South Kesteven Council Tax 2026
East Midlands, England · 67,710 domestic properties
According to MHCLG, Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026-27, South Kesteven's Band D Council Tax is £2,260.00 for 2026-27, the 276th highest of 350 UK billing authorities (higher than 21% of them) and 3% below the UK average of £2,337.00. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Southend-on-Sea, Bracknell Forest, Isle of Anglesey, Brentwood, then Telford and the Wrekin, Basingstoke & Deane. Closest published housing-stock shapes include East Staffordshire, King's Lynn & West Norfolk, Warrington, North Northamptonshire.
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 Southend-on-Sea, Bracknell Forest, Isle of Anglesey, Brentwood, then Telford and the Wrekin, Basingstoke & Deane. See our methodology page for the full source-to-figure lineage.
- £2,260.00
- Band D charge · 2026 statutory
- Below the UK average
- +3.34%
- year-on-year vs £2,186.95
- Lower-quarter rise
- -3.3%
- vs UK avg £2,337.00
- £4,520.00
- Band H · 18/9 of Band D
Nearest published Band D rates sit with Southend-on-Sea, Bracknell Forest, Isle of Anglesey, Brentwood, then Telford and the Wrekin, Basingstoke & Deane. Closest published housing-stock shapes include East Staffordshire, King's Lynn & West Norfolk, Warrington, North Northamptonshire. Open Southend-on-Sea for the closest published Band D on the same vintage.
South Kesteven · year-on-year Band D
What changed for South Kesteven
South Kesteven's Band D Council Tax rose from £2,186.95 (2025-26) to £2,260.00 (2026-27). Among 350 billing authorities by percentage rise, it ranks 336.
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 changesSouth Kesteven bands A-H schedule
Per-band charge 2026
South Kesteven's nearest Band D charges nationwide
South Kesteven is 276th of 350 on the national Band D list at £2,260.00. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Southend-on-Sea, Bracknell Forest, Isle of Anglesey, Brentwood, then Telford and the Wrekin, Basingstoke & Deane. The six closest published 2026-27 rates, led by Southend-on-Sea, 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 East Midlands ranking further down when you care about local neighbours, and the stock-weighted average when you care what most of South Kesteven's 67,710 dwellings actually pay. Closest published housing-stock shapes include East Staffordshire, King's Lynn & West Norfolk, Warrington, North Northamptonshire.
| Council | Band D | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Southend-on-Sea | £2,265.17 | +£5.17 |
| Bracknell Forest | £2,264.80 | +£4.80 |
| Isle of Anglesey | £2,260.73 | +£0.73 |
| Brentwood | £2,258.14 | −£1.86 |
| Telford and the Wrekin | £2,256.26 | −£3.74 |
| Basingstoke & Deane | £2,255.21 | −£4.79 |
Band A–H charge table (2026/2027)
| Band | Annual Charge | Monthly | Sole occupant (−25%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | £1,506.67 | £150.67 | £1,130.00 |
| B | £1,757.78 | £175.78 | £1,318.34 |
| C | £2,008.89 | £200.89 | £1,506.67 |
| D | £2,260.00 | £226.00 | £1,695.00 |
| E | £2,762.22 | £276.22 | £2,071.67 |
| F | £3,264.44 | £326.44 | £2,448.33 |
| G | £3,766.67 | £376.67 | £2,825.00 |
| H | £4,520.00 | £452.00 | £3,390.00 |
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 South Kesteven's 67,710 properties actually pay
Most homes in South Kesteven sit in Band A, the bottom of the valuation list: 20,140 of 67,710 dwellings (29.7%). 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 52.8% of the stock. 70.3% 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 £1,996.61 per dwelling, £263.39 (11.7%) below the £2,260.00 Band D headline, because most of the stock sits in bands charged at less than the Band D rate. On that measure South Kesteven is 254th of 318 authorities with published stock counts, against a £2,269.00 average. That places South Kesteven 26th of the 35 billing authorities in East Midlands, below the regional median of £2,103.94.
How to read this stock pattern
Band D is a poor description of the largest group in South Kesteven'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 £1,996.61 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 52.8% 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.
South Kesteven occupies the middle half of the East Midlands stock-weighted distribution, below its £2,103.94 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: Chorley
Chorley is an exceptionally close stock-shape match for South Kesteven: moving 2.6% of dwellings between valuation bands would make the two published distributions align. That is a stricter comparison than sharing a modal band, because all published bands contribute to the distance.
Four largest band differences
- The largest separation is an upper-band difference at Band E. Chorley records 10.3% of dwellings there, compared with 9.0% in South Kesteven, so the peer carries more of its stock at that higher rung.
- A smaller distinction is lower on the ladder at Band A: South Kesteven has 29.7% of dwellings there, against 28.5% in Chorley. That extra lower-band weight pulls its stock profile away from the peer.
- A smaller distinction falls on the reference band itself. Band D contains 14.3% of South Kesteven's stock but 13.2% of Chorley's, so the national headline describes more of the local distribution here.
- A smaller distinction sits at lower Band C, where Chorley holds 18.5% of its stock and South Kesteven holds 17.5%. The peer is more bottom-weighted at this rung of the valuation list.
How the wider profile compares
Across Bands A to C the combined shares differ by only 0.4%. 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.
Chorley carries the heavier upper tail across Bands E and above, exceeding South Kesteven's combined share there by 1.5%. Total-variation distance counts those absolute band gaps without assuming they offset the lower-band pattern.
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 H is the most stable point in the comparison, with shares of 0.2% 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 South Kesteven
- Band B is closely balanced
- Band C leans toward Chorley
- Band D leans toward South Kesteven
- Band E leans toward Chorley
- 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 South Kesteven: East Staffordshire (3.9% redistribution distance); King's Lynn & West Norfolk (4.0% redistribution distance); Warrington (4.7% redistribution distance); North Northamptonshire (4.9% redistribution distance). Ranked across every published band in the England valuation system, this shortlist shows whether Chorley stands alone or sits in a cluster of similarly shaped authorities.
| Band | Properties | Share of stock | Annual charge |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 20,140 | 29.7% | £1,506.67 |
| B | 15,610 | 23.1% | £1,757.78 |
| C | 11,830 | 17.5% | £2,008.89 |
| D | 9,680 | 14.3% | £2,260.00 |
| E | 6,080 | 9.0% | £2,762.22 |
| F | 3,130 | 4.6% | £3,264.44 |
| G | 1,130 | 1.7% | £3,766.67 |
| H | 110 | 0.2% | £4,520.00 |
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 South Kesteven 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.
- Ipswich£2,006.16
- Wolverhampton£1,993.02
- Calderdale£1,992.09
- Greenwich£1,988.98
- Norwich£1,981.94
South Kesteven's nearest year-on-year movers
South Kesteven moved Band D from £2,186.95 to £2,260.00 (+3.34%, competition rank 336th of 350). The closest published movements sit with North Kesteven, East Lindsey, Charnwood.
Muted-rise signal for South Kesteven: the increase is below 4%, placing this authority among the slower-moving part of the current dataset.
- North Kesteven3.39%
- East Lindsey3.38%
- Charnwood3.36%
- Melton3.36%
- South Holland3.31%
- Oadby & Wigston3.30%
How South Kesteven compares in East Midlands
Among the 35 billing authorities in East Midlands, South Kesteven's 2026-27 Band D charge of £2,260.00 ranks 35th of 35, higher than 0% of them (£197.00 below the East Midlands average of £2,457.00). Its nearest-charged neighbours in the region:
Regional low-charge outlier: this authority sits in the least costly fifth of East Midlands.
| Region rank | Council | Band D 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|
| 33rd | South Holland | £2,278.20 |
| 34th | East Lindsey | £2,275.88 |
| 35th | South Kesteven | £2,260.00 |
Regional rank out of 35 East Midlands billing authorities by 2026-27 Band D charge (1 = dearest). See the full UK ranking or the complete directory.
Questions answered from South Kesteven's data
These answers use South Kesteven's £2,260.00 Band D rate, the England statutory multipliers, and the VOA stock mix (modal Band A, 70.3% below D).
Is South Kesteven Council Tax above the UK average?
South Kesteven's 2026-27 Band D rate is £2,260.00, 3.3% below the UK average of £2,337.00. It has competition rank 276th of 350, with equal charges sharing a rank. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Southend-on-Sea, Bracknell Forest, Isle of Anglesey, Brentwood, then Telford and the Wrekin, Basingstoke & Deane.
Which councils have charges closest to South Kesteven?
The closest published Band D rates are Southend-on-Sea (£2,265.17), Bracknell Forest (£2,264.80), Isle of Anglesey (£2,260.73), Brentwood (£2,258.14), Telford and the Wrekin (£2,256.26), Basingstoke & Deane (£2,255.21). The comparison table above shows the six nearest authorities and the exact difference from South Kesteven.
What is the average Council Tax bill in South Kesteven?
Across South Kesteven's 67,710 domestic properties, the stock-weighted average charge is £1,996.61 for 2026-27. That is £263.39 below the £2,260.00 Band D rate, because the most common band here is Band A (29.7% of the stock) and 70.3% of dwellings are banded below D. Closest published housing-stock shapes include East Staffordshire, King's Lynn & West Norfolk, Warrington, North Northamptonshire. Property counts are from the VOA 2025 stock release; the weighting is our calculation.
How did South Kesteven Council Tax change for 2026-27?
Band D moved from £2,186.95 to £2,260.00, a 3.34% rise. Its competition rank by annual increase is 336th of 350; the closest movements include North Kesteven, East Lindsey, Charnwood.
Advice boundary for South Kesteven
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 South Kesteven: district charge plus county, police, fire where separate, and the average parish precept across the district. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Southend-on-Sea, Bracknell Forest, Isle of Anglesey, Brentwood, then Telford and the Wrekin, Basingstoke & Deane. Closest published housing-stock shapes include East Staffordshire, King's Lynn & West Norfolk, Warrington, North Northamptonshire. For a binding figure consult your South Kesteven 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 South Kesteven 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 Southend-on-Sea, Bracknell Forest, Isle of Anglesey, Brentwood, then Telford and the Wrekin, Basingstoke & Deane.