Where is council tax cheapest in England?

For 2026/27 the lowest Band D council tax in England is Wandsworth at £1,028.21 a year, followed by the other inner London boroughs. The highest is Dorset at £2,765.02. That is a difference of £1,737 a year for the identical statutory band, set entirely by where you live.

What is the average Band D council tax in England?

The average Band D bill in England for 2026/27 is £2,391.52, including parish precepts. Your own band is a fixed statutory ratio of Band D, so a Band A home pays two thirds of it and a Band H home pays twice it.

Why is council tax so different between areas?

Because the bill stacks several separate charges: the main council's own charge, an adult social care precept, the police and fire precepts, in London the Greater London Authority precept, and often a parish or town council charge. Areas with more of these, and higher spending needs, end up far above the average even for the same band.

← Council tax · By area

Same house, same band, £1,737 apart

A Band D home in Wandsworth pays £1,028 a year. The identical band in Dorset pays £2,765. That is a gap of £1,737 for the same statutory band, decided purely by postcode. Here is where council tax is cheapest and dearest in England for 2026/27, and why the spread is so wide. The average Band D bill sits at £2,391.52.

Not sure, or want to check your own numbers? Just ask.

Ask about any bill, or put your postcode in. Free, nothing to fill in, and nothing you type leaves your browser.

Your postcode and your figures never leave this browser. If I cannot work out what you mean, those words are sent to be classified, and a bill photo goes only if you send one and confirm it. Nothing is stored either way. How that works.

The assistant needs JavaScript, which you have switched off. Nothing else on this site does: every figure and source on this page works without it.

The ten cheapest places for council tax

Band D, 2026/27, the full area bill including every precept. Tap a council for all eight bands.

#	Council	Band D a year
1	Wandsworth London	£1,028.21
2	Westminster London	£1,049.55
3	City of London London	£1,329.56
4	Hammersmith and Fulham London	£1,519.51
5	Kensington and Chelsea London	£1,666.65
6	Tower Hamlets London	£1,837.78
7	Newham London	£1,944.23
8	Windsor and Maidenhead South East	£1,952.62
9	Southwark London	£1,967.26
10	Hillingdon London	£2,045.46

The ten most expensive

The same measure, from the top. The dearest is more than double the cheapest.

#	Council	Band D a year
1	Dorset South West	£2,765.02
2	Lewes South East	£2,756.17
3	Nottingham East Midlands	£2,755.39
4	Rutland East Midlands	£2,737.58
5	Wealden South East	£2,728.43
6	Gateshead North East	£2,715.81
7	Bristol South West	£2,713.68
8	West Devon South West	£2,705.33
9	Rother South East	£2,700.95
10	Newark and Sherwood East Midlands	£2,682.10

Want your own council? Every English authority, all eight bands to the penny, is on the council tax rates page, or find yours in the council index.

Why the gap is so wide

The number on your bill is not one charge, it is a stack of them. The largest is your main council's own charge, which pays for the services it runs. On top sit the separate precepts: an adult social care charge that upper tier councils may add, the police and crime commissioner's precept, the fire authority's, and in London the Greater London Authority precept that funds the Met, the fire brigade and Transport for London. Many areas then add a parish or town council charge on the very bottom.

The cheapest places, almost all inner London boroughs, look low because the GLA precept aside, their own charge is small and they have historically kept it down. The dearest tend to be unitary and district areas carrying the full social care precept and a parish charge on top. Same band, very different stack.

Your band matters just as much as your area, and here the rule is national. Every band is a fixed statutory ratio of Band D: Band A is six ninths of it, Band H is eighteen ninths, exactly double Band A. So once you know your area's Band D, every other band follows by arithmetic, which is how the rates page checks all 350 authorities to the penny.

Can you do anything about it?

You cannot move your house into a cheaper council, but two things are worth checking. First, your band itself: hundreds of thousands of homes were banded in a hurry in 1991 and never revisited, and if yours is too high you can challenge it with the Valuation Office Agency for free. Second, discounts and support: a single adult gets 25% off, full time students and some others are exempt, and most councils run a council tax reduction scheme for low incomes. The help with bills page lists what you can claim.

Where these figures come from

Every Band D figure is the 2026/27 amount set by each authority, cross checked as an exact statutory ratio of its own Band D and reconciled to the national average of £2,391.52. The primary source is the MHCLG council tax levels release. Scotland and Wales set their own, and Northern Ireland uses rates rather than bands, so this ranking is England only.