Northumberland Council Tax 2026
North East, England · 163,030 domestic properties
According to MHCLG, Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026-27, Northumberland's Band D Council Tax is £2,596.94 for 2026-27, the 39th highest of 350 UK billing authorities (higher than 89% of them) and 11% above the UK average of £2,337.00. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Croydon, Woking, South Oxfordshire, East Devon, then Tandridge, Salford. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Darlington, Preston, Cumberland, Bassetlaw.
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 Croydon, Woking, South Oxfordshire, East Devon, then Tandridge, Salford. See our methodology page for the full source-to-figure lineage.
- £2,596.94
- Band D charge · 2026 statutory
- Above the UK average
- +5.37%
- year-on-year vs £2,464.63
- Upper-quarter rise
- +11.1%
- vs UK avg £2,337.00
- £5,193.88
- Band H · 18/9 of Band D
Nearest published Band D rates sit with Croydon, Woking, South Oxfordshire, East Devon, then Tandridge, Salford. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Darlington, Preston, Cumberland, Bassetlaw. Open Croydon for the closest published Band D on the same vintage.
Northumberland · year-on-year Band D
What changed for Northumberland
Northumberland's Band D Council Tax rose from £2,464.63 (2025-26) to £2,596.94 (2026-27). Among 350 billing authorities by percentage rise, it ranks 62.
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 changesNorthumberland bands A-H schedule
Per-band charge 2026
Northumberland's nearest Band D charges nationwide
Northumberland is 39th of 350 on the national Band D list at £2,596.94. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Croydon, Woking, South Oxfordshire, East Devon, then Tandridge, Salford. The six closest published 2026-27 rates, led by Croydon, 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 North East ranking further down when you care about local neighbours, and the stock-weighted average when you care what most of Northumberland's 163,030 dwellings actually pay. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Darlington, Preston, Cumberland, Bassetlaw.
| Council | Band D | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Croydon | £2,599.91 | +£2.97 |
| Woking | £2,598.04 | +£1.10 |
| South Oxfordshire | £2,597.57 | +£0.63 |
| East Devon | £2,595.46 | −£1.48 |
| Tandridge | £2,594.85 | −£2.09 |
| Salford | £2,594.45 | −£2.49 |
Band A–H charge table (2026/2027)
| Band | Annual Charge | Monthly | Sole occupant (−25%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | £1,731.29 | £173.13 | £1,298.47 |
| B | £2,019.84 | £201.98 | £1,514.88 |
| C | £2,308.39 | £230.84 | £1,731.29 |
| D | £2,596.94 | £259.69 | £1,947.71 |
| E | £3,174.04 | £317.40 | £2,380.53 |
| F | £3,751.14 | £375.11 | £2,813.36 |
| G | £4,328.23 | £432.82 | £3,246.17 |
| H | £5,193.88 | £519.39 | £3,895.41 |
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 Northumberland's 163,030 properties actually pay
Most homes in Northumberland sit in Band A, the bottom of the valuation list: 70,840 of 163,030 dwellings (43.5%). Band A is charged at two-thirds of the Band D rate, so the headline figure above describes a property type that is in the minority here. Bands A and B between them account for 59.8% of the stock. 73.2% 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 £2,243.01 per dwelling, £353.93 (13.6%) below the £2,596.94 Band D headline, because most of the stock sits in bands charged at less than the Band D rate. On that measure Northumberland is 158th of 318 authorities with published stock counts, against a £2,269.00 average. No billing authority in North East charges more per dwelling across its stock than Northumberland does.
How to read this stock pattern
Band D is a poor description of the largest group in Northumberland's housing stock. The dominant group is Band A, where the statutory charge is two-thirds of the Band D rate, while the reference band describes a different part of the valuation list. The £2,243.01 stock-weighted figure is therefore the more representative area-level comparison. It does not predict an individual bill, because discounts, exemptions and the property's actual valuation band still determine liability.
This is a two-band centre rather than a single-band market. Bands A and B 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.
Northumberland sets the upper edge of the North East comparison on this stock-weighted measure. That is stronger evidence than its UK-wide Band D position alone because every authority in the peer set is judged after its own band distribution is applied. The result identifies the most expensive average stock profile in the region; it does not establish that every property in Northumberland has the region's highest bill.
Closest housing-stock shape: Newark & Sherwood
Newark & Sherwood is the closest full-distribution match for Northumberland. The profiles are close rather than identical: 3.4% 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 sits at lower Band C, where Newark & Sherwood holds 16.5% of its stock and Northumberland holds 13.4%. The peer is more bottom-weighted at this rung of the valuation list.
- Another material separation is lower on the ladder at Band A: Northumberland has 43.5% of dwellings there, against 41.4% in Newark & Sherwood. That extra lower-band weight pulls its stock profile away from the peer.
- A smaller distinction is lower on the ladder at Band B: Northumberland has 16.4% of dwellings there, against 15.3% in Newark & Sherwood. That extra lower-band weight pulls its stock profile away from the peer.
- A smaller distinction is an upper-band difference at Band E. Newark & Sherwood records 7.8% of dwellings there, compared with 7.5% in Northumberland, 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 0.1%. 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.
Across Bands E and above the combined shares differ by 0.1%. As with the lower bands, this net comparison does not erase any opposing gaps between individual upper bands.
Both profiles peak in Band A, 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 D is the most stable point in the comparison, with shares of 11.4% and 11.4%. 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 Northumberland
- Band B leans toward Northumberland
- Band C leans toward Newark & Sherwood
- Band D is closely balanced
- 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 Northumberland: Darlington (5.5% redistribution distance); Preston (6.0% redistribution distance); Cumberland (6.4% redistribution distance); Bassetlaw (6.5% redistribution distance). Ranked across every published band in the England valuation system, this shortlist shows whether Newark & Sherwood stands alone or sits in a cluster of similarly shaped authorities.
| Band | Properties | Share of stock | Annual charge |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 70,840 | 43.5% | £1,731.29 |
| B | 26,670 | 16.4% | £2,019.84 |
| C | 21,900 | 13.4% | £2,308.39 |
| D | 18,540 | 11.4% | £2,596.94 |
| E | 12,300 | 7.5% | £3,174.04 |
| F | 7,630 | 4.7% | £3,751.14 |
| G | 4,560 | 2.8% | £4,328.23 |
| H | 590 | 0.4% | £5,193.88 |
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 Northumberland 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.
- Wyre£2,245.81
- Sefton£2,245.24
- Babergh£2,243.62
- Wyre Forest£2,241.87
- West Lancashire£2,238.69
Northumberland's nearest year-on-year movers
Northumberland moved Band D from £2,464.63 to £2,596.94 (+5.37%, competition rank 62nd of 350). The closest published movements sit with Ceredigion, Mid Devon, North Tyneside.
- Ceredigion5.37%
- Mid Devon5.36%
- North Tyneside5.36%
- Newcastle upon Tyne5.35%
- Carmarthenshire5.34%
- Cornwall5.33%
How Northumberland compares in North East
Among the 12 billing authorities in North East, Northumberland's 2026-27 Band D charge of £2,596.94 ranks 3rd of 12, higher than 75% of them (£70.94 above the North East average of £2,526.00). Its nearest-charged neighbours in the region:
| Region rank | Council | Band D 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Gateshead | £2,715.81 |
| 2nd | Durham | £2,622.15 |
| 3rd | Northumberland | £2,596.94 |
| 4th | Stockton-on-Tees | £2,589.83 |
| 5th | Hartlepool | £2,560.20 |
Regional rank out of 12 North East billing authorities by 2026-27 Band D charge (1 = dearest). See the full UK ranking or the complete directory.
Questions answered from Northumberland's data
These answers use Northumberland's £2,596.94 Band D rate, the England statutory multipliers, and the VOA stock mix (modal Band A, 73.2% below D).
Is Northumberland Council Tax above the UK average?
Northumberland's 2026-27 Band D rate is £2,596.94, 11.1% above the UK average of £2,337.00. It has competition rank 39th of 350, with equal charges sharing a rank. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Croydon, Woking, South Oxfordshire, East Devon, then Tandridge, Salford.
Which councils have charges closest to Northumberland?
The closest published Band D rates are Croydon (£2,599.91), Woking (£2,598.04), South Oxfordshire (£2,597.57), East Devon (£2,595.46), Tandridge (£2,594.85), Salford (£2,594.45). The comparison table above shows the six nearest authorities and the exact difference from Northumberland.
What is the average Council Tax bill in Northumberland?
Across Northumberland's 163,030 domestic properties, the stock-weighted average charge is £2,243.01 for 2026-27. That is £353.93 below the £2,596.94 Band D rate, because the most common band here is Band A (43.5% of the stock) and 73.2% of dwellings are banded below D. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Darlington, Preston, Cumberland, Bassetlaw. Property counts are from the VOA 2025 stock release; the weighting is our calculation.
How did Northumberland Council Tax change for 2026-27?
Band D moved from £2,464.63 to £2,596.94, a 5.37% rise. Its competition rank by annual increase is 62nd of 350; the closest movements include Ceredigion, Mid Devon, North Tyneside.
Advice boundary for Northumberland
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. Northumberland 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 Croydon, Woking, South Oxfordshire, East Devon, then Tandridge, Salford. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Darlington, Preston, Cumberland, Bassetlaw. For a binding figure consult your Northumberland 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 Northumberland are the area Band D and statutory band multiples with no county tier. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Croydon, Woking, South Oxfordshire, East Devon, then Tandridge, Salford.