Research · Published July 2026
Average UK council tax by band, 2025/26
The average Band D council tax bill in England and Wales for 2025/26 is £2,280. Every other band is a fixed statutory ratio of Band D — Band A pays 6/9 of Band D (£1,520) and Band H pays 18/9 (£4,560), meaning a Band H home pays exactly three times a Band A home in the same council area. Wales adds a Band I at 21/9 of Band D (£5,320).
Average charge by band
| Band | Ratio to D | Annual | Monthly | Δ vs band below | Countries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 0.667 | £1,520 | £127 | — | England & Wales |
| B | 0.778 | £1,773 | £148 | +£253 | England & Wales |
| C | 0.889 | £2,027 | £169 | +£254 | England & Wales |
| D | 1.000 | £2,280 | £190 | +£253 | England & Wales |
| E | 1.222 | £2,787 | £232 | +£507 | England & Wales |
| F | 1.444 | £3,293 | £274 | +£506 | England & Wales |
| G | 1.667 | £3,800 | £317 | +£507 | England & Wales |
| H | 2.000 | £4,560 | £380 | +£760 | England & Wales |
| I | 2.333 | £5,320 | £443 | +£760 | Wales only |
Methodology
The Local Government Finance Act 1992 (Schedule 1, Part 1) fixes the ratio between every council tax band and Band D. Councils only set the Band D amount — every other band is calculated from that. We take the DLUHC 2025/26 average Band D charge for England and Wales (£2,280), apply the statutory ratios, and round to the nearest pound. Individual authorities vary meaningfully — Westminster's Band D is under £1,000, while parts of Rutland exceed £2,700 — but the ratios between bands never change.
Which band pays most?
Band H (or Band I in Wales) always pays the most, but the gap between bands gets meaningful fast: moving from Band E to Band D saves £507 a year at the England & Wales average — over a typical 9-year household tenure that's roughly £4,563 back.
Download the data
council-tax-by-band-2026.csv — free to re-use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).