Westminster Council Tax 2026
London, England · 132,420 domestic properties
According to MHCLG, Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026-27, Westminster's Band D Council Tax is £1,049.55 for 2026-27, the 349th highest of 350 UK billing authorities (higher than 0% of them) and 55% below the UK average of £2,337.00. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Hammersmith & Fulham, Na h-Eileanan Siar, Shetland Islands, South Lanarkshire, then City of London, Wandsworth. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Elmbridge, Mole Valley, Tandridge, Waverley.
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 Hammersmith & Fulham, Na h-Eileanan Siar, Shetland Islands, South Lanarkshire, then City of London, Wandsworth. See our methodology page for the full source-to-figure lineage.
- £1,049.55
- Band D charge · 2026 statutory
- Among the lowest in the UK
- +3.00%
- year-on-year vs £1,019.00
- Lower-quarter rise
- -55.1%
- vs UK avg £2,337.00
- £2,099.10
- Band H · 18/9 of Band D
Nearest published Band D rates sit with Hammersmith & Fulham, Na h-Eileanan Siar, Shetland Islands, South Lanarkshire, then City of London, Wandsworth. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Elmbridge, Mole Valley, Tandridge, Waverley. Open Hammersmith & Fulham for the closest published Band D on the same vintage.
Westminster · year-on-year Band D
What changed for Westminster
Westminster's Band D Council Tax rose from £1,019.00 (2025-26) to £1,049.55 (2026-27). Among 350 billing authorities by percentage rise, it ranks 342.
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 changesWestminster bands A-H schedule
Per-band charge 2026
Westminster's nearest Band D charges nationwide
Westminster is 349th of 350 on the national Band D list at £1,049.55. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Hammersmith & Fulham, Na h-Eileanan Siar, Shetland Islands, South Lanarkshire, then City of London, Wandsworth. The six closest published 2026-27 rates, led by Hammersmith & Fulham, 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 Westminster's 132,420 dwellings actually pay. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Elmbridge, Mole Valley, Tandridge, Waverley.
National low-charge outlier: this rate is inside the least costly 10% of the UK corpus, a position the average conceals.
| Council | Band D | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Hammersmith & Fulham | £1,519.51 | +£469.96 |
| Na h-Eileanan Siar | £1,505.50 | +£455.95 |
| Shetland Islands | £1,487.90 | +£438.35 |
| South Lanarkshire | £1,468.47 | +£418.92 |
| City of London | £1,329.56 | +£280.01 |
| Wandsworth | £1,028.21 | −£21.34 |
Band A–H charge table (2026/2027)
| Band | Annual Charge | Monthly | Sole occupant (−25%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | £699.70 | £69.97 | £524.78 |
| B | £816.32 | £81.63 | £612.24 |
| C | £932.93 | £93.29 | £699.70 |
| D | £1,049.55 | £104.96 | £787.16 |
| E | £1,282.78 | £128.28 | £962.09 |
| F | £1,516.02 | £151.60 | £1,137.01 |
| G | £1,749.25 | £174.93 | £1,311.94 |
| H | £2,099.10 | £209.91 | £1,574.32 |
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 Westminster's 132,420 properties actually pay
Westminster is unusual in having its stock peak above the reference band: Band G is the commonest, at 24,620 of 132,420 dwellings (18.6%), and is charged at five-thirds of the Band D rate. The headline Band D figure understates what a typical household here is billed. It takes 3 bands — D, E, G — to cover half the stock, a wider spread than most authorities show. 17.9% 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 £1,397.87 per dwelling, £348.32 (33.2%) above the £1,049.55 Band D headline. On that measure Westminster is 317th of 318 authorities with published stock counts, against a £2,269.00 average. That places Westminster 32nd of the 33 billing authorities in London, below the regional median of £2,261.38.
How to read this stock pattern
Westminster's housing stock is tilted above the Band D reference point, so the usual headline works in the opposite direction from lower-banded areas. The modal Band G is charged at five-thirds of the Band D rate, and the £1,397.87 stock-weighted result captures that upper-band pressure. In this case Band D tends to understate the centre of the council's published stock. Individual liability can still differ through the property's exact band, discounts, exemptions and local collection arrangements.
Westminster has a broad valuation-band profile: the largest 3 groups are needed before the cumulative share passes half of the stock. No single band dominates the local picture, which makes a one-band headline especially incomplete. The weighted result is useful for comparing this authority with peers, but the spread across 8 published bands matters just as much. A broad mix also means the area-level mean is less representative of any one household than it is in a concentrated council.
Westminster falls in the lower quarter of the London stock-weighted ordering, below the regional median of £2,261.38. 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: Kensington & Chelsea
Kensington & Chelsea is the nearest available full-distribution peer for Westminster, although the match is not tight. Aligning the two published profiles would require 8.4% 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 an upper-band difference at Band H. Kensington & Chelsea records 17.3% of dwellings there, compared with 13.0% in Westminster, so the peer carries more of its stock at that higher rung.
- Another material separation is an upper-band difference at Band G. Kensington & Chelsea records 22.3% of dwellings there, compared with 18.6% in Westminster, so the peer carries more of its stock at that higher rung.
- Another material separation appears in the upper part of the ladder at Band E. Westminster places 18.4% of dwellings there versus 15.0% for Kensington & Chelsea, giving this profile the heavier upper-band tail at that point.
- A smaller distinction falls on the reference band itself. Band D contains 17.5% of Westminster's stock but 15.8% of Kensington & Chelsea's, so the national headline describes more of the local distribution here.
How the wider profile compares
Westminster has the stronger combined lower-band tilt: Bands A to C account for 2.1% more of its stock than they do in Kensington & Chelsea. The nearest match still leaves that bottom-of-ladder difference visible.
Kensington & Chelsea carries the heavier upper tail across Bands E and above, exceeding Westminster's combined share there by 3.7%. Total-variation distance counts those absolute band gaps without assuming they offset the lower-band pattern.
Both profiles peak in Band G, 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 A is the most stable point in the comparison, with shares of 1.3% and 1.6%. 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 is closely balanced
- Band B leans toward Westminster
- Band C leans toward Westminster
- Band D leans toward Westminster
- Band E leans toward Westminster
- Band F leans toward Westminster
- Band G leans toward Kensington & Chelsea
- Band H leans toward Kensington & Chelsea
This sequence is read from the lowest published band to the highest.
Other close England matches for Westminster: Elmbridge (8.7% redistribution distance); Mole Valley (11.0% redistribution distance); Tandridge (13.2% redistribution distance); Waverley (15.1% redistribution distance). Ranked across every published band in the England valuation system, this shortlist shows whether Kensington & Chelsea stands alone or sits in a cluster of similarly shaped authorities.
| Band | Properties | Share of stock | Annual charge |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1,660 | 1.3% | £699.70 |
| B | 6,440 | 4.9% | £816.32 |
| C | 15,630 | 11.8% | £932.93 |
| D | 23,120 | 17.5% | £1,049.55 |
| E | 24,430 | 18.4% | £1,282.78 |
| F | 19,250 | 14.5% | £1,516.02 |
| G | 24,620 | 18.6% | £1,749.25 |
| H | 17,270 | 13.0% | £2,099.10 |
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 Westminster 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.
- Sunderland£1,685.90
- Doncaster£1,680.73
- Kingston upon Hull£1,678.56
- Stoke-on-Trent£1,635.04
- Wandsworth£1,152.19
Westminster's nearest year-on-year movers
Westminster moved Band D from £1,019.00 to £1,049.55 (+3.00%, competition rank 342nd of 350). The closest published movements sit with West Lindsey, Boston, Wandsworth.
Muted-rise signal for Westminster: the increase is below 4%, placing this authority among the slower-moving part of the current dataset.
- West Lindsey3.27%
- Boston3.22%
- Wandsworth3.05%
- Harborough2.79%
- Durham2.78%
- Lincoln2.75%
How Westminster compares in London
Among the 33 billing authorities in London, Westminster's 2026-27 Band D charge of £1,049.55 ranks 32nd of 33, higher than 3% of them (£1,040.45 below the London average of £2,090.00). Its nearest-charged neighbours in the region:
Regional low-charge outlier: this authority sits in the least costly fifth of London.
| Region rank | Council | Band D 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|
| 30th | Hammersmith & Fulham | £1,519.51 |
| 31st | City of London | £1,329.56 |
| 32nd | Westminster | £1,049.55 |
| 33rd | Wandsworth | £1,028.21 |
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 Westminster's data
These answers use Westminster's £1,049.55 Band D rate, the England statutory multipliers, and the VOA stock mix (modal Band G, 17.9% below D).
Is Westminster Council Tax above the UK average?
Westminster's 2026-27 Band D rate is £1,049.55, 55.1% below the UK average of £2,337.00. It has competition rank 349th of 350, with equal charges sharing a rank. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Hammersmith & Fulham, Na h-Eileanan Siar, Shetland Islands, South Lanarkshire, then City of London, Wandsworth.
Which councils have charges closest to Westminster?
The closest published Band D rates are Hammersmith & Fulham (£1,519.51), Na h-Eileanan Siar (£1,505.50), Shetland Islands (£1,487.90), South Lanarkshire (£1,468.47), City of London (£1,329.56), Wandsworth (£1,028.21). The comparison table above shows the six nearest authorities and the exact difference from Westminster.
What is the average Council Tax bill in Westminster?
Across Westminster's 132,420 domestic properties, the stock-weighted average charge is £1,397.87 for 2026-27. That is £348.32 above the £1,049.55 Band D rate, because the most common band here is Band G (18.6% of the stock) and 17.9% of dwellings are banded below D. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Elmbridge, Mole Valley, Tandridge, Waverley. Property counts are from the VOA 2025 stock release; the weighting is our calculation.
How did Westminster Council Tax change for 2026-27?
Band D moved from £1,019.00 to £1,049.55, a 3.00% rise. Its competition rank by annual increase is 342nd of 350; the closest movements include West Lindsey, Boston, Wandsworth.
Advice boundary for Westminster
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. Westminster'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 Hammersmith & Fulham, Na h-Eileanan Siar, Shetland Islands, South Lanarkshire, then City of London, Wandsworth. Closest published housing-stock shapes include Elmbridge, Mole Valley, Tandridge, Waverley. For a binding figure consult your Westminster 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 Westminster are the area Band D and statutory band multiples, including the GLA precept. Nearest published Band D rates sit with Hammersmith & Fulham, Na h-Eileanan Siar, Shetland Islands, South Lanarkshire, then City of London, Wandsworth.