The Council Tax bill for typical properties in some areas will exceed £2,000 for the first time this year, as local authorities up and down the country struggle to balance the books. Express.co.uk has plotted the bill and the rate changes for April 2023 to March 2024. See how your area fares using our interactive map below.
Each year local authorities set the amount of Council Tax to be paid by dwellings in the mid-range Band D. The rates for all other bands are then established proportionally – the most expensive properties charged doubled, the cheapest charged just two-thirds.
Northumberland will be charging the steepest rates of Council Tax of all during the year ahead – the average bill for Band D homes including adult social care and parish precepts in the Unitary Authority will be £2079 for the year ahead.
This was followed by Gateshead (£2,071), Rutland (£2,069) and Nottingham (£2,053). On the other end of the scale, the least taxing local authorities are Broxbourne (£153), Basingstoke & Deane (£162) and Exeter (£175).
There were just over 25 million residential properties in England in 2022 according to the VOA, of which the largest share (24 percent) were in band A. If someone thinks their property is in the wrong band, a challenge can be made that could reduce Council Tax bills significantly.
A number of local authorities have a longstanding reputation for either charging a lot, or a little, and as such the rankings have long been familiar.
Record-breaking hikes this year, however – as local government bodies struggle themselves to make ends meet amid sky-high inflation – have shaken things up.
In early March, Croydon Council approved a controversial 15 percent Council Tax increase after being given special permission by the Government to do so without holding a referendum – usually required for any raise of five percent or more.
Jason Perry, executive mayor of Croydon, said: “This is not a budget that I wanted to set, but it is a budget that will help us to protect vital services for our residents.”
Croydon’s hike is the steepest in the country, but two other councils were also awarded a similar exemption: Thurrock Council in Essex will raise rates by 9.99 percent, and Slough Borough Council by 9.9 percent.
Aside from being the places where household bills will rise the most, these three local authorities also all declared bankruptcy in the past year.
The people of Lancaster will be hit by the second-sharpest Council Tax bump (11.88 percent) followed by residents of Eastleigh (10.69 percent).
Sam Corcoran, vice-chairman of the County Councils Network, said: “With inflation reaching levels not seen for over 40 years and with demand-led pressures for care services showing no sign of abating, local authority leaders are setting their budgets in the most difficult circumstances in decades.
“With councils facing multi-million funding deficits next year, the alternative to council tax rises would be drastic cuts to frontline services at a time when people at the sharp end of the cost-of-living crisis need us to be there for them.”
Just three local authorities in England – Dartford, Fenland and South Ribble – are reducing the Council Tax rate this year.
