With a background in financial journalism across national titles, Ruby loves helping people take control of their money and specialises in pensions, tax, banking and benefits.
Josh is an award-nominated journalist with nearly a decade of experience, including writing for national newspapers. A data whizz, he specialises in covering personal finance and investing.
Council tax across England will rise by an average of 4.9% this April – although some areas will be seeing hikes of up to 9%.
North Somerset, Shropshire, and Worcestershire are seeing the highest increases this year after the councils were given special permission to hike rates above the 4.99% cap in place for England.
Scotland and Wales don’t have a cap on how much council tax can rise by, and this year Scottish residents will see the highest hikes of up to 10% in some areas. In Wales, some areas will be hit with hikes of up to 6.6%.
Northern Ireland uses a different system called rates, but rises are also on the way.
Here Which? dives into the new data to see how council tax is changing across the UK and shares tips on when you can reduce your bill.
⦁ Select Which? as a preferred source on Google so you can see more independent news written by expert Which? journalists.
How much council tax you pay depends on where you live and which council tax band your property falls into.
The map shows the average percentage increases for council tax band D across England and Wales.
Scotland has not yet published its band D averages, so we have not included them. We will update this map once the data is shared on 31 March.
Source: Gov.uk, Stats Wales.
Overall, the government said 274 authorities hiked council tax bills by the maximum 4.99%, while 50 were close to this cap.
The cap is unchanged from last year and includes a 2% adult social care precept – an additional charge that eligible councils can opt to include to pay for adult social care services.
However, seven councils in England have been granted permission to increase council tax above this threshold and are the highest in the country. The areas include:
Permission was given due to financial struggles, although the agreed increases are smaller than originally requested by the councils. The government claims that, even with these hikes, bills in these areas will remain below the national average.
The overall 4.9% average increase seen in England this year is slightly lower than last year's average rise of 5%, and 5.1% the year before.
Not all areas in England are increasing council tax from April. Four areas have decided to cut bills. For example, the average band D bill for Eastleigh residents will fall by 8.39%.
Seventeen local authorities will see no rise to core council tax and the adult social care precept.
The smallest increases will be seen in Rushcliffe in Nottinghamshire (0.48%) and Rother in East Sussex (1.31%).
Unlike in England, there is no cap on council tax rises in Wales and Scotland.
In Wales, with 22 local authorities, the overall average band D bill will increase by 5.2% in 2026-27. That’s less than last year’s 7.2% rise.
The Vale of Glamorgan has the largest percentage increase in band D, at 6.6%, while Neath Port Talbot has the smallest, at 4.1%.
In the 2026-27 Budget, the Scottish government announced a 2% rise in local government budget funding. However, all 32 Scottish councils announced increases this April.
The City of Edinburgh has announced a 4% increase to council tax bands, while Moray and Aberdeenshire announced the steepest increases of 10%.
Residents in Northern Ireland will see the amount paid in domestic rates go up in 2026-27.
Areas seeing the biggest percentage increases aren’t always the most expensive places to live. That’s because your council tax bill is made up of several different charges, depending on how your local area is structured.
In some parts of England, services are split across different bodies. For example, in ‘two-tier’ areas you might pay council tax to both a district council and a county council, alongside charges from organisations such as the police and fire services or a parish council.
Elsewhere, a single ‘unitary’ authority is responsible for all local services, but your bill can still include additional charges set by bodies such as the police and crime commissioner.
It may appear, for example, that if we only look at council tax and the adult social care precept, Breckland has the cheapest rates. Residents in this area of Norfolk will only pay £125.45 per year on average for a band D property, with bills rising 4.14% from April. But that rises to an eye-watering £2,443.67 when you include other precepts and the Norfolk Country Council charge, which is £1,843.38.
When we focus on the overall council tax bill, households in Wandsworth will once again pay the least in England of all band D homes, paying £1,028.21 – a rise of 3.1% from last year. This includes all precepts, such as the social care precept and Greater London Authority charge.
People living in Dorset will pay the most in 2026-27. Annual band D bills will hit £2,765.02 from April, up from £2,630 in 2025-26, which is a rise of 5.1%.
Council tax is one of the main sources of funding for local authorities. Many councils say they are facing rising costs and growing demand for services.
Council spending power fell sharply between 2010 and 2020 because of government funding cuts. Despite a small recent boost, real-term funding for 2024-25 is still nearly 19% lower than it was 15 years ago.
Alongside this, the government said that rising demand for special educational needs and disabilities (Send) support ‘has left councils struggling to balance their budgets’.
Some councils have felt the squeeze more than others over the past few years, forcing them to declare bankruptcy:
Make your money work harder. Get the best deals, avoid scams, and grow your savings with expert guidance for just £24.50 for a year.
Get 50% off Which? MoneySave 50% – was £49, now £24.50 for a year, offer ends 6 April 2026.
Falling behind – even by one monthly payment – can be quite serious. If you don't act quickly, you could be asked to pay the full year’s payment upfront.
Within weeks, you'll get a final notice. If you ignore it, your council can take legal action to recover the unpaid council tax debt. This includes an attachment of earnings, where money is taken directly from your wages, or sending bailiffs to your home.
As a last resort, you can be taken to court and may face up to three months in prison if you're found to be intentionally avoiding payment.
If you're struggling to pay, you should:
Find out more: 4 ways paying council tax could change
Unlike energy or mobile bills, you can’t simply switch providers to save money on council tax, since it’s determined entirely by your local authority and your property’s valuation band. However, there are some ways you can potentially reduce it:
Find out more: How to get a council tax reduction or refund
