East Hampshire | £2,343.92 |
| 55th | Eastleigh | £2,342.21 |
| 56th | Medway | £2,328.55 |
| 57th | Havant | £2,320.28 |
| 58th | Rushmoor | £2,320.28 |
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 Medway's data
These answers use Medway's £2,328.55 Band D rate, the England statutory multipliers, and the VOA stock mix (modal Band B, 70.6% below D).
Is Medway Council Tax above the UK average?
Medway's 2026-27 Band D rate is £2,328.55, 0.4% below the UK average of £2,337.00. It has competition rank 235th of 350, with equal charges sharing a rank. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Newcastle-under-Lyme, Uttlesford, Maldon, Basildon, then Barnsley, Lincoln.
Which councils have charges closest to Medway?
The closest published Band D rates are Newcastle-under-Lyme (£2,334.25), Uttlesford (£2,333.82), Maldon (£2,328.37), Basildon (£2,327.24), Barnsley (£2,325.96), Lincoln (£2,323.08). The comparison table above shows the six nearest authorities and the exact difference from Medway.
What is the average Council Tax bill in Medway?
Across Medway's 121,900 domestic properties, the stock-weighted average charge is £2,117.11 for 2026-27. That is £211.44 below the £2,328.55 Band D rate, because the most common band here is Band B (31.9% of the stock) and 70.6% of dwellings are banded below D. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Dover, Blaby, Broadland, Hackney. Property counts are from the VOA 2025 stock release; the weighting is our calculation.
How did Medway Council Tax change for 2026-27?
Band D moved from £2,215.38 to £2,328.55, a 5.11% rise. Its competition rank by annual increase is 113th of 350; the closest movements include Calderdale, Dorset Council, Tewkesbury.
Advice boundary for Medway
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. Medway 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 Newcastle-under-Lyme, Uttlesford, Maldon, Basildon, then Barnsley, Lincoln. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Dover, Blaby, Broadland, Hackney. For a binding figure consult your Medway 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 Medway are the area Band D and statutory band multiples with no county tier. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Newcastle-under-Lyme, Uttlesford, Maldon, Basildon, then Barnsley, Lincoln.