By council
Birmingham council tax 2026/27
What a home in Birmingham pays this year, band by band, and where each pound goes.
Birmingham, Band B, 2026/27
£1,838a year
First payment £181.81, then 9 of £184.00
| Band B charge | £1,837.81 |
| Bill for the year | £1,837.81 |
Band B at 7/9 of Band D.
Where the council tax goes
How Birmingham compares
Band D here is £2,362.90, number 201 of 296 in England (1 = dearest). The same band in Wandsworth, the cheapest, costs £800 on the same terms.
Think the band is wrong? How a band challenge works
Birmingham's Band D council tax for 2026/27 is £2,362.90, up 5.2 % on last year's £2,245.41, for a home with two adults. Most Birmingham homes are in Bands A and B, so the usual bill is lower: £1,575.27 in Band A and £1,837.81 in Band B, paid as £181.81 in April then nine instalments of £184.00 if you keep the default 10 payments. The figure includes £244.50 for the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner and £85.19 for West Midlands Fire Service at Band D, both scaled to your band. Someone living alone pays 25 % less, which in Band B means £1,378.36 a year. These amounts come from the government's table of council tax levels for England, published in March 2026.
Figures checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the bill is worked out
Every band in Birmingham
| Band | Share of D | Two adults | Living alone | Each of 10 payments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band A | 6/9 | £1,575.27 | £1,181.45 | £157.53 |
| Band B | 7/9 | £1,837.81 | £1,378.36 | £183.78 |
| Band C | 8/9 | £2,100.36 | £1,575.27 | £210.04 |
| Band D | 9/9 | £2,362.90 | £1,772.17 | £236.29 |
| Band E | 11/9 | £2,887.99 | £2,165.99 | £288.80 |
| Band F | 13/9 | £3,413.08 | £2,559.81 | £341.31 |
| Band G | 15/9 | £3,938.17 | £2,953.63 | £393.82 |
| Band H | 18/9 | £4,725.80 | £3,544.35 | £472.58 |
Each band is a fixed fraction of Band D: Band A pays six ninths of it, Band H eighteen ninths, twice Band D. The bands rest on what a home would have sold for in April 1991, not on its value today, which is why a terraced house in Selly Oak bought for a quarter of a million pounds can still sit in Band B.
Where a Band D bill goes
Of the £2,362.90, the city council keeps £2,033.21 including parish precepts, of which £38.55 is the adult social care precept that councils may raise on top of the general limit. The West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner receives £244.50 and the West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority £85.19. The West Midlands Combined Authority, whose mayor covers Birmingham, sets no council tax precept this year.
Within the West Midlands region, Birmingham ranks 18 of 30 by Band D, from the dearest. A comparison with its neighbours, on Band B where most of the city's homes are:
| Council | Band B | Band D | Change on 2025/26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham | £1,837.81 | £2,362.90 | 5.2 % |
| Solihull | £1,708.98 | £2,197.26 | 5.2 % |
| Sandwell | £1,745.69 | £2,244.46 | 5.2 % |
| Dudley | £1,668.21 | £2,144.84 | 5.2 % |
| Walsall | £2,043.60 | £2,627.48 | 5.2 % |
| Wolverhampton | £1,974.77 | £2,538.99 | 5.2 % |
| Coventry | £1,957.45 | £2,516.72 | 4.3 % |
Discounts and exemptions that change the Birmingham bill
The calculator above starts from a home with two adults. If you are the only adult who counts, select it: Birmingham applies the national 25 % single person discount. Students at the University of Birmingham, Aston or Birmingham City University living only with other full-time students are exempt and pay nothing; the student page explains the certificate the council asks for. A home adapted for a disabled resident is charged one band lower.
A furnished second home or a home empty for more than a year can cost twice the normal charge or more, depending on the council's own decision. Check Birmingham's current rate before you rely on the figure: the calculator lets you type it.
Paying Birmingham council tax
The city sends bills in March for the year from 1 April. You can pay in 10 monthly instalments from April to January, or ask for 12 to spread the cost to March. Direct Debit dates are set by the council. If you move within the year, the bill is recalculated by the day for each address. Households on a low income can apply to the city for Council Tax Reduction, a local scheme that the calculator does not model; it is worked out after every discount shown here.