Council tax checker

What are property bands?

The Council Tax you’ll be charged is determined by two factors:

the value of your property
the local authority you reside in

Each property in the United Kingdom is assigned a Council Tax band ranging from A to H, based on its 1991 market value. The values for each of the 8 Council Tax bands are listed here for your reference.

The local council determines the Council Tax amount for each band as part of its budget, resulting in varying tax payments for properties within the same band due to location differences.

You can find out what your property’s council tax band is here.

How do I register?

Table showing UK council tax valuation bands

About council tax

What does council tax pay for?

Council Tax helps fund a range of essential services, such as police and fire services, leisure and recreation facilities (such as parks), libraries and education, care for elderly residents and individuals with disabilities, waste management (including collection, disposal and recycling), road maintenance (including street cleaning and lighting), and administration tasks such as updating birth, death, and marriage records. The biggest share of the tax revenue is allocated towards social care for children and vulnerable adults.

How is council tax determined?

The Council Tax you’ll be charged is determined by two factors: the value of your property and the local authority you reside in. Each property in the United Kingdom is assigned a Council Tax band ranging from A to H, based on its 1991 market value.

The local council determines the Council Tax amount for each band as part of its budget, resulting in varying tax payments for properties within the same band due to location differences.

Who has to pay council tax?

Most people aged 18 and over pay Council Tax in the UK. You are exempt from Council Tax if everyone in your household is a full-time student.

Why is my council tax increasing so much?

The UK government has announced that the Council Tax cap, which limits increases to 5% a year, will be lifted in six areas in 2026 and 2027.

The move is designed to help local authorities that will see funding cuts under the plans to restructure government funding to offer more support to deprived areas.

The affected areas are all in London and the South of England. They are:

City of London
Hammersmith and Fulham
Kensington and Chelsea
Wandsworth
Westminster
Windsor and Maidenhead

These areas were all identified as currently having very low Council Tax rates. In fact, Wandsworth and Westminster have previously been the two areas with the lowest Council Tax rates in the whole of the UK.

Are there ways to reduce my utility bills?

As energy bills are based on usage, the best way to lower your bills is to reduce the amount of energy you use at home. We’ve published more than 100 tips to help you save energy on your heating, cooking, laundry and more.

You can also save on your bills by switching to paying by direct debit.

Is there any support available?

The UK government is no longer offering support with household energy bills directly. The energy price cap has fallen since the height of the UK energy crisis, bringing bills down for millions of households.

Some energy suppliers also offer support to customers who are struggling to pay their bills.