By council
Bristol council tax 2026/27
One of the highest city charges in England, with police and fire precepts shared across the old county of Avon.
Bristol, Band B, 2026/27
£2,111a year
First payment £211.64, then 9 of £211.00
| Band B charge | £2,110.64 |
| Bill for the year | £2,110.64 |
Band B at 7/9 of Band D.
Where the council tax goes
How Bristol compares
Band D here is £2,713.68, number 7 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
Bristol City Council's 2026/27 council tax is £2,713.68 at Band D for a household of two adults, compared with £2,583.89 the year before, an increase of 5.0 %. That puts Bristol 2 of the 27 council areas in the South West by Band D, from the top, and well above the England average of £2,391.52. In Band B, the annual bill is £2,110.64, falling to £1,582.98 where one adult lives alone. Within the Band D figure, £308.20 is collected for the Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner and £95.43 for Avon Fire Authority. Bristol has no parish or town councils, so there is a single rate for each band across the whole city, from Avonmouth to Hengrove, set out in full below.
Figures checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the bill is worked out
Bristol, band by band
| Band | Share of D | Two adults | Living alone | Each of 10 payments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band A | 6/9 | £1,809.12 | £1,356.84 | £180.91 |
| Band B | 7/9 | £2,110.64 | £1,582.98 | £211.06 |
| Band C | 8/9 | £2,412.16 | £1,809.12 | £241.22 |
| Band D | 9/9 | £2,713.68 | £2,035.26 | £271.37 |
| Band E | 11/9 | £3,316.72 | £2,487.54 | £331.67 |
| Band F | 13/9 | £3,919.76 | £2,939.82 | £391.98 |
| Band G | 15/9 | £4,522.80 | £3,392.10 | £452.28 |
| Band H | 18/9 | £5,427.36 | £4,070.52 | £542.74 |
The column for one adult applies the national discount of a quarter. At the other end, Band G and Band H homes pay fifteen and eighteen ninths of Band D, so a Band H bill is exactly three times a Band A bill.
The city, the police and the fire authority
Bristol keeps £2,310.05 of every Band D bill, of which £44.01 is the adult social care precept. The other £403.63 goes to two bodies covering a wider area: the Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner and Avon Fire Authority. According to the city's own guide to the bill, the police precept rose by about 5.1 % and the fire precept by about 5.5 % this year, more in percentage terms than the city's own increase, because both are allowed to add a fixed sum in pounds rather than a percentage.
Bristol and the former county of Avon
The four unitary councils that cover the area once called Avon share one fire authority and, with Somerset, one police and crime commissioner. That makes them easy to compare, because only the council and parish shares differ:
| Council | Band B | Band C | Band D | Parish average | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol | £2,110.64 | £2,412.16 | £2,713.68 | £0.00 | 5.0 % |
| South Gloucestershire | £1,983.79 | £2,267.19 | £2,550.59 | £119.25 | 5.1 % |
| North Somerset | £1,937.62 | £2,214.42 | £2,491.22 | £132.58 | 8.6 % |
| Bath and North East Somerset | £1,853.77 | £2,118.60 | £2,383.42 | £65.76 | 5.2 % |
North Somerset was one of the few councils allowed to go above the usual limit this year, up to 9 % on its own charge, which explains its larger rise. Bristol remains the dearest of the four. Dorset, Cornwall, Wiltshire and the rest of the region are compared on the South West page.
Annexes, empty homes and second homes
A self-contained annexe has its own band and its own bill, but a relative living in one can have it halved or exempted; the annexe guide sets out the conditions. The city's website currently lists the full national premiums: 100 % on a furnished second home from April 2025, and on an empty unfurnished home 100 % after one year, 200 % after five and 300 % after ten. Confirm the rate on your bill before entering it in the calculator.
If the band looks wrong
The Valuation Office challenge service is the route for a band you think is too high; the challenge guide explains the evidence it expects and the risk that a review moves the band up as well as down. Keep paying while the case is open. The increase page shows how this year's rises compare across England.