All over the country, people are opening their council tax bills to be met with average increases of more than 5%.
It’s undeniable that the cost of living is on the rise, and for homeowners it’s not just mortgages that are becoming more expensive. All over the country, people are opening their council tax bills to be met with average increases of more than 5% – but bills vary widely in different regions.
More people than ever in England are now looking at annual bills that top £2,000. Council tax bands are defined by property values as calculated in 1991, and range from the lowest Band A to the highest Band H. For 2023-24, the average Band D council tax set by local authorities will be £2,065, an increase of £99 (or 5.1%) on the 2022-23 figure of £1,966. The area with the most expensive council tax is Rutland, where the annual bill on a Band D property is now £2,415 (rising to £4,843 for Band H), while figures for Dorset, Nottingham and Lewes are almost as high. At the lower end of the scale, Westminster is still the cheapest place to live by far (council tax-wise at least), with Band D bills rising to £912 from last year’s £864 (and Band A bills up from £578 to £608). Even Westminster’s top Band H rate, at £1,824, is well below the national average Band D rate.
Throughout London, the picture is varied. Councils with the lowest bills include Wandsworth, where Band D is rising to £950 per year, Hammersmith and Fulham at £1,306 and Kensington and Chelsea at £1,451, Tower Hamlets at £1,596. At the top end, a Band D property in Kingston upon Thames is billed at £2,229 per year, in Harrow at £2,114, in Richmond upon Thames at £2,123 and in Croydon at £2,064. Overall, London’s average area Band D council tax will be £1,789 (an increase of £105 or 6.2% when compared to 2022-23). This is compared to £2,059 in other metropolitan areas (+£99 or 5.1%), and £2,134 (+£94 or 5.0%) in shire areas. Broken down further, the average council tax per dwelling will be £1,578 in 2023-24.
It’s worth noting that although London may have the lowest Band D rates in England, the Institute for Fiscal Studies points out that Band A covers the majority of properties in the North East but less than 4% across London, which means that average bills in London are similar to those in the rest of the country. In all, council tax rises are unlikely to be welcome anywhere in the country. When buying property, it’s worth checking which local authority it belongs to and how much the council tax is likely to be. Moving to Westminster isn’t going to be a solution for all of us.
