A Gera Systems data report · England · 2026-27
UK Council Tax 2026/27: the cheapest and most expensive areas
The average Band D council tax in England for 2026-27 is £2,391.52. The cheapest area is Wandsworth at £1,028.21, and the most expensive is Dorset Council at £2,765.02 — a household in Dorset Council pays roughly 2.7× what the same Band D property would pay in Wandsworth. This report ranks all 296 English billing authorities on the real, published Band D charge (including every precept).
Published 2026-06-25. Source: Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027 (MHCLG) (MHCLG). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0; © Crown copyright. Independent analysis — not affiliated with or endorsed by MHCLG or any local authority.
The national picture (England, 2026-27)
| Average Band D council tax | £2,391.52 |
| Average council tax per dwelling | £1,868.04 |
| Unweighted mean Band D across the 296 authorities | £2,410.97 |
The “per dwelling” figure is lower than Band D because most English homes sit in bands below D (A–C), which are charged at less than the Band D rate. Band D is a reference benchmark, not the typical bill.
The 10 cheapest areas (Band D)
| Rank | Area | Region | Band D | Avg per dwelling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wandsworth | London | £1,028.21 | £981.24 |
| 2 | Westminster | London | £1,049.55 | £1,272.65 |
| 3 | City of London | London | £1,329.56 | £1,835.85 |
| 4 | Hammersmith & Fulham | London | £1,519.51 | £1,509.06 |
| 5 | Kensington & Chelsea | London | £1,666.65 | £2,065.59 |
| 6 | Tower Hamlets | London | £1,837.78 | £1,446.16 |
| 7 | Newham | London | £1,944.23 | £1,435.60 |
| 8 | Windsor & Maidenhead UA | South East | £1,952.62 | £2,132.62 |
| 9 | Southwark | London | £1,967.26 | £1,534.66 |
| 10 | Hillingdon | London | £2,045.46 | £1,900.24 |
Nine of the ten cheapest authorities are London boroughs, which share a single regional (GLA) precept; Wandsworth and Westminster have run deliberately low borough charges for decades.
The 10 most expensive areas (Band D)
| Rank | Area | Region | Band D | Avg per dwelling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dorset Council | South West | £2,765.02 | £2,458.45 |
| 2 | Lewes | South East | £2,756.17 | £2,321.18 |
| 3 | City of Nottingham UA | East Midlands | £2,755.39 | £1,549.16 |
| 4 | Rutland UA | East Midlands | £2,737.58 | £2,596.83 |
| 5 | Wealden | South East | £2,728.43 | £2,615.97 |
| 6 | Gateshead | North East | £2,715.81 | £1,595.39 |
| 7 | Bristol UA | South West | £2,713.68 | £1,825.17 |
| 8 | West Devon | South West | £2,705.33 | £2,268.08 |
| 9 | Rother | South East | £2,700.95 | £2,353.41 |
| 10 | Newark & Sherwood | East Midlands | £2,682.10 | £2,013.48 |
The dearest bills are spread across rural and mid-sized authorities in the South West, South East, East Midlands and North East — there is no single regional concentration at the top.
Regional averages (mean Band D, cheapest → dearest)
| Region | Authorities | Mean Band D | Mean per dwelling |
|---|---|---|---|
| London | 33 | £2,090.08 | £1,842.02 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 15 | £2,374.19 | £1,617.43 |
| East of England | 45 | £2,391.20 | £1,997.23 |
| West Midlands | 30 | £2,399.67 | £1,818.69 |
| East Midlands | 35 | £2,457.41 | £1,805.33 |
| South East | 64 | £2,475.45 | £2,218.73 |
| North West | 35 | £2,483.22 | £1,706.97 |
| South West | 27 | £2,511.40 | £2,086.43 |
| North East | 12 | £2,525.66 | £1,583.96 |
London is the cheapest region on average but the figure is skewed by a few very-low-charging central boroughs. North East has the highest mean Band D yet one of the lowest average bills per dwelling — a high Band D charge does not mean residents typically pay more. Regional means are unweighted (each authority counts once).
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Frequently asked questions
- Where is council tax cheapest in England in 2026/27?
- Wandsworth has the cheapest Band D council tax in England for 2026-27 at £1,028.21, followed by Westminster (£1,049.55). Both are inner-London boroughs. The figure is the total Band D area bill, including every precept (borough, GLA, police and fire).
- Where is council tax most expensive in England in 2026/27?
- Dorset Council has the most expensive Band D council tax in England at £2,765.02, narrowly ahead of Lewes (£2,756.17). A Band D household in Dorset Council pays roughly 2.7× what the same Band D property would pay in Wandsworth.
- What is the average council tax in England for 2026/27?
- The average Band D council tax across England is £2,391.52 for 2026-27. The average bill per dwelling — which reflects the real mix of property bands and discounts — is lower, at £1,868.04, because most English homes sit in bands below D.
- Which region has the cheapest and most expensive council tax?
- On an unweighted average across its billing authorities, London is the cheapest region (mean Band D £2,090.08 across 33 authorities), pulled down by a few very-low-charging central boroughs. North East is the most expensive on average (mean Band D £2,525.66 across 12 authorities) — though it also has one of the lowest average bills per dwelling, because its housing stock is weighted toward bands A–C.
- Why is Band D used to compare council tax between areas?
- Band D is the statutory reference band the UK government and every council use to compare council-tax levels. Bills for other bands (A–C and E–H) are fixed legal multiples of the Band D charge under the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (s.5), so comparing Band D compares like-for-like regardless of an area’s housing stock. It is a benchmark, not the typical bill — always read it alongside the average-per-dwelling figure.
- Can I trust and cite these council tax figures?
- Yes. Every figure is taken verbatim from the MHCLG Accredited Official Statistics under the Open Government Licence v3.0, with nothing modelled or estimated. The underlying dataset also carries a signed Gera Vouch (Ed25519) attestation (dataset uk-council-tax v2026-27.1) so any third party — including an AI agent — can cryptographically confirm the numbers match the official source.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027 (MHCLG) (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government). © Crown copyright. Analysis and presentation © Gera Systems Ltd. Independent report — not affiliated with or endorsed by MHCLG or any local authority. Figures are for general information and do not constitute financial or legal advice; always confirm your own bill with your local billing authority.