By council
Liverpool council tax 2026/27
The highest Band D in the North West, made of a city charge, two Merseyside precepts and a small share for the city region mayor.
Liverpool, Band A, 2026/27
£1,782a year
First payment £180.39, then 9 of £178.00
| Band A charge | £1,782.39 |
| Bill for the year | £1,782.39 |
Band A at 6/9 of Band D.
Where the council tax goes
How Liverpool compares
Band D here is £2,673.59, number 13 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
Liverpool City Council has set a Band D council tax of £2,673.59 for 2026/27, 5.0 % more than the £2,546.45 charged in 2025/26. It ranks 1 of the 35 council areas of the North West, counted from the most expensive. In practice few Liverpool households pay the Band D rate, because the city's housing is weighted towards the lowest band: a Band A home with two adults pays £1,782.39, and a single adult in Band A pays £1,336.79. Each Band D bill includes £293.97 for Merseyside Police, £101.25 for Merseyside Fire and Rescue and £24.00 for the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, whose elected mayor sets that precept. Liverpool has no parish councils. Figures are from the March 2026 government tables of council tax levels in England.
Figures checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the bill is worked out
Liverpool charges for 2026/27
| Band | Share of D | Two adults | Living alone | Each of 10 payments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band A | 6/9 | £1,782.39 | £1,336.79 | £178.24 |
| Band B | 7/9 | £2,079.46 | £1,559.59 | £207.95 |
| Band C | 8/9 | £2,376.52 | £1,782.39 | £237.65 |
| Band D | 9/9 | £2,673.59 | £2,005.19 | £267.36 |
| Band E | 11/9 | £3,267.72 | £2,450.79 | £326.77 |
| Band F | 13/9 | £3,861.85 | £2,896.39 | £386.19 |
| Band G | 15/9 | £4,455.98 | £3,341.99 | £445.60 |
| Band H | 18/9 | £5,347.18 | £4,010.38 | £534.72 |
Every figure above follows from the Band D charge and the fixed ratios in law. If you are not sure which row is yours, the Valuation Office search gives the band of any address in seconds, and the band checking guide explains what to do if it looks wrong.
Four bodies on one bill
The city council keeps £2,254.37 of Band D, including £42.94 raised for adult social care. Merseyside Police receive £293.97 through the police and crime commissioner, and Merseyside Fire and Rescue £101.25. The last line, £24.00, is the mayoral precept of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. Put together, the precepts for other bodies come to 15.7 % of the Band D total, a smaller share than in many cities, because the city council's own charge is high. The bill you receive in March lists each of these lines with its percentage change on the year before, so you can see which body raised its share most. None of the three precepting bodies can be challenged through the city council: questions about their budgets go to the commissioner, the fire authority or the combined authority directly.
The six areas of the Liverpool City Region
The mayoral precept is levied in the five Merseyside boroughs and in Halton, across the river in Cheshire. Halton's police and fire shares come from Cheshire, not Merseyside, so its bill mixes the two areas. Sorted from the highest Band D:
| Council | Band A | Band D | Police at D | Fire at D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liverpool | £1,782.39 | £2,673.59 | £293.97 | £101.25 |
| Sefton | £1,722.15 | £2,583.22 | £293.97 | £101.25 |
| Wirral | £1,667.06 | £2,500.59 | £293.97 | £101.25 |
| Knowsley | £1,658.83 | £2,488.25 | £293.97 | £101.25 |
| St Helens | £1,602.25 | £2,403.38 | £293.97 | £101.25 |
| Halton | £1,577.74 | £2,366.61 | £295.44 | £100.09 |
Liverpool tops the group and Halton is the cheapest at £2,366.61. Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cumbria are covered on the North West region page, where Liverpool is the dearest of all.
Empty homes and second homes in the city
Councils in England may add up to 100 % to the bill of a home left empty and unfurnished for a year, rising to 200 % after five years and 300 % after ten, and up to 100 % on a furnished second home. The GOV.UK rules on empty and second homes list the exceptions, such as a home being marketed for sale. Liverpool decides its own rates, so check the current figure with the council before you use the calculator; the empty property guide explains the tiers.
Who counts as an adult in the house
The bill assumes two adults unless the council is told otherwise. Many people are left out of the count, among them full-time students, people with a severe mental impairment and some live-in carers. If everyone but one adult is disregarded, the 25 % discount applies; the disregards guide lists each group.