Which areas have the UK’s highest Council Tax?

by | 24 Jun, 2024 | Bills, Council Tax

Where in the UK has the most expensive Council Tax and which areas pay the least?

We’ve ranked every local authority in the UK – check out where your Council falls below, as well as more details on how Council Tax is calculated.

 

 

Read more about Council Tax:

How is Council Tax Calculated?

The amount you’ll pay in Council Tax depends on two things – the value of the property and what local authority you live in. Every property in the UK is given a Council Tax band between A and H, based on what the property would have sold for in 1991. You can see the specific values for all 8 Council Tax bands below.

Based on the price the property would have sold for on the open market on 1 April 1991 or 1 April 2003 in Wales. A up to 40,000, B 40,000 to 52,000, C 52,000 to 68,000, D 68,000 to 88,000, E 88,000 to 120,000, F 120,000 to 160,000, G 160,000 to 320,000, H over 320,000

Each local authority then decides how much each band will pay for Council Tax as part of their local budget. Properties in the same band can pay very different amounts in tax depending on their location.

 

Where has the UK’s most expensive Council Tax?

In the tax year 2024/2025, the UK’s most expensive Council Tax bills are in Rutland, where a band D home will pay around £2,543 this year, depending on which parish they are in. In contrast, The UK’s cheapest Council Tax is in Wandsorth, London, where a band D property will pay approximately £969 a year.

Other areas with very high tax rates include Nottingham (£2,530 annually), Dorset (£2,504 annually) and Lewes (£2,503 annually). The secon cheapest are for Council Tax is also in London, in Westminster you can expect to pay £975 annually. The next cheapest area is the opposite of these London boroughs, the Shetland Isles, where residents will pay £1,261 in tax for a Band D property.

A map of the Uk marking areas with the least and most expensive Council Tax. The areas marked (and the average annual Council Tax for a Band D property) are: Very Low Wandsworth - 969 Westminster - 975 Low Aberdeenshire - 1393 East Ayrshire - 1487 Argyll & Bute - 1627 High Bromsgrove - 2196 Ashford - 2202 Shropshire - 2204 Very High Elmbridge - 2334 Burnley - 2347 South Hams - 2372

 

The cheapest and most expensive Council Tax across the UK

This is a ranking of every local authority in the UK by the average Band D council tax paid annually for a home occupied by 2 adults in the tax year 2022/2023, across England, Scotland and Wales. We’ve arranged it from cheapest to most expensive Council Tax.

Are you looking for your council? Hit ctrl + F or cmd + F and search for the name of your local authority.

Very Low tax

Rank

Council

Tax £

1

Wandsworth

969

2

Westminster

975

Low Tax

Rank

Council

Tax £

3 Shetland Islands 1,261
4 Na h-Eileanan Siar 1,291
5 South Lanarkshire 1,301
6 Angus 1,317
7 North Lanarkshire 1,321
8 Dumfries & Galloway 1,335
9 Scottish Borders 1,356
10 Falkirk 1,364
11 Orkney Islands 1,369
12 Fife 1,385
13 Hammersmith & Fulham 1,387
14 West Lothian 1,391
15 Aberdeenshire 1,393
16 West Dunbartonshire 1,399
17 Perth & Kinross 1,404
18 Clackmannanshire 1,411
19 East Renfrewshire 1,415
20 East Dunbartonshire 1,416
21 Highland 1,427
22 Moray 1,431
23 East Lothian 1,436
24 Renfrewshire 1,436
25 City of Edinburgh 1,448
26 North Ayrshire 1,452
27 South Ayrshire 1,453
28 Stirling 1,482
29 Dundee City 1,486
30 East Ayrshire 1,487
31 Glasgow City 1,499

Average Tax

Rank

Council

Tax £

32 Midlothian 1,515
33 Kensington & Chelsea 1,530
34 Inverclyde 1,547
35 Argyll & Bute 1,627
36 Tower Hamlets 1,676
37 Windsor & Maidenhead 1,684
38 Newham 1,724
39 Southwark 1,793
40 Caerphilly 1,813
41 Cardiff 1,827
42 Newport 1,856
43 Isles of Scilly 1,857
44 Hillingdon 1,864
45 Lambeth 1,865
46 Hackney 1,877
47 Pembrokeshire 1,885
48 Greenwich 1,921
49 Islington 1,921
50 Wigan 1,924
51 Dudley 1,937
52 Barnet 1,943
53 Ealing 1,948
54 Bromley 1,950
55 Torfaen 1,952
56 Trafford 1,973
57 Vale of Glamorgan 1,973
58 Stoke-on-Trent 1,979
59 Solihull 1,984
60 Hounslow 1,991
61 Sunderland 1,997
62 Merton 1,999
63 Barking & Dagenham 2,003
64 Camden 2,011
65 Wrexham 2,014
66 Swansea 2,018
67 Doncaster 2,024
68 Sandwell 2,028
69 Brent 2,036
70 Telford & Wrekin 2,037
71 Lewisham 2,038
72 Thurrock 2,041
73 Basingstoke & Deane 2,046
74 Carmarthenshire 2,048
75 Southend-on-Sea 2,050
76 Bracknell Forest 2,051
77 York 2,053
78 Powys 2,054
79 Bradford 2,055
80 Flintshire 2,062
81 Fareham 2,063
82 Enfield 2,065
83 Leeds 2,066
84 Manchester 2,068
85 Portsmouth 2,075
86 Kingston-upon-Hull 2,079
87 Wakefield 2,080
88 Rhondda Cynon Taf 2,082
89 Peterborough 2,083
90 Brentwood 2,083
91 Test Valley 2,089
92 Redbridge 2,090
93 Denbighshire 2,090
94 Birmingham 2,091
95 Tendring 2,094
966 Broxbourne 2,095
97 Wychavon 2,101
98 Epping Forest 2,101
99 Ceredigion 2,104
100 Colchester 2,107
101 Haringey 2,107
102 Derby 2,107
103 Tamworth 2,108
104 Stafford 2,108
105 Medway 2,108
106 Braintree 2,110
107 Rushmoor 2,110
108 Havant 2,110
109 Monmouthshire 2,111
110 Mid Suffolk 2,111
111 South Kesteven 2,115
112 South Staffordshire 2,115
113 East Suffolk 2,118
114 Eastleigh 2,118
115 Chelmsford 2,122
116 East Hampshire 2,124
117 Tewkesbury 2,126
118 South Derbyshire 2,129
119 East Lindsey 2,129
120 Chesterfield 2,130
121 Worcester 2,132
122 Babergh 2,132
123 North Lincolnshire 2,133
124 Gosport 2,133
125 Barnsley 2,134
126 Staffordshire Moorlands 2,135
127 South Holland 2,135
128 Conwy 2,136
129 Halton 2,137
130 West Suffolk 2,140
131 Harlow 2,140
132 Castle Point 2,143
133 Winchester 2,143
134 Newcastle-under-Lyme 2,144
135 Maldon 2,145
136 Gloucester 2,145
137 Bolton 2,147
138 Uttlesford 2,149
139 Milton Keynes 2,150
140 East Staffordshire 2,151
141 Bexley 2,155
142 Erewash 2,155
143 Lichfield 2,155
144 Bath & North East Somerset 2,155
145 Cheltenham 2,157
146 Southampton 2,157
147 Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole 2,157
148 Basildon 2,159
149 Gwynedd 2,161
150 Boston 2,165
151 North Somerset 2,165
152 Sutton 2,166
153 High Peak 2,169
154 Cotswold 2,170
155 Warrington 2,171
156 Waltham Forest 2,174
157 Hart 2,174
158 St Helens 2,175
159 Dartford 2,175
160 Rochford 2,175
161 Stevenage 2,176
162 Cannock Chase 2,178
163 Hertsmere 2,179
164 Malvern Hills 2,181
165 Redditch 2,186
166 Slough 2,187
167 North Kesteven 2,187
168 Dacorum 2,188
169 Calderdale 2,190
170 Lincoln 2,191
171 Tameside 2,191
172 North Northamptonshire 2,191
173 Amber Valley 2,192
174 New Forest 2,193
175 Hinckley & Bosworth 2,194
176 Bromsgrove 2,196
177 Swale 2,196
178 Ribble Valley 2,197
179 South Tyneside 2,197
180 Swindon 2,198
181 St Albans 2,199
182 Three Rivers 2,200
183 Crawley 2,200

High Tax

Rank

Council

Tax £

184 Great Yarmouth 2,201
185 Ashford 2,202
186 Shropshire 2,204
187 Gravesham 2,205
188 Kirklees 2,208
189 Havering 2,208
190 West Lindsey 2,209
191 Luton 2,210
192 Rotherham 2,211
193 Harborough 2,212
194 Horsham 2,213
195 Wyre Forest 2,215
196 Plymouth 2,215
197 Canterbury 2,215
198 King’s Lynn & West Norfolk 2,216
199 Cheshire East 2,217
200 Charnwood 2,219
201 Breckland 2,219
202 North Tyneside 2,220
203 Forest of Dean 2,221
204 Oadby & Wigston 2,224
205 Derbyshire Dales 2,224
206 Blackburn with Darwen 2,225
207 Welwyn Hatfield 2,225
208 Broadland 2,225
209 East Hertfordshire 2,225
210 North Hertfordshire 2,226
211 East Riding of Yorkshire 2,230
212 North West Leicestershire 2,231
213 North Norfolk 2,232
214 Chorley 2,234
215 Worthing 2,236
216 Watford 2,236
217 Bedford 2,237
218 Chichester 2,238
219 Tunbridge Wells 2,238
220 Melton 2,241
221 South Ribble 2,242
222 Torbay 2,243
223 Bridgend 2,245
224 Mid Sussex 2,246
225 North East Derbyshire 2,246
226 Warwick 2,248
227 Cambridge 2,249
228 West Northamptonshire 2,250
229 West Lancashire 2,253
230 Wyre 2,253
231 Dover 2,253
232 Ipswich 2,254
233 Knowsley 2,256
234 South Norfolk 2,258
235 Darlington 2,259
236 Stroud 2,260
237 Arun 2,262
238 Wokingham 2,263
239 Wirral 2,263
240 West Berkshire 2,264
241 Richmond-upon-Thames 2,264
242 Stratford-on-Avon 2,264
243 East Cambridgeshire 2,265
244 Tonbridge & Malling 2,266
245 Somerset 2,267
246 Rugby 2,270
247 Fylde 2,270
248 Exeter 2,270
249 Hyndburn 2,270
250 Runnymede 2,273
251 Sheffield 2,273
252 Central Bedfordshire 2,276
253 North East Lincolnshire 2,276
254 Thanet 2,276
255 Blackpool 2,277
256 Cheshire West and Chester 2,277
257 Westmorland and Furness 2,277
258 Neath Port Talbot 2,281
259 North Yorkshire 2,283
260 Cumberland 2,284
261 Norwich 2,285
262 Buckinghamshire 2,286
263 Harrow 2,286
264 Bury 2,289
265 Nuneaton & Bedworth 2,289
266 Leicester 2,293
267 Blaby 2,293
268 Maidstone 2,293
269 Newcastle-upon-Tyne 2,294
270 Wolverhampton 2,295
271 Coventry 2,296
272 Lancaster 2,297
273 Mole Valley 2,297
274 Blaenau Gwent 2,303
275 South Cambridgeshire 2,304
276 Spelthorne 2,305
277 Sevenoaks 2,307
278 Epsom & Ewell 2,308
279 Redcar & Cleveland 2,309
280 South Gloucestershire 2,310
281 Rossendale 2,313
282 Guildford 2,319
283 North Warwickshire 2,319
284 West Oxfordshire 2,320
285 Bolsover 2,321
286 Huntingdonshire 2,322
287 Adur 2,322
288 Salford 2,324
289 Folkestone & Hythe 2,327
290 Merthyr Tydfil 2,329
291 Herefordshire 2,330
292 Rochdale 2,330
293 Wiltshire 2,330
294 Fenland 2,331
295 Oldham 2,331
296 Elmbridge 2,334
297 Sefton 2,339
298 Brighton & Hove 2,339
299 Vale of White Horse 2,342
300 Cornwall 2,343
301 Stockport 2,347
302 Burnley 2,347
303 East Devon 2,348
304 Reigate & Banstead 2,349

Very High Tax

Rank

Council

Tax £

305 Cherwell 2,351
306 Stockton-on-Tees 2,353
307 Northumberland 2,355
308 Surrey Heath 2,356
309 South Oxfordshire 2,357
310 Tandridge 2,359
311 Torridge 2,363
312 Preston 2,365
313 Croydon 2,367
314 Reading 2,367
315 Middlesbrough 2,370
316 Waverley 2,371
317 Woking 2,372
318 South Hams 2,372
319 Isle of Wight Council 2,374
320 Walsall 2,375
321 Kingston-upon-Thames 2,375
322 Hartlepool 2,380
323 Mansfield 2,386
324 Gedling 2,394
325 North Devon 2,394
326 Teignbridge 2,395
327 Ashfield 2,400
328 Broxtowe 2,401
329 Mid Devon 2,404
330 Pendle 2,415
331 Eastbourne 2,416
332 Rushcliffe 2,417
333 Liverpool 2,420
334 Bassetlaw 2,424
335 Durham 2,431
336 Hastings 2,437
337 Rother 2,439
338 Oxford 2,442
339 Gateshead 2,451
340 West Devon 2,457
341 Bristol 2,460
342 Newark & Sherwood 2,468
343 Wealden 2,484
344 Lewes 2,503
345 Dorset Council 2,504
346 Nottingham 2,530
347 Rutland 2,543

 Source: Propertydata.co.uk

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