By region
London council tax 2026/27, borough by borough
The same Mayor's precept everywhere, then a borough charge that varies by more than a thousand pounds.
Lambeth, Band C, 2026/27
£1,820a year
First payment £181.65, then 9 of £182.00
| Band C charge | £1,819.65 |
| Bill for the year | £1,819.65 |
Band C at 8/9 of Band D.
Where the council tax goes
How Lambeth compares
Band D here is £2,047.11, number 286 of 296 in England (1 = dearest). The same band in Wandsworth, the cheapest, costs £914 on the same terms.
Think the band is wrong? How a band challenge works
Council tax in London for 2026/27 ranges from £1,028.21 at Band D in Wandsworth, the lowest of any council in England, to £2,609.20 in Kingston upon Thames, for a home with two adults. Every borough bill contains the same precept of £510.51 at Band D for the Greater London Authority, which pays for the Metropolitan Police, the London Fire Brigade and the Mayor's other services; the rest is the borough's own charge, and that is where the gap comes from. Wandsworth and Westminster keep their own share near £518 thanks partly to large commercial incomes and a long policy of low charges. The average across the 33 London billing authorities, including the City of London, is £2,090.08. Band A pays two thirds of these figures, Band H twice as much.
Figures checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the bill is worked out
All London boroughs, 2026/27
| Council | Band A | Band D | Band H | Band D 2025/26 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingston upon Thames | £1,739.47 | £2,609.20 | £5,218.40 | £2,489.34 | 4.8 % |
| Croydon | £1,733.27 | £2,599.91 | £5,199.82 | £2,480.48 | 4.8 % |
| Harrow | £1,674.05 | £2,511.07 | £5,022.14 | £2,395.86 | 4.8 % |
| Richmond upon Thames | £1,657.40 | £2,486.10 | £4,972.20 | £2,372.07 | 4.8 % |
| Havering | £1,616.44 | £2,424.66 | £4,849.32 | £2,313.55 | 4.8 % |
| Waltham Forest | £1,591.31 | £2,386.96 | £4,773.92 | £2,277.65 | 4.8 % |
| Sutton | £1,585.76 | £2,378.64 | £4,757.28 | £2,269.72 | 4.8 % |
| Bexley | £1,577.57 | £2,366.36 | £4,732.72 | £2,258.03 | 4.8 % |
| Haringey | £1,542.52 | £2,313.78 | £4,627.56 | £2,207.94 | 4.8 % |
| Redbridge | £1,529.72 | £2,294.58 | £4,589.16 | £2,189.67 | 4.8 % |
| Enfield | £1,511.78 | £2,267.67 | £4,535.34 | £2,164.02 | 4.8 % |
| Lewisham | £1,491.55 | £2,237.33 | £4,474.66 | £2,135.13 | 4.8 % |
| Brent | £1,490.18 | £2,235.27 | £4,470.54 | £2,133.15 | 4.8 % |
| Camden | £1,471.70 | £2,207.55 | £4,415.10 | £2,106.69 | 4.8 % |
| Barking and Dagenham | £1,465.67 | £2,198.51 | £4,397.02 | £2,098.14 | 4.8 % |
| Hounslow | £1,457.04 | £2,185.56 | £4,371.12 | £2,085.82 | 4.8 % |
| Merton | £1,431.17 | £2,146.76 | £4,293.52 | £2,094.43 | 2.5 % |
| Bromley | £1,426.69 | £2,140.04 | £4,280.08 | £2,042.46 | 4.8 % |
| Ealing | £1,425.69 | £2,138.53 | £4,277.06 | £2,041.02 | 4.8 % |
| Barnet | £1,421.73 | £2,132.60 | £4,265.20 | £2,035.52 | 4.8 % |
| Islington | £1,405.43 | £2,108.15 | £4,216.30 | £2,012.10 | 4.8 % |
| Greenwich | £1,405.24 | £2,107.86 | £4,215.72 | £2,011.81 | 4.8 % |
| Hackney | £1,373.53 | £2,060.30 | £4,120.60 | £1,966.51 | 4.8 % |
| Lambeth | £1,364.74 | £2,047.11 | £4,094.22 | £1,953.95 | 4.8 % |
| Hillingdon | £1,363.64 | £2,045.46 | £4,090.92 | £1,952.38 | 4.8 % |
| Southwark | £1,311.51 | £1,967.26 | £3,934.52 | £1,877.90 | 4.8 % |
| Newham | £1,296.15 | £1,944.23 | £3,888.46 | £1,855.96 | 4.8 % |
| Tower Hamlets | £1,225.19 | £1,837.78 | £3,675.56 | £1,754.57 | 4.7 % |
| Kensington and Chelsea | £1,111.10 | £1,666.65 | £3,333.30 | £1,591.59 | 4.7 % |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | £1,013.01 | £1,519.51 | £3,039.02 | £1,451.42 | 4.7 % |
| City of London | £886.37 | £1,329.56 | £2,659.12 | £1,274.07 | 4.4 % |
| Westminster | £699.70 | £1,049.55 | £2,099.10 | £1,019.00 | 3.0 % |
| Wandsworth | £685.47 | £1,028.21 | £2,056.42 | £997.75 | 3.1 % |
The average Band D charge is £1,782.06 in the 13 inner London authorities and £2,290.29 in the 20 outer boroughs. The difference matters for a family moving across the city: a Band E home costs £1,932 a year more in Kingston upon Thames than in Wandsworth, for exactly the same type of house.
What the Mayor's share pays for
The Greater London Authority precept is set by the Mayor and approved by the London Assembly. At £510.51 for Band D it is about a quarter of the average London bill, and most of it goes to the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime. It is the same in all 32 boroughs, which is why the borough charge alone explains the ranking. London has no parish councils except Queen's Park in Westminster, so the parish share is almost nil.
How fast London bills are rising
Every London borough raised its charge for 2026/27. Most boroughs added close to the 4.99 % allowed without a local referendum, the core limit plus the adult social care precept, and the Greater London Authority added its own increase on top. Because the Mayor's share is a flat sum, it weighs more in a low charging borough: in Wandsworth it is about half the Band D bill, in Kingston upon Thames about a fifth. The column on the right of the table shows each total change against 2025/26, so you can see which boroughs moved least.
How to use the table and the calculator
Find your band on the Valuation Office Agency's search service, then read across. The calculator at the top starts on Lambeth, Band C; choose your borough and band, then say who lives in the home. A single adult saves 25 %, a student-only household pays nothing, and an adapted home for a disabled resident is charged one band lower. Many boroughs charge the maximum premium on second homes and on homes left empty, which the calculator applies when you select them.
Compare the band of the home with the borough, not only the Band D figure. A Band H home in Westminster pays £2,099.10, less than a Band C home in Croydon at £2,311.03.