Portsmouth Council Tax 2026
South East, England · 94,160 domestic properties
According to MHCLG, Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026-27, Portsmouth's Band D Council Tax is £2,291.71 for 2026-27, the 260th highest of 350 UK billing authorities (higher than 26% of them) and 2% below the UK average of £2,337.00. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Kingston upon Hull, Redbridge, Peterborough, Trafford, then Rhondda Cynon Taf, York. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Ipswich, Southampton, Gloucester, Bristol.
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 Kingston upon Hull, Redbridge, Peterborough, Trafford, then Rhondda Cynon Taf, York. See our methodology page for the full source-to-figure lineage.
- £2,291.71
- Band D charge · 2026 statutory
- Near the UK average
- +5.08%
- year-on-year vs £2,180.92
- Middle-half rise
- -1.9%
- vs UK avg £2,337.00
- £4,583.42
- Band H · 18/9 of Band D
Nearest published Band D rates sit with Kingston upon Hull, Redbridge, Peterborough, Trafford, then Rhondda Cynon Taf, York. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Ipswich, Southampton, Gloucester, Bristol. Open Kingston upon Hull for the closest published Band D on the same vintage.
Portsmouth · year-on-year Band D
What changed for Portsmouth
Portsmouth's Band D Council Tax rose from £2,180.92 (2025-26) to £2,291.71 (2026-27). Among 350 billing authorities by percentage rise, it ranks 123.
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 changesPortsmouth bands A-H schedule
Per-band charge 2026
Portsmouth's nearest Band D charges nationwide
Portsmouth is 260th of 350 on the national Band D list at £2,291.71. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Kingston upon Hull, Redbridge, Peterborough, Trafford, then Rhondda Cynon Taf, York. The six closest published 2026-27 rates, led by Kingston upon Hull, 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 Portsmouth's 94,160 dwellings actually pay. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Ipswich, Southampton, Gloucester, Bristol.
| Council | Band D | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Kingston upon Hull | £2,295.04 | +£3.33 |
| Redbridge | £2,294.58 | +£2.87 |
| Peterborough | £2,293.47 | +£1.76 |
| Trafford | £2,291.70 | −£0.01 |
| Rhondda Cynon Taf | £2,289.43 | −£2.28 |
| York | £2,287.15 | −£4.56 |
Band A–H charge table (2026/2027)
| Band | Annual Charge | Monthly | Sole occupant (−25%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | £1,527.81 | £152.78 | £1,145.86 |
| B | £1,782.44 | £178.24 | £1,336.83 |
| C | £2,037.08 | £203.71 | £1,527.81 |
| D | £2,291.71 | £229.17 | £1,718.78 |
| E | £2,800.98 | £280.10 | £2,100.74 |
| F | £3,310.25 | £331.03 | £2,482.69 |
| G | £3,819.52 | £381.95 | £2,864.64 |
| H | £4,583.42 | £458.34 | £3,437.57 |
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 Portsmouth's 94,160 properties actually pay
Portsmouth's housing stock peaks below the reference point, in Band B, which covers 31,800 of 94,160 dwellings (33.8%). 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 A and B between them account for 62.9% of the stock. 86.8% 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 £1,887.02 per dwelling, £404.69 (17.7%) below the £2,291.71 Band D headline, because most of the stock sits in bands charged at less than the Band D rate. On that measure Portsmouth is 294th of 318 authorities with published stock counts, against a £2,269.00 average. No billing authority in South East charges less per dwelling across its stock than Portsmouth does.
How to read this stock pattern
Portsmouth'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 86.8% 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 A and B together contain 62.9% 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.
Portsmouth forms the lower edge of the South East peer set after each authority's housing mix is taken into account. Its position is therefore not just a low Band D headline: the weighted average remains lowest across the region's published stock profiles. The ranking is an area comparison, not a promise about a particular address, and the band table below retains the within-council variation that the rank compresses.
Closest housing-stock shape: Luton
Luton is the closest full-distribution match for Portsmouth. The profiles are close rather than identical: 5.7% 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: Portsmouth has 29.2% of dwellings there, against 25.2% in Luton. That extra lower-band weight pulls its stock profile away from the peer.
- Another material separation sits at lower Band C, where Luton holds 26.7% of its stock and Portsmouth holds 23.8%. The peer is more bottom-weighted at this rung of the valuation list.
- Another material separation is at reference Band D: its share is 6.7% in Portsmouth and 9.4% in Luton. The familiar benchmark represents a larger slice of the peer's housing stock.
- A smaller distinction is lower on the ladder at Band B: Portsmouth has 33.8% of dwellings there, against 32.9% in Luton. That extra lower-band weight pulls its stock profile away from the peer.
How the wider profile compares
Portsmouth has the stronger combined lower-band tilt: Bands A to C account for 1.9% more of its stock than they do in Luton. The nearest match still leaves that bottom-of-ladder difference visible.
Portsmouth carries 0.7% more of its stock in Bands E and above than Luton. 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 B, 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 0.1% and 0.0%. 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 Portsmouth
- Band B leans toward Portsmouth
- Band C leans toward Luton
- Band D leans toward Luton
- 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 Portsmouth: Ipswich (5.9% redistribution distance); Southampton (6.1% redistribution distance); Gloucester (6.3% redistribution distance); Bristol (6.8% redistribution distance). Ranked across every published band in the England valuation system, this shortlist shows whether Luton stands alone or sits in a cluster of similarly shaped authorities.
| Band | Properties | Share of stock | Annual charge |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 27,450 | 29.2% | £1,527.81 |
| B | 31,800 | 33.8% | £1,782.44 |
| C | 22,440 | 23.8% | £2,037.08 |
| D | 6,290 | 6.7% | £2,291.71 |
| E | 3,800 | 4.0% | £2,800.98 |
| F | 1,660 | 1.8% | £3,310.25 |
| G | 660 | 0.7% | £3,819.52 |
| H | 60 | 0.1% | £4,583.42 |
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 Portsmouth 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.
- Rhondda Cynon Taf£1,899.42
- Peterborough£1,893.01
- Hyndburn£1,891.52
- East Lindsey£1,880.65
- Rotherham£1,876.90
Portsmouth's nearest year-on-year movers
Portsmouth moved Band D from £2,180.92 to £2,291.71 (+5.08%, competition rank 123rd of 350). The closest published movements sit with Hertsmere, Bracknell Forest, Sheffield.
- Hertsmere5.09%
- Bracknell Forest5.08%
- Sheffield5.08%
- Southampton5.08%
- Wakefield5.08%
- North Devon5.07%
How Portsmouth compares in South East
Among the 64 billing authorities in South East, Portsmouth's 2026-27 Band D charge of £2,291.71 ranks 60th of 64, higher than 6% of them (£183.29 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 58th | Rushmoor | £2,320.28 |
| 59th | Test Valley | £2,305.52 |
| 60th | Portsmouth | £2,291.71 |
| 61st | Fareham | £2,270.55 |
| 62nd | Bracknell Forest | £2,264.80 |
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 Portsmouth's data
These answers use Portsmouth's £2,291.71 Band D rate, the England statutory multipliers, and the VOA stock mix (modal Band B, 86.8% below D).
Is Portsmouth Council Tax above the UK average?
Portsmouth's 2026-27 Band D rate is £2,291.71, 1.9% below the UK average of £2,337.00. It has competition rank 260th of 350, with equal charges sharing a rank. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Kingston upon Hull, Redbridge, Peterborough, Trafford, then Rhondda Cynon Taf, York.
Which councils have charges closest to Portsmouth?
The closest published Band D rates are Kingston upon Hull (£2,295.04), Redbridge (£2,294.58), Peterborough (£2,293.47), Trafford (£2,291.70), Rhondda Cynon Taf (£2,289.43), York (£2,287.15). The comparison table above shows the six nearest authorities and the exact difference from Portsmouth.
What is the average Council Tax bill in Portsmouth?
Across Portsmouth's 94,160 domestic properties, the stock-weighted average charge is £1,887.02 for 2026-27. That is £404.69 below the £2,291.71 Band D rate, because the most common band here is Band B (33.8% of the stock) and 86.8% of dwellings are banded below D. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Ipswich, Southampton, Gloucester, Bristol. Property counts are from the VOA 2025 stock release; the weighting is our calculation.
How did Portsmouth Council Tax change for 2026-27?
Band D moved from £2,180.92 to £2,291.71, a 5.08% rise. Its competition rank by annual increase is 123rd of 350; the closest movements include Hertsmere, Bracknell Forest, Sheffield.
Advice boundary for Portsmouth
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. Portsmouth 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 Kingston upon Hull, Redbridge, Peterborough, Trafford, then Rhondda Cynon Taf, York. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Ipswich, Southampton, Gloucester, Bristol. For a binding figure consult your Portsmouth 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 Portsmouth are the area Band D and statutory band multiples with no county tier. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Kingston upon Hull, Redbridge, Peterborough, Trafford, then Rhondda Cynon Taf, York.