United Kingdom2026-27

UK Council Tax Rankings

Which UK billing authorities charge the most and least Band D council tax, who is raising it fastest, and the band-by-band leaders, from official 2026-27 data.

Most expensive Band D →UK average

Dorset Council charges the most Band D council tax at £2,765 for 2026-27 - 2.7× Wandsworth at £1,028; the UK authority-mean is £2,337

Across 350 UK billing authorities in PlainCouncilTax's joined 2026-27 Band D corpus (MHCLG England, Scottish Government CTAS, Welsh Government), Dorset Council sits at the top and Wandsworth at the bottom. Rankings below sort the same official rate tables, dwelling-stock mix is a separate VOA 2025 release and is not used as the ranking key.

  • £2,765 dearest · Dorset Council
  • £1,028 cheapest · Wandsworth
  • £2,337 UK avg Band D

The ranking picture · 2026-27

The dearest UK billing authority is Dorset Council at £2,765 for Band D in 2026-27, 2.7 times the cheapest, Wandsworth at £1,028. The average across 350 authorities is £2,337.

£2,765
dearest · Dorset Council
£1,028
cheapest · Wandsworth
2.7×
dearest vs cheapest
£2,337
UK average Band D

Top 10 dearest UK billing authorities, Band D 2026-27

Annual Band D charge including all precepting-authority components

1. Dorset Council£2,7652. Lewes£2,7563. City of Nottingham£2,7554. Rutland£2,7385. Wealden£2,7286. Gateshead£2,7167. Bristol£2,7148. West Devon£2,7059. Rother£2,70110. Newark & Sherwood£2,682

10 lowest Band D council tax rates in the UK, 2026-27

Annual Band D charge, cheapest billing authorities nationally

1. Wandsworth£1,0282. Westminster£1,0503. City of London£1,3304. South Lanarkshire£1,4685. Shetland Islands£1,4886. Na h-Eileanan Siar£1,5067. Hammersmith & Fulham£1,5208. North Lanarkshire£1,5559. Fife£1,57410. Dumfries & Galloway£1,579

MHCLG, the Scottish Government, and Welsh Government / StatsWales publish the national rate tables behind this ranking. The 350 authorities have 2026-27 Band D values between £1,028 and £2,765; every row is loaded from the joined database described in our methodology.

Rankings derived from our database of UK billing authority Band D charges for the 2026-27 financial year. Each ranking page presents a top-N cut (typically 10 or 20) with methodology, sourcing, and per-council detail links.

Available rankings

Most Expensive Band D Council Tax UK 2026-27 Deep Band D ranking: cash figures, year-on-year change, and nation mix for the dearest authorities (precept caveats included). Top-N highest/lowest overview stays on this hub. The 20 Cheapest UK Councils by Band D Council Tax 2026-27 The lowest annual Band D charges in the UK, ranked ascending. A low Band D makes an area cheap for a Band D home; it does not by itself mean a low bill, which depends on your property's band, discounts, and the precepts stacked on top. Council Tax Increase 2026: The UK Councils That Raised It Most Councils raising the published area Band D total most in percentage terms. The total can include several precepting components, and England, Scotland, and Wales use different annual increase arrangements. Smallest Council Tax Increases 2026 The quietest Band D rises this release, every authority raised rates; none cut them. Complements the biggest-riser ranking and the national /changes report. What changed in UK Council Tax 2026-27 National release-diff: nation means, biggest and quietest movers, cash rises, and the next April refresh cadence. Top 10 UK Councils by Band H Council Tax 2026-27 Band H is the highest UK band, but its multiplier is not uniform: England and Wales set it at 18/9 (×2.0) of Band D, while Scotland's 2017 reform raised it to 882/360 (×2.45) - so this ranking is NOT simply the Band D ranking scaled up, and can order Scottish and English/Welsh councils differently. Highest Council Tax in London 2026-27 All London billing authorities ranked by Band D, with the UK and London authority means for context. Lowest Council Tax in London 2026-27 London authorities ranked ascending by Band D - the geo-scoped answer to "lowest council tax in London". Highest Council Tax in Scotland 2026-27 Scottish councils ranked by Band D. Band D only - Scotland's higher-band multipliers differ from England and Wales after 2017. Highest Council Tax in Wales 2026-27 All 22 Welsh billing authorities ranked by Band D, with the UK and Wales authority means for context. Highest Council Tax in England 2026-27 English billing authorities ranked by Band D - the England-only filter next to the UK-wide dearest list. Cheapest Council Tax in England 2026-27 England-only ascending Band D ranking - the nation filter behind "cheapest council tax in England". London boroughs are English, so the list often leads with London. Lowest Council Tax in Scotland 2026-27 Scottish councils ranked ascending by Band D - the nation-scoped answer to "lowest council tax in Scotland".

Quick preview: top 20 by Band D 2026-27

#CouncilBand D 2026-27
1 Dorset Council £2,765.02
2 Lewes £2,756.17
3 City of Nottingham £2,755.39
4 Rutland £2,737.58
5 Wealden £2,728.43
6 Gateshead £2,715.81
7 Bristol £2,713.68
8 West Devon £2,705.33
9 Rother £2,700.95
10 Newark & Sherwood £2,682.10
11 Oxford £2,678.40
12 Hastings £2,676.58
13 Liverpool £2,673.59
14 Mid Devon £2,656.41
15 Eastbourne £2,654.28
16 Bassetlaw £2,644.95
17 Rushcliffe £2,643.27
18 Teignbridge £2,643.12
19 North Devon £2,642.21
20 Pendle £2,640.18

Bar length is each council's Band D charge as a share of the highest in this table (£2,765.02).

Methodology

Rankings sort councils by the relevant column from the joined councils table. MHCLG supplies England's area Band D values, the Scottish Government supplies Scotland's CTAS rates, and Welsh Government / StatsWales supplies Wales's values. Numeric rows are loaded from the database rather than copied into the page. See our full methodology page for source attribution and column lineage.

England's referendum principles and adult social care flexibility are set for each financial year and vary by authority type. Scotland and Wales use separate devolved arrangements. Because the published area Band D total can include police, fire, mayoral, parish, and other components, its overall percentage change is not the same thing as a council own-component threshold.

Headline Band D rates in our rankings include the council's own component, the adult social care precept, and any external precepts (police, fire, mayoral, parish, town-council). For disaggregated component analysis, the council's annual budget document is the canonical source.