How to Check If Your Council Is Raising Council Tax in 2025-26

Your council tax bill will arrive in March, but the decision that shapes it is taken earlier — usually in a council chamber, in a meeting almost nobody watches. If you want to know whether your payments are going up in April and by how much, you can find out now rather than when the envelope drops through the door. Here is how to trace the paper trail, check the band you are paying on, and push back if something looks wrong.

When councils decide — and where to look

The financial year starts on 1 April, and the budget that sets your council tax is normally approved at a full council meeting between January and March. Councils must publish the agenda and reports beforehand, so the detail is on the record days before anyone votes. Scotland and Wales run to their own timetables and funding rules, and Northern Ireland uses a different system of domestic rates, so check your nation's arrangements if you are not in England.

Understanding the process matters because councils rarely announce a single clean figure. They publish a budget report, a Medium Term Financial Strategy, and a set of precept notices from other bodies. That pile of documents is where the real number lives.

Finding your council's 2025-26 budget: a five-minute method

1. Search your council's website directly. Try the council name plus "budget 2025-26" and then again with "council tax 2025-26". Skip news stories and head for the committee papers.
2. Open the budget report. Look for a table headed "council tax requirement", or a line showing the percentage increase for a Band D property. That percentage is the headline decision.
3. Read the full council agenda. Committee sections usually list a meeting called "Council" or "Full Council" in late February or early March. Many councils webcast these live and archive the recording.
4. Find the "where your money goes" page. Councils publish an annual leaflet explaining how the bill is split. It is often live before the bills are printed.
5. Check the other precepting bodies. Your police and crime commissioner, fire authority and parish or town council all set their own amounts, and they appear on the same bill.

Reading the numbers properly

A council tax increase is expressed as a percentage, usually against a Band D property, because Band D is the reference point for the whole system. In England, every other band is a fixed fraction of Band D — Band A is six ninths, Band H is eighteen ninths — so a rise applies proportionally across all bands. The percentage is the same; the cash difference is not.

Precepts sit on top

The largest slice of your bill may come from your county or unitary council, but it is rarely the whole story. Parish and town councils add a precept. Police and fire services add theirs. In some areas, that means a single percentage figure quoted by the biggest authority understates what you will actually pay. Add the pieces together before you decide how you feel about it.

The referendum threshold

In England, the government sets an annual threshold above which a council must hold a local referendum before raising council tax. In recent years that has been 3% for core council tax, with a further 2% allowed where the authority provides adult social care — so many bills have risen by around 5% without a vote. Councils in serious financial difficulty sometimes apply for exceptional permission to go higher. That is worth knowing, because a rise beyond the threshold without a referendum is a legal question, not just a political one.

Check your band, discounts and reductions

Plenty of households are paying more than they need to, not because the council got the rate wrong but because the details are wrong. Start by confirming your band on the official valuation service for your nation — the Valuation Office Agency covers England and Wales, and the Scottish Assessors handle Scotland. Then check the following:

• Single person discount. If you are the only adult in the property, you are normally entitled to 25% off.
• Disregarded adults. Full-time students, some carers and certain others may not count towards the number of adults, which can reduce or remove the charge.
• Council Tax Reduction. A means-tested scheme for people on low incomes, administered by your council. It is separate from the discounts above and has to be applied for.
• Empty property premiums. Councils can charge extra on homes left empty for long periods, and rules vary by area.
• Exemptions. Some properties, including certain student halls and homes occupied only by people with severe mental impairment, are exempt entirely.

Challenging an increase: what you can and cannot do

You cannot appeal simply because you disagree with the size of the rise — that is a decision taken by elected councillors. What you can challenge is whether the charge applied to you is correct, and whether the process was followed.

Band and liability disputes

If you believe your property is in the wrong band, contact the valuation authority with evidence: comparable local sales or rental values around the relevant valuation date. If you think you are not the liable person, or a discount has been wrongly refused, contact your council's revenues team in writing first.

Complaints and escalation

If the council does not resolve things, use its formal complaints procedure. Beyond that, each nation has an ombudsman — the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman in England, the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales and the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman. Do not stop paying while a dispute runs. Liability stands, and unpaid instalments quickly attract reminders and court costs that dwarf the original argument. Keep a dated record of every call and email.

If the issue is a legal one — for example, a threshold you believe was breached — get proper advice from a solicitor or a free advice service before acting.

Your next steps

Do three things this week. Find your council's budget report and note the Band D percentage. Check your band and your discounts on the official valuation service and your council's website. Then work out your own figure by comparing this year's bill to last year's, remembering that Band D is only a reference point.

If the new amount looks tight, act early rather than late. You can ask to spread payments over twelve monthly instalments instead of ten, which lowers each one without changing the total. If your income has dropped, apply for Council Tax Reduction now — it is not automatic. And if you are already behind or heading that way, speak to Citizens Advice or a free debt advice service before the arrears build. Councils have more options for people who get in touch early, and asking for help is a considerably cheaper conversation than the one that follows a court summons.

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