Council Tax Bands A–H Explained
Check your band now: use the official GOV.UK council tax band checker — enter your postcode and it shows your band free, in seconds. This page explains how the bands work and how to challenge one you think is wrong.
Council tax bands in England (1 April 1991 values)
| Band | Value on 1 April 1991 | Share of Band D | Annual bill at average Band D (£2,392) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Up to £40,000 | 6/9 | £1,595 |
| B | £40,001 – £52,000 | 7/9 | £1,861 |
| C | £52,001 – £68,000 | 8/9 | £2,126 |
| D | £68,001 – £88,000 | 9/9 | £2,392 |
| E | £88,001 – £120,000 | 11/9 | £2,924 |
| F | £120,001 – £160,000 | 13/9 | £3,455 |
| G | £160,001 – £320,000 | 15/9 | £3,987 |
| H | Over £320,000 | 18/9 | £4,784 |
The bill column uses the 2026/27 England average Band D of £2,392, published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Your council’s Band D charge will be different — some councils charge far more, some far less — but the ratios are fixed in law, so a Band A home always pays two-thirds of its council’s Band D and a Band H home always pays double. The average bill per dwelling is lower than Band D, at £1,868, because most homes sit in Bands A to C.
Why 1991? The quirk at the heart of the system
Council tax was introduced in 1993, and the bands were set from estimated property values on 1 April 1991. England has never been revalued since. That means your band reflects what your home would have sold for more than thirty years ago, not what it is worth now. A home built since 1991 is banded by imagining what it would have sold for in 1991. Two identical homes can sit in different bands if their 1991 values differed, and a home that has doubled in value since 1991 keeps the same band — the band only changes if the property itself changes, for example through an extension, or if a challenge succeeds. Scotland uses the same 1 April 1991 date and the same A–H bands, with different value ranges (Band H is over £212,000 in Scotland). Wales was revalued once, so Welsh bands use 1 April 2003 values and there is a ninth band, Band I, for the most valuable homes.
Who sets the band — and who sets the bill?
The band is set by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), not by your council. In Scotland it is your local Assessor. The council cannot change your band, however good your case is — it only collects the tax. The amount you pay is decided the other way round: your council, plus the police, fire and sometimes parish precepts, sets the Band D charge each year, and every other band is a fixed multiple of it. So two things decide your bill: the band (set once, by the VOA) and the Band D charge (set every year, by your council). If your bill rises, it is usually because the Band D charge rose — the average rose by £111, or 4.9%, in 2026/27 — not because your band changed.
How to check your band
- Look at your council tax bill. Your band is printed on it.
- Use the official checker. Go to gov.uk/council-tax-bands, enter your postcode, and it shows your band. The same service shows your neighbours’ bands, which is useful if you think yours is wrong. For Scotland, use the Scottish Assessors’ band search instead.
- Check similar homes. The strongest evidence that a band is wrong is similar properties on the same street in a lower band. The VOA publishes every band, so you can check them all free.
Council tax is usually split into 10 monthly payments, but you can ask your council to spread it over 12 months. Single occupants get a 25% discount, and some people — students, for example — are exempt or disregarded, which can reduce the bill or remove it entirely. Those discounts are separate from the band: the band decides the starting amount, the discounts decide what you actually pay.
How to challenge your band
If you believe your band is too high, challenging is free and you can do it yourself — you do not need a lawyer or a paid appeals service. There are two routes in England and Wales, and your circumstances decide which is open to you. If you have been paying council tax on the property for less than six months, or the VOA changed the band in the last six months, you can make a formal challenge, called a proposal, which the VOA must decide — a formal challenge can take up to 4 months, and you have a right of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal if it is refused. If you have been paying for more than six months and nothing has changed, you ask for a band review instead, which can take up to 12 months.
Before you challenge, gather evidence: the addresses of up to five similar properties in a lower band, and any evidence of your home’s value around the valuation date — 1 April 1991 in England — such as sold prices of comparable homes from that time. The VOA will not treat average house price figures from websites as evidence; it wants specific comparable properties. Be aware of the catch: a review can move a band up as well as down, and it can in principle affect the neighbours whose bands you cited. The VOA’s duty is to correct the band in either direction. If your challenge succeeds, a refund can be backdated to when you first moved in, or to when the error began — in some cases back to 1 April 1993, when council tax began. Keep paying your council tax while a challenge is running; a challenge does not pause collection.
What the band means when you buy or rent
When you buy a home, the band is part of the running cost, not the purchase price — but it is worth checking before you offer. A home in Band G costs roughly £2,392 a year more than the same home in Band A at the average Band D charge, every year, for as long as you live there. When you rent, the tenant usually pays the council tax, so the band affects your monthly budget directly — see our Rent Affordability Calculator, which includes council tax in its example budget. When you move, tell the council: the band stays with the property, but the bill follows the person liable, and discounts such as the single-person discount depend on who lives there.
Related: Rent Affordability Calculator · How Much Can I Borrow · Stamp Duty Calculator
Sources: GOV.UK “Council tax bands” and “Challenge your council tax band”; GOV.UK “Council tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027” (average Band D £2,392, up £111 / 4.9%); Valuation Office Agency band guidance. Checked 13 November 2026.