How are UK Council Tax bands set?

Bands are set by the Valuation Office in England and Wales, and in Scotland by the assessor at your local Valuation Joint Board or council. England and Scotland use property values as at 1 April 1991; Wales rebanded using values as at 1 April 2003 and has an extra Band I. Your band fixes what proportion of the local Band D rate you pay. In England and Wales a Band B home pays 7/9 of Band D and a Band H home 18/9. Scotland uses the same proportions for bands A to D but its own for E to H (Band H is 882/360 of Band D).

Can I appeal my Council Tax band?

In England and Wales you challenge your band with the Valuation Office. You have a legal right to challenge (a formal proposal) if you became the Council Tax payer less than 6 months ago, if the Valuation Office changed your band in the last 6 months, or if your property or local area has changed. Otherwise you can ask for a band review. Only a proposal can be appealed to the Valuation Tribunal, normally within 3 months of the decision in England or 4 months in Wales. In Scotland you challenge through the assessor at your local Valuation Joint Board or council. Keep paying your bill while a challenge is considered.

What is the Single Person Discount?

You get 25% off the bill if you are liable for Council Tax and either live on your own or everyone else in your home is disregarded (for example full-time students or under-18s). You have to apply to your council for it - it is not applied automatically. If you get a discount you are not entitled to, you must tell the council: it can recover the discount and charge a penalty. Section 14 and Schedule 3 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 provide for civil penalties.

Do full-time students pay Council Tax?

Full-time students are disregarded, so they are not counted when the council works out how many adults live in a home. A household where everyone is a full-time student does not have to pay Council Tax. If a student lives with one adult who is not disregarded, that adult gets the 25% Single Person Discount. To count as full-time the course must last at least 1 year and involve at least 21 hours of study a week; for a course up to A level taken by someone under 20, at least 3 months and 12 hours a week.

What is the severely mentally impaired (SMI) disregard?

Someone who is severely mentally impaired is disregarded for Council Tax. You need a certificate from a medical professional such as a GP and must be entitled to certain benefits (your council will confirm which). If you qualify and live alone, or every other adult is also SMI or a full-time student, the discount is 100%. If you live with someone who qualifies and there are no other adults (or everyone else is disregarded), you get 25% off.

What is Council Tax Reduction (CTR)?

Council Tax Reduction (sometimes called Council Tax Support) cuts the bill for people on a low income or benefits, by up to 100%. In England each council runs its own scheme for working-age claimants, while the rules for people over State Pension age are set nationally. Scotland has a national scheme (the Council Tax Reduction (Scotland) Regulations 2021, with separate regulations for pension age) and Wales has national prescribed requirements. You apply to your council, separately from Universal Credit.

How many instalments can I pay over?

The bill is usually split into 10 monthly payments. You can ask your council to spread it over 12 months instead, which makes each payment about a sixth smaller while the annual total stays the same. If you are struggling to pay, contact the council straight away: gov.uk says a missed instalment triggers a reminder with 7 days to pay, after which the whole year can become due.

Does Northern Ireland have Council Tax?

No. Northern Ireland has domestic rates instead. The bill is the capital value of your home, based on property values on 1 January 2005, multiplied by a regional rate plus a district rate set by your local council. Land & Property Services issues the bills each April. There are no bands, so the bill rises in line with the property value. This calculator covers England, Scotland and Wales only.

Which council has the lowest Council Tax in England?

Wandsworth. In the official 2026/27 figures (MHCLG council tax levels, Table 9) its Band D charge is £1,028.21, the lowest in England, and Westminster is second at £1,049.55. The highest is Dorset at £2,765.02. So a Band D home in Dorset pays more than two and a half times as much as the same band in Wandsworth.

How do precepts work?

The Band D figure on your bill combines several charges. Your billing council adds its own charge to precepts from other bodies: the county council in two-tier areas, the police and crime commissioner, the fire and rescue authority, and in some areas a parish or town council. In London the Greater London Authority adds a precept. The calculator uses the published Band D rate for each council, so every precept on the bill is already included.

UK Council Tax Band H 2026/27

Band H properties pay a fixed 18/9 ratio of the local Band D Council Tax rate - around 200.0% of Band D. The proportion is statutory. Every billing authority in England and Wales applies 18/9 to its published Band D rate; Scotland sets its own proportion for this band, 882/360 of Band D.

Band H ratio (England and Wales)

18/9

200.0% of Band D; Scotland 882/360

Cheapest of the 71 councils we cover

£2,056

Wandsworth (england)

Dearest of the 71 councils we cover

£5,510

Nottingham (england)

The 20 dearest councils we cover at Band H

Sorted by 2026/27 annual bill before discounts: the council's Band D rate times the band proportion for its country (18/9 in England and Wales, 882/360 in Scotland). Monthly figures show the usual 10 instalments and the 12 you can ask your council for. The cheapest council in our dataset, Wandsworth, is not in this table: see the figure above. These 71 authorities are a sample, not every council in Great Britain. England's Band D rates are from MHCLG council tax levels 2026 to 2027 (Table 9); Welsh and Scottish rates are from the Welsh and Scottish Governments' 2026/27 council tax releases.

Local authority	Country	Band D (LA)	Band H annual	Monthly (10)	Monthly (12)
Nottingham	england	£2,755	£5,510	£551	£459
Bristol	england	£2,714	£5,428	£543	£452
Liverpool	england	£2,674	£5,348	£535	£446
Stockport	england	£2,619	£5,238	£524	£437
Reading	england	£2,613	£5,226	£523	£436
Oldham	england	£2,602	£5,204	£520	£434
Salford	england	£2,594	£5,188	£519	£432
Brighton and Hove	england	£2,581	£5,162	£516	£430
Newcastle upon Tyne	england	£2,542	£5,084	£508	£424
Neath Port Talbot	wales	£2,541	£5,082	£508	£424
Wolverhampton	england	£2,539	£5,078	£508	£423
Leicester	england	£2,529	£5,058	£506	£422
Coventry	england	£2,517	£5,034	£503	£420
Sheffield	england	£2,510	£5,020	£502	£418
Wirral	england	£2,501	£5,002	£500	£417
Bridgend	wales	£2,478	£4,956	£496	£413
Tameside	england	£2,447	£4,894	£489	£408
Plymouth	england	£2,442	£4,884	£488	£407
Kirklees	england	£2,441	£4,882	£488	£407
Luton	england	£2,440	£4,880	£488	£407

How Band H works

Council Tax bands are set by the Valuation Office in England and Wales, and in Scotland by the assessor at your local Valuation Joint Board or council (gov.uk). The relevant valuation date is 1 April 1991 in England and Scotland, and 1 April 2003 in Wales. A property's band is fixed at that date - new builds are banded by analogy with comparable older stock.

Once a property is in Band H, the bill is the local Band D rate multiplied by the statutory proportion: 18/9 in England and Wales, 882/360 in Scotland. The Band D rate itself bundles every precept that appears on a resident's bill: billing authority, county or upper-tier (in two-tier areas), police, fire, and parish or town council where applicable. The figures in the table above are inclusive of all precepts.

Discounts and disregards stack on top of the band amount. A single-adult household gets a 25% Single Person Discount; an all-student household is 100% exempt; severely mentally impaired residents are disregarded from the adult count. Use the main calculator to model your exact household.

Cite or embed - free under CC BY 4.0

Council Tax calculator - change LA, band, household, and discounts.
Stamp Duty calculator - SDLT on property purchase in England and NI.
LBTT (Scotland) and LTT (Wales) - devolved property transfer taxes.
Mortgage affordability - factor Council Tax into housing cost.

Other bands

Frequently asked questions

How are UK Council Tax bands set?: Bands are set by the Valuation Office in England and Wales, and in Scotland by the assessor at your local Valuation Joint Board or council. England and Scotland use property values as at 1 April 1991; Wales rebanded using values as at 1 April 2003 and has an extra Band I. Your band fixes what proportion of the local Band D rate you pay. In England and Wales a Band B home pays 7/9 of Band D and a Band H home 18/9. Scotland uses the same proportions for bands A to D but its own for E to H (Band H is 882/360 of Band D).
Can I appeal my Council Tax band?: In England and Wales you challenge your band with the Valuation Office. You have a legal right to challenge (a formal proposal) if you became the Council Tax payer less than 6 months ago, if the Valuation Office changed your band in the last 6 months, or if your property or local area has changed. Otherwise you can ask for a band review. Only a proposal can be appealed to the Valuation Tribunal, normally within 3 months of the decision in England or 4 months in Wales. In Scotland you challenge through the assessor at your local Valuation Joint Board or council. Keep paying your bill while a challenge is considered.
What is the Single Person Discount?: You get 25% off the bill if you are liable for Council Tax and either live on your own or everyone else in your home is disregarded (for example full-time students or under-18s). You have to apply to your council for it - it is not applied automatically. If you get a discount you are not entitled to, you must tell the council: it can recover the discount and charge a penalty. Section 14 and Schedule 3 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 provide for civil penalties.
Do full-time students pay Council Tax?: Full-time students are disregarded, so they are not counted when the council works out how many adults live in a home. A household where everyone is a full-time student does not have to pay Council Tax. If a student lives with one adult who is not disregarded, that adult gets the 25% Single Person Discount. To count as full-time the course must last at least 1 year and involve at least 21 hours of study a week; for a course up to A level taken by someone under 20, at least 3 months and 12 hours a week.
What is the severely mentally impaired (SMI) disregard?: Someone who is severely mentally impaired is disregarded for Council Tax. You need a certificate from a medical professional such as a GP and must be entitled to certain benefits (your council will confirm which). If you qualify and live alone, or every other adult is also SMI or a full-time student, the discount is 100%. If you live with someone who qualifies and there are no other adults (or everyone else is disregarded), you get 25% off.
What is Council Tax Reduction (CTR)?: Council Tax Reduction (sometimes called Council Tax Support) cuts the bill for people on a low income or benefits, by up to 100%. In England each council runs its own scheme for working-age claimants, while the rules for people over State Pension age are set nationally. Scotland has a national scheme (the Council Tax Reduction (Scotland) Regulations 2021, with separate regulations for pension age) and Wales has national prescribed requirements. You apply to your council, separately from Universal Credit.
How many instalments can I pay over?: The bill is usually split into 10 monthly payments. You can ask your council to spread it over 12 months instead, which makes each payment about a sixth smaller while the annual total stays the same. If you are struggling to pay, contact the council straight away: gov.uk says a missed instalment triggers a reminder with 7 days to pay, after which the whole year can become due.
Does Northern Ireland have Council Tax?: No. Northern Ireland has domestic rates instead. The bill is the capital value of your home, based on property values on 1 January 2005, multiplied by a regional rate plus a district rate set by your local council. Land & Property Services issues the bills each April. There are no bands, so the bill rises in line with the property value. This calculator covers England, Scotland and Wales only.
Which council has the lowest Council Tax in England?: Wandsworth. In the official 2026/27 figures (MHCLG council tax levels, Table 9) its Band D charge is £1,028.21, the lowest in England, and Westminster is second at £1,049.55. The highest is Dorset at £2,765.02. So a Band D home in Dorset pays more than two and a half times as much as the same band in Wandsworth.
How do precepts work?: The Band D figure on your bill combines several charges. Your billing council adds its own charge to precepts from other bodies: the county council in two-tier areas, the police and crime commissioner, the fire and rescue authority, and in some areas a parish or town council. In London the Greater London Authority adds a precept. The calculator uses the published Band D rate for each council, so every precept on the bill is already included.

The 20 dearest councils we cover at Band H

How Band H works

Related

Other bands

Frequently asked questions