Merton Council Tax 2026
London, England · 87,870 domestic properties
According to MHCLG, Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026-27, Merton's Band D Council Tax is £2,146.76 for 2026-27, the 296th highest of 350 UK billing authorities (higher than 15% of them) and 8% below the UK average of £2,337.00. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Torfaen, Wigan, Dudley, Bromley, then Ealing, Barnet. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Enfield, Havering, Hounslow, Broxbourne.
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 Torfaen, Wigan, Dudley, Bromley, then Ealing, Barnet. See our methodology page for the full source-to-figure lineage.
- £2,146.76
- Band D charge · 2026 statutory
- Below the UK average
- +2.50%
- year-on-year vs £2,094.43
- Lower-quarter rise
- -8.1%
- vs UK avg £2,337.00
- £4,293.52
- Band H · 18/9 of Band D
Nearest published Band D rates sit with Torfaen, Wigan, Dudley, Bromley, then Ealing, Barnet. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Enfield, Havering, Hounslow, Broxbourne. Open Torfaen for the closest published Band D on the same vintage.
Merton · year-on-year Band D
What changed for Merton
Merton's Band D Council Tax rose from £2,094.43 (2025-26) to £2,146.76 (2026-27). Among 350 billing authorities by percentage rise, it ranks 347.
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 changesMerton bands A-H schedule
Per-band charge 2026
Merton's nearest Band D charges nationwide
Merton is 296th of 350 on the national Band D list at £2,146.76. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Torfaen, Wigan, Dudley, Bromley, then Ealing, Barnet. The six closest published 2026-27 rates, led by Torfaen, 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 London ranking further down when you care about local neighbours, and the stock-weighted average when you care what most of Merton's 87,870 dwellings actually pay. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Enfield, Havering, Hounslow, Broxbourne.
| Council | Band D | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Torfaen | £2,155.68 | +£8.92 |
| Wigan | £2,152.68 | +£5.92 |
| Dudley | £2,144.84 | −£1.92 |
| Bromley | £2,140.04 | −£6.72 |
| Ealing | £2,138.53 | −£8.23 |
| Barnet | £2,132.60 | −£14.16 |
Band A–H charge table (2026/2027)
| Band | Annual Charge | Monthly | Sole occupant (−25%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | £1,431.17 | £143.12 | £1,073.38 |
| B | £1,669.70 | £166.97 | £1,252.28 |
| C | £1,908.23 | £190.82 | £1,431.17 |
| D | £2,146.76 | £214.68 | £1,610.07 |
| E | £2,623.82 | £262.38 | £1,967.87 |
| F | £3,100.88 | £310.09 | £2,325.66 |
| G | £3,577.93 | £357.79 | £2,683.45 |
| H | £4,293.52 | £429.35 | £3,220.14 |
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 Merton's 87,870 properties actually pay
Merton is one of the authorities where Band D genuinely is the commonest band — 28,370 of 87,870 dwellings (32.3%). The headline rate above therefore describes the typical home here, rather than sitting above it as it does in most of the country. Bands C and D between them account for 59.8% of the stock. 38.7% 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 £2,276.14 per dwelling, £129.38 (6.0%) above the £2,146.76 Band D headline. On that measure Merton is 140th of 318 authorities with published stock counts, against a £2,269.00 average. That places Merton 14th of the 33 billing authorities in London, above the regional median of £2,261.38.
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 Merton 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.
This is a two-band centre rather than a single-band market. Bands C and D together contain 59.8% 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.
Merton occupies the middle half of the London stock-weighted distribution, above its £2,261.38 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: Ealing
Ealing is the closest full-distribution match for Merton. The profiles are close rather than identical: 4.3% 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 C: Merton has 27.5% of dwellings there, against 24.7% in Ealing. That extra lower-band weight pulls its stock profile away from the peer.
- Another material separation sits at lower Band A, where Ealing holds 3.5% of its stock and Merton holds 1.4%. 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 H. Merton places 2.1% of dwellings there versus 0.7% for Ealing, giving this profile the heavier upper-band tail at that point.
- A smaller distinction is an upper-band difference at Band E. Ealing records 16.8% of dwellings there, compared with 15.4% in Merton, so the peer carries more of its stock at that higher rung.
How the wider profile compares
Merton has the stronger combined lower-band tilt: Bands A to C account for 0.6% more of its stock than they do in Ealing. The nearest match still leaves that bottom-of-ladder difference visible.
Across Bands E and above the combined shares differ by 0.3%. 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 G is the most stable point in the comparison, with shares of 4.8% and 4.8%. 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 Ealing
- Band B is closely balanced
- Band C leans toward Merton
- Band D is closely balanced
- Band E leans toward Ealing
- Band F is closely balanced
- Band G is closely balanced
- Band H leans toward Merton
This sequence is read from the lowest published band to the highest.
Other close England matches for Merton: Enfield (4.9% redistribution distance); Havering (4.9% redistribution distance); Hounslow (5.2% redistribution distance); Broxbourne (6.4% redistribution distance). Ranked across every published band in the England valuation system, this shortlist shows whether Ealing stands alone or sits in a cluster of similarly shaped authorities.
| Band | Properties | Share of stock | Annual charge |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1,190 | 1.4% | £1,431.17 |
| B | 8,600 | 9.8% | £1,669.70 |
| C | 24,180 | 27.5% | £1,908.23 |
| D | 28,370 | 32.3% | £2,146.76 |
| E | 13,560 | 15.4% | £2,623.82 |
| F | 5,940 | 6.8% | £3,100.88 |
| G | 4,180 | 4.8% | £3,577.93 |
| H | 1,850 | 2.1% | £4,293.52 |
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 Merton 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.
- Bristol£2,282.73
- Carmarthenshire£2,278.23
- Haringey£2,275.90
- Worthing£2,274.12
- Fareham£2,271.39
Merton's nearest year-on-year movers
Merton moved Band D from £2,094.43 to £2,146.76 (+2.50%, competition rank 347th of 350). The closest published movements sit with Durham, Lincoln, Doncaster.
Muted-rise signal for Merton: the increase is below 4%, placing this authority among the slower-moving part of the current dataset.
- Durham2.78%
- Lincoln2.75%
- Doncaster2.71%
- Rutland2.49%
- Hartlepool2.47%
- Middlesbrough2.47%
How Merton compares in London
Among the 33 billing authorities in London, Merton's 2026-27 Band D charge of £2,146.76 ranks 17th of 33, higher than 48% of them (£56.76 above the London average of £2,090.00). Its nearest-charged neighbours in the region:
| Region rank | Council | Band D 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|
| 15th | Barking & Dagenham | £2,198.51 |
| 16th | Hounslow | £2,185.56 |
| 17th | Merton | £2,146.76 |
| 18th | Bromley | £2,140.04 |
| 19th | Ealing | £2,138.53 |
Regional rank out of 33 London billing authorities by 2026-27 Band D charge (1 = dearest). See the full UK ranking or the complete directory.
Questions answered from Merton's data
These answers use Merton's £2,146.76 Band D rate, the England statutory multipliers, and the VOA stock mix (modal Band D, 38.7% below D).
Is Merton Council Tax above the UK average?
Merton's 2026-27 Band D rate is £2,146.76, 8.1% below the UK average of £2,337.00. It has competition rank 296th of 350, with equal charges sharing a rank. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Torfaen, Wigan, Dudley, Bromley, then Ealing, Barnet.
Which councils have charges closest to Merton?
The closest published Band D rates are Torfaen (£2,155.68), Wigan (£2,152.68), Dudley (£2,144.84), Bromley (£2,140.04), Ealing (£2,138.53), Barnet (£2,132.60). The comparison table above shows the six nearest authorities and the exact difference from Merton.
What is the average Council Tax bill in Merton?
Across Merton's 87,870 domestic properties, the stock-weighted average charge is £2,276.14 for 2026-27. That is £129.38 above the £2,146.76 Band D rate, because the most common band here is Band D (32.3% of the stock) and 38.7% of dwellings are banded below D. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Enfield, Havering, Hounslow, Broxbourne. Property counts are from the VOA 2025 stock release; the weighting is our calculation.
How did Merton Council Tax change for 2026-27?
Band D moved from £2,094.43 to £2,146.76, a 2.50% rise. Its competition rank by annual increase is 347th of 350; the closest movements include Durham, Lincoln, Doncaster.
Advice boundary for Merton
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. Merton's Band D already includes the borough charge plus the Mayor of London's GLA precept for capital-wide services. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Torfaen, Wigan, Dudley, Bromley, then Ealing, Barnet. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Enfield, Havering, Hounslow, Broxbourne. For a binding figure consult your Merton 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 Merton are the area Band D and statutory band multiples, including the GLA precept. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Torfaen, Wigan, Dudley, Bromley, then Ealing, Barnet.