By council
Leicester council tax 2026/27
A unitary city surrounded by two-tier Leicestershire: one council charge inside the boundary, three or four outside it.
Leicester, Band A, 2026/27
£1,686a year
First payment £164.83, then 9 of £169.00
| Band A charge | £1,685.83 |
| Bill for the year | £1,685.83 |
Band A at 6/9 of Band D.
Where the council tax goes
How Leicester compares
Band D here is £2,528.75, number 75 of 296 in England (1 = dearest). The same band in Wandsworth, the cheapest, costs £685 on the same terms.
Think the band is wrong? How a band challenge works
Leicester City Council charges £2,528.75 at Band D for 2026/27, a rise of 5.0 % on the £2,407.72 of 2025/26, for a home with two adults. That is more than any of the seven Leicestershire districts that surround the city, where the dearest Band D, parish average included, is £2,490.22. In Band A, the lowest band, a Leicester household of two adults pays £1,685.83 a year and a single adult £1,264.37. The Band D bill includes £315.23 for the Police and Crime Commissioner for Leicestershire and £91.65 for the Combined Fire Authority, both the same in the city, the county and Rutland. Leicester has no parish councils, so the city figure applies to every street. The figures are those of the government's 2026/27 table of council tax levels.
Figures checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the bill is worked out
Every band in the city
| Band | Share of D | Two adults | Living alone | Each of 10 payments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band A | 6/9 | £1,685.83 | £1,264.37 | £168.58 |
| Band B | 7/9 | £1,966.81 | £1,475.11 | £196.68 |
| Band C | 8/9 | £2,247.78 | £1,685.83 | £224.78 |
| Band D | 9/9 | £2,528.75 | £1,896.56 | £252.88 |
| Band E | 11/9 | £3,090.69 | £2,318.02 | £309.07 |
| Band F | 13/9 | £3,652.64 | £2,739.48 | £365.26 |
| Band G | 15/9 | £4,214.58 | £3,160.93 | £421.46 |
| Band H | 18/9 | £5,057.50 | £3,793.12 | £505.75 |
Because Leicester is unparished, these figures are exact for every address in the city: there is no average hidden in them, unlike in the county.
One tier inside, two or three outside
Leicester City Council is a unitary authority, responsible for every council service in the city. Across the boundary, a household pays Leicestershire County Council £1,731.79 at Band D, then a district council and, in most villages, a parish. The seven districts average £2,417.58 at Band D, £111 below the city. A Band B home in Leicester pays £1,966.81; the same band in Charnwood costs £1,871.05.
| Council | Band A | Band D | County share | Parish average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rutland | £1,825.05 | £2,737.58 | none | £67.37 |
| Leicester | £1,685.83 | £2,528.75 | none | £0.00 |
| Blaby | £1,660.15 | £2,490.22 | £1,731.79 | £150.93 |
| Melton | £1,619.78 | £2,429.67 | £1,731.79 | £46.12 |
| North West Leicestershire | £1,612.13 | £2,418.20 | £1,731.79 | £90.52 |
| Oadby and Wigston | £1,604.57 | £2,406.85 | £1,731.79 | £0.00 |
| Charnwood | £1,603.76 | £2,405.64 | £1,731.79 | £89.88 |
| Harborough | £1,593.25 | £2,389.87 | £1,731.79 | £77.07 |
| Hinckley and Bosworth | £1,588.41 | £2,382.62 | £1,731.79 | £79.93 |
Rutland, a small unitary county, is the exception, with a Band D above the city's. The East Midlands page has the full regional ranking, from Nottingham to Lincolnshire.
Where the city's charge goes
Leicester City Council keeps £2,121.87 of the Band D bill, including £40.41 for adult social care. The police precept, £315.23, and the combined fire authority's £91.65 rose this year by exactly the cash sums allowed without a referendum, £15 and £5 at Band D, as the council's notes on the bill show. Neither is decided by the city.
Moving between the city and the county
A move across the boundary changes the council that bills you, even if the band stays the same. The old council charges up to the day before you leave and the new one from the day you arrive, as the moving house guide explains. If you will live alone at the new address, apply for the single person discount straight away; the GOV.UK rules on who pays decide who counts.
Ten or twelve payments
A Band A bill of £1,685.83 is normally collected in ten monthly instalments from April, the first £164.83 and the rest £169.00. Asking for twelve brings each payment down to about £140 without changing the yearly total. Direct Debit is the simplest way to keep to the dates the council sets.
Empty and second homes
The council's website lists premiums of 100 %, 200 % and 300 % for homes empty and unfurnished for one, five and ten years. A home empty for less than a year pays the ordinary charge for its band, with no discount. Owners who sell, let or move back in should tell the council the date, since the premium stops from that day. The national framework is on the GOV.UK page for second and empty homes.