A majority of households in England will be clobbered by the maximum council tax hikes for the third year running.
Nearly nine in 10 (88%) of 153 town halls will impose a 4.99% increase in April – the highest level allowed without triggering a local referendum. An overwhelming majority (94%) of councils are increasing bills by 4.5%.
Analysis by the PA news agency found two-thirds (68%) are putting up bills to the maximum for the third year in a row. Only nine councils are boosting bills by less than 4.5% this year, including Sunderland on 4.49%, Doncaster and Derby on 3.99%, and North East Lincolnshire on 3.98%.
The 4.99% cap, which includes a 2% adult social care precept, has been in place over the last three years.
In the North West, all 24 top-tier councils are increasing to the limit in 2025/26 except Warrington, which has opted for 4.98%, while cash-strapped Trafford has been allowed by the Government to raise bills by 7.49%. All 20 councils in the South East approved an increase of 4.99% or more, including an 8.99% rise by Windsor & Maidenhead.
Essex is the only council out of 10 in the East of England not to hit the cap threshold, along with three of the 10 councils in the East Midlands: Nottinghamshire, Derby and Lincolnshire.
Coventry has confirmed a 4.90% increase, the only authority of the 14 in the West Midlands not to raise council tax to the limit or, in the case of Birmingham, higher, to the Government-approved level of 7.49%.
All but two of the 15 councils in the South West are increasing council tax by the maximum or above, with Wiltshire (4.50%) and Torbay (4.75%) the exceptions, while Somerset is raising bills by 7.49%.
Just three of the 33 London councils have opted to increase council tax by less than 4.99%, Wandsworth, Kensington & Chelsea and Barnet (4.80%), while Newham has received permission for a 8.99% increase.
Meanwhile, three of the 12 councils in the North East have set council tax below the maximum: South Tyneside and Stockton-on-Tees (both 4.95%) and Sunderland. Five councils out of 15 in Yorkshire & Humber have set the council tax rise lower than than the limit.
With local government finances in crisis, the Government has provided exceptional financial assistance to 30 councils this year.
The Local Government Association, which represents councils across England, said town halls were grappling with severe funding shortages, rising costs and soaring demand on local services.
A spokesperson said: “This means that many councils have faced the tough choice about whether to increase bills to bring in desperately-needed funding to provide services at a time when they are acutely aware of the significant burden that could place on some households.
“However, while council tax is an important funding stream, the significant financial pressures facing local services cannot be met by council tax income alone.”
The LGA urged the Government to ensure councils have adequate funding in the Spending Review in June.
A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “While councils are ultimately responsible for setting their own council tax levels, we are clear that they should put taxpayers first and carefully consider the impact of their decisions.
“That’s why we are maintaining a referendum threshold on council tax rises, so taxpayers can have the final say and be protected from excessive increases.”
Full list of council tax rises for top tier authorities in England
The list has been compiled by the PA news agency. The data covers only the 153 top-tier local authorities in England: county councils, London boroughs, Metropolitan boroughs and unitary authorities. It does not include lower-tier district councils.
For each authority, the percentage increase in council tax in 2025/26 is given, along with (in brackets) the increase in the previous two years of 2024/25 and 2023/24. The figures for 2024/25 and 2023/24 are sourced from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government.
County councils
Cambridgeshire 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.98%)
Derbyshire 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 3.75%)
Devon 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
East Sussex 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Essex 3.75% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 3.50%)
Gloucestershire 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Hampshire 4.995% (2024/25: 4.998% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Hertfordshire 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Kent 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.995%)
Lancashire 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 3.99%)
Leicestershire 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Lincolnshire 2.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Norfolk 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Nottinghamshire 4.84% (2024/25: 4.84% 2023/24: 4.84%)
Oxfordshire 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Staffordshire 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Suffolk 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.00%)
Surrey 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 2.99%)
Warwickshire 4.99% (2024/25: 4.996% 2023/24: 3.94%)
West Sussex 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Worcestershire 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.94%)
London
Barking & Dagenham 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Barnet 4.98% (2024/25: 4.98% 2023/24: 3.80%)
Bexley 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Brent 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Bromley 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Camden 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
City of London 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Croydon 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 14.99%)
Ealing 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Enfield 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Greenwich 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Hackney 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Hammersmith & Fulham 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.80%)
Haringey 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Harrow 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Havering 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Hillingdon 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Hounslow 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Islington 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Kensington & Chelsea 4.00% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 2.18%)
Kingston-upon-Thames 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Lambeth 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Lewisham 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Merton 4.99% (2024/25: 4.999% 2023/24: 4.999%)
Newham 8.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Redbridge 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Richmond-upon-Thames 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Southwark 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Sutton 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Tower Hamlets 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 2.00%)
Waltham Forest 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Wandsworth 2.00% (2024/25: 2.09% 2023/24: 2.14%)
Westminster 4.99% (2024/25: 4.98% 2023/24: 2.01%)
Metropolitan boroughs
Barnsley 4.90% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 3.90%)
Birmingham 7.49% (2024/25: 9.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Bolton 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 3.99%)
Bradford 9.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Bury 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Calderdale 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Coventry 4.90% (2024/25: 4.94% 2023/24: 4.94%)
Doncaster 3.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 3.99%)
Dudley 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Gateshead 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Kirklees 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Knowsley 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Leeds 4.99% (2024/25: 4.98% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Liverpool 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Manchester 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Newcastle-upon-Tyne 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 3.99%)
North Tyneside 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Oldham 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 3.99%)
Rochdale 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Rotherham 3.00% (2024/25: 3.50% 2023/24: 4.00%)
Salford 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Sandwell 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Sefton 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Sheffield 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Solihull 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
South Tyneside 4.95% (2024/25: 4.95% 2023/24: 4.95%)
St Helens 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Stockport 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 3.99%)
Sunderland 4.49% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 2.99%)
Tameside 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Trafford 7.49% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Wakefield 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Walsall 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 2.99%)
Wigan 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Wirral 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Wolverhampton 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Unitary authorities
(Note: where figures for 2023/24 are n/a, this is because the authority did not then exist in its current form)
Bath & North East Somerset 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Bedford 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 2.90%)
Blackburn with Darwen 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Blackpool 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Bracknell Forest 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Brighton & Hove 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Bristol 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Buckinghamshire 4.99% (2024/25: 4.98% 2023/24: 4.9997%)
Central Bedfordshire 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 0%)
Cheshire East 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Cheshire West & Chester 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Cornwall 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Cumberland 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: n/a)
Darlington 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Derby 3.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Dorset 4.99% (2024/25: 4.996% 2023/24: 4.00%)
Durham 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
East Riding of Yorkshire 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.98%)
Halton 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Hartlepool 4.99% (2024/25: 2.99% 2023/24: 4.90%)
Herefordshire 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Hull 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Isle of Wight 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Isles of Scilly 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Leicester 4.99% (2024/25: 4.999% 2023/24: 4.998%)
Luton 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Medway 4.994% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Middlesbrough 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 3.99%)
Milton Keynes 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
North East Lincolnshire 3.98% (2024/25: 4.98% 2023/24: 3.98%)
North Lincolnshire 4.89% (2024/25: 3.73% 2023/24: 1.74%)
North Northamptonshire 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
North Somerset 4.99% (2024/25: 4.98% 2023/24: 4.99%)
North Yorkshire 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: n/a)
Northumberland 4.99% (2024/25: 4.59% 2023/24: 4.63%)
Nottingham 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Peterborough 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Plymouth 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Portsmouth 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Reading 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Redcar & Cleveland 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 3.99%)
Rutland 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Shropshire 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Slough 4.99% (2024/25: 8.50% 2023/24: 9.99%)
Somerset 7.49% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: n/a)
South Gloucestershire 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Southampton 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Southend-on-Sea 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Stockton-on-Tees 4.95% (2024/25: 4.95% 2023/24: 4.90%)
Stoke-on-Trent 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Swindon 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Telford & Wrekin 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 2.00%)
Thurrock 4.99% (2024/25: 7.98% 2023/24: 9.99%)
Torbay 4.75% (2024/25: 4.75% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Warrington 4.98% (2024/25: 4.98% 2023/24: 4.98%)
West Berkshire 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
West Northamptonshire 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Westmorland & Furness 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: n/a)
Wiltshire 4.50% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
Windsor & Maidenhead 8.99% (2024/25: 4.96% 2023/24: 4.96%)
Wokingham 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
York 4.99% (2024/25: 4.99% 2023/24: 4.99%)
