Average Band D council tax in 2025-2026 is set to increase by 5%, statistics published on Thursday on council tax levels show.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government has released new data which sets out council tax requirements and precepts for the financial year 2025-2026.
The average Band D council tax set by local authorities in England for 2025-2026 will be £2,280, an increase of £109 from the previous year. This value is inclusive of all precepts. The overall average council tax per dwelling is estimated to be £1,770.
Additionally, from April, the council tax requirement will be £44.1 billion. 1.5% of this will be raised through the adult social care precept flexibility, and 1.9% of this through parish precepts.
Birmingham has set the highest council tax requirement in the country (including special expenses, local precepts and Adult Social Care Precept), at £528.9m, a 9.6% increase from 2024-2025, whilst Oadby and Wigston and Tamworth set some of the lowest values, this is under £5m. Newham, South Hams, and North Norfolk are amongst the councils with the highest percentage increase in requirements, over 12%.
For Band D dwellings with 2 adults living at the property, tax payers are set to pay an average of 976£. This is highest in Rutland which registers an average tax of £2,284 and Gateshead, at £2,283. Conversely, Broxbourn, Basingstoke and Deane and Exeter are set to charge the lowest rates, £163, £175, and £186 per annum respectively.
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The map below shows statistics on council tax requirements and Band D charges for the financial year 2025/2026 by local authority. To explore detailed figures for your area, double-click on the map or click here to view the full-page version
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The rate of increase in council tax bills has sparked criticism.
Elliot Keck, head of campaigns at TaxPayers’ Alliance: “Fresh government data on council tax rises shows that once again local authorities across the country have failed in the desperate need to drive up standards.”
“The fact that so few have not used the maximum increase available demonstrates that the stagnant productivity that is driving up costs is endemic in local government, forcing councils to reach deeper into the pockets of local taxpayers just to stand still.
Maxwell Marlow, director of public affairs at the Adam Smith Institute: “The uptick in council tax is regrettable, and will squeeze household’s budgets even further. But it’s not a surprise they’re doing this.”
“For decades, Whitehall has placed more and more responsibility on local authorities that should have been given to the significantly more efficient private sector. Local government finances need an urgent and systematic review.”
Cllr Barry Lewis, economic growth and industrial strategy spokesman at County Councils Network: “This year, some of those urban councils are in a position to freeze council tax or scale back service reductions due to the government focusing funding on these places at the expense of county areas.”
“The government is set to permanently update the distribution of funding to councils in its forthcoming ‘fair funding review’. But if funds are focused heavily on urban areas – despite little evidence to support this – then it will widen this gap even further, leaving counties even more reliant on their local taxpayers to fund their services. That is why the fair funding review must be based on robust evidence of how much individual councils need to deliver the most costly and under-pressure services.”