By region
South East council tax 2026/27
England's largest region by number of councils, and the one where the upper bands matter most.
Reading, Band D, 2026/27
£2,613a year
First payment £263.77, then 9 of £261.00
| Band D charge | £2,612.77 |
| Bill for the year | £2,612.77 |
Band D at 9/9 of Band D.
Where the council tax goes
How Reading compares
Band D here is £2,612.77, number 27 of 296 in England (1 = dearest). The same band in Wandsworth, the cheapest, costs £1,028 on the same terms.
Think the band is wrong? How a band challenge works
The South East has 64 billing authorities for 2026/27, more than any other English region: 51 districts in six two-tier counties and 13 unitary councils. Band D for two adults runs from £1,952.62 in Windsor and Maidenhead to £2,756.17 in Lewes, with a simple average of £2,475.45. Windsor and Maidenhead remains the cheapest council outside London even though the government allowed it a rise of up to 7.5 % on its own share this year. The East Sussex districts sit at the top, because East Sussex County Council's share is among the highest of any county. Homes in the region are spread more evenly across the bands than in the North, and many are in Bands E to H: for them, the bill is well above the Band D figure.
Figures checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the bill is worked out
All 64 councils
| Council | Band A | Band D | Band H | Band D 2025/26 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lewes | £1,837.45 | £2,756.17 | £5,512.34 | £2,627.39 | 4.9 % |
| Wealden | £1,818.95 | £2,728.43 | £5,456.86 | £2,608.44 | 4.6 % |
| Rother | £1,800.63 | £2,700.95 | £5,401.90 | £2,561.29 | 5.5 % |
| Oxford | £1,785.60 | £2,678.40 | £5,356.80 | £2,557.13 | 4.7 % |
| Hastings | £1,784.39 | £2,676.58 | £5,353.16 | £2,554.14 | 4.8 % |
| Eastbourne | £1,769.52 | £2,654.28 | £5,308.56 | £2,532.49 | 4.8 % |
| Isle of Wight | £1,750.53 | £2,625.79 | £5,251.58 | £2,493.36 | 5.3 % |
| Reading | £1,741.85 | £2,612.77 | £5,225.54 | £2,487.11 | 5.1 % |
| Waverley | £1,736.58 | £2,604.87 | £5,209.74 | £2,483.85 | 4.9 % |
| Woking | £1,732.03 | £2,598.04 | £5,196.08 | £2,482.03 | 4.7 % |
| South Oxfordshire | £1,731.71 | £2,597.57 | £5,195.14 | £2,474.44 | 5.0 % |
| Tandridge | £1,729.90 | £2,594.85 | £5,189.70 | £2,471.62 | 5.0 % |
| Surrey Heath | £1,723.44 | £2,585.16 | £5,170.32 | £2,467.86 | 4.8 % |
| Cherwell | £1,721.97 | £2,582.96 | £5,165.92 | £2,463.87 | 4.8 % |
| Brighton and Hove | £1,720.36 | £2,580.54 | £5,161.08 | £2,456.78 | 5.0 % |
| Vale of White Horse | £1,718.29 | £2,577.44 | £5,154.88 | £2,456.82 | 4.9 % |
| West Oxfordshire | £1,711.30 | £2,566.95 | £5,133.90 | £2,443.88 | 5.0 % |
| Reigate and Banstead | £1,711.07 | £2,566.61 | £5,133.22 | £2,459.20 | 4.4 % |
| Elmbridge | £1,705.17 | £2,557.75 | £5,115.50 | £2,442.92 | 4.7 % |
| Adur | £1,698.85 | £2,548.28 | £5,096.56 | £2,432.50 | 4.8 % |
| Guildford | £1,698.20 | £2,547.30 | £5,094.60 | £2,428.89 | 4.9 % |
| Folkestone and Hythe | £1,692.50 | £2,538.75 | £5,077.50 | £2,437.35 | 4.2 % |
| Epsom and Ewell | £1,687.23 | £2,530.84 | £5,061.68 | £2,416.84 | 4.7 % |
| Buckinghamshire | £1,684.39 | £2,526.58 | £5,053.16 | £2,401.53 | 5.2 % |
| Spelthorne | £1,684.29 | £2,526.44 | £5,052.88 | £2,412.78 | 4.7 % |
| Sevenoaks | £1,681.57 | £2,522.36 | £5,044.72 | £2,419.44 | 4.3 % |
| Mole Valley | £1,679.91 | £2,519.86 | £5,039.72 | £2,405.75 | 4.7 % |
| West Berkshire | £1,670.25 | £2,505.37 | £5,010.74 | £2,382.84 | 5.1 % |
| Maidstone | £1,668.39 | £2,502.59 | £5,005.18 | £2,403.78 | 4.1 % |
| Wokingham | £1,665.13 | £2,497.70 | £4,995.40 | £2,376.11 | 5.1 % |
| Runnymede | £1,661.99 | £2,492.99 | £4,985.98 | £2,380.06 | 4.7 % |
| Thanet | £1,660.60 | £2,490.90 | £4,981.80 | £2,391.23 | 4.2 % |
| Arun | £1,658.16 | £2,487.24 | £4,974.48 | £2,371.09 | 4.9 % |
| Mid Sussex | £1,649.51 | £2,474.26 | £4,948.52 | £2,356.49 | 5.0 % |
| Tonbridge and Malling | £1,647.89 | £2,471.83 | £4,943.66 | £2,374.77 | 4.1 % |
| Chichester | £1,646.45 | £2,469.68 | £4,939.36 | £2,346.40 | 5.3 % |
| Dover | £1,641.16 | £2,461.74 | £4,923.48 | £2,364.45 | 4.1 % |
| Worthing | £1,637.42 | £2,456.13 | £4,912.26 | £2,343.12 | 4.8 % |
| Tunbridge Wells | £1,630.77 | £2,446.15 | £4,892.30 | £2,347.20 | 4.2 % |
| Horsham | £1,627.34 | £2,441.01 | £4,882.02 | £2,321.54 | 5.1 % |
| New Forest | £1,613.17 | £2,419.76 | £4,839.52 | £2,303.37 | 5.1 % |
| Canterbury | £1,612.89 | £2,419.33 | £4,838.66 | £2,321.73 | 4.2 % |
| Crawley | £1,612.31 | £2,418.46 | £4,836.92 | £2,306.49 | 4.9 % |
| Slough | £1,609.63 | £2,414.44 | £4,828.88 | £2,298.55 | 5.0 % |
| Ashford | £1,606.77 | £2,410.16 | £4,820.32 | £2,311.19 | 4.3 % |
| Gravesham | £1,605.49 | £2,408.24 | £4,816.48 | £2,313.06 | 4.1 % |
| Swale | £1,603.77 | £2,405.65 | £4,811.30 | £2,305.72 | 4.3 % |
| Hart | £1,600.01 | £2,400.02 | £4,800.04 | £2,285.15 | 5.0 % |
| Southampton | £1,587.65 | £2,381.48 | £4,762.96 | £2,266.44 | 5.1 % |
| Dartford | £1,583.43 | £2,375.15 | £4,750.30 | £2,280.55 | 4.1 % |
| Milton Keynes | £1,581.47 | £2,372.21 | £4,744.42 | £2,257.98 | 5.1 % |
| Winchester | £1,573.17 | £2,359.76 | £4,719.52 | £2,251.22 | 4.8 % |
| Gosport | £1,562.86 | £2,344.29 | £4,688.58 | £2,236.14 | 4.8 % |
| East Hampshire | £1,562.61 | £2,343.92 | £4,687.84 | £2,231.64 | 5.0 % |
| Eastleigh | £1,561.47 | £2,342.21 | £4,684.42 | £2,227.68 | 5.1 % |
| Medway | £1,552.37 | £2,328.55 | £4,657.10 | £2,215.38 | 5.1 % |
| Havant | £1,546.85 | £2,320.28 | £4,640.56 | £2,212.89 | 4.9 % |
| Rushmoor | £1,546.85 | £2,320.28 | £4,640.56 | £2,212.82 | 4.9 % |
| Test Valley | £1,537.01 | £2,305.52 | £4,611.04 | £2,196.53 | 5.0 % |
| Portsmouth | £1,527.81 | £2,291.71 | £4,583.42 | £2,180.92 | 5.1 % |
| Fareham | £1,513.70 | £2,270.55 | £4,541.10 | £2,164.55 | 4.9 % |
| Bracknell Forest | £1,509.87 | £2,264.80 | £4,529.60 | £2,155.21 | 5.1 % |
| Basingstoke and Deane | £1,503.47 | £2,255.21 | £4,510.42 | £2,147.87 | 5.0 % |
| Windsor and Maidenhead | £1,301.75 | £1,952.62 | £3,905.24 | £1,823.50 | 7.1 % |
The six counties
| County | Districts | County share at Band D | Average Band D |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kent | 12 | £1,758.60 | £2,454.40 |
| Hampshire | 11 | £1,690.11 | £2,334.71 |
| Surrey | 11 | £1,938.42 | £2,556.79 |
| West Sussex | 7 | £1,890.36 | £2,470.72 |
| East Sussex | 5 | £1,960.29 | £2,703.28 |
| Oxfordshire | 5 | £2,006.78 | £2,600.66 |
Inside a county, the county share is identical, so the differences between districts come from their own charges and their parishes. Districts typically keep only a few hundred pounds of a Band D bill: in Guildford, £210.19 out of £2,547.30.
Upper bands
A large share of South East homes were worth more than £120,000 in 1991, the top of Band E, so Bands F, G and H are common in Surrey, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. In those bands the bill is thirteen, fifteen or eighteen ninths of Band D. A Band G home in Elmbridge pays £4,262.92 for 2026/27; the same band in Windsor and Maidenhead £3,254.37. If you think a home is in too high a band, the challenge guide explains the evidence needed.
Kent and Hampshire: the two largest counties
Kent has 12 districts and Hampshire 11, the two largest numbers in the region. Their county shares are the two lowest of the six counties, so bills in many of their districts sit in the lower half of the table. Medway, inside Kent, and Portsmouth and Southampton, inside Hampshire, are unitary cities with their own single charge but the same police and fire precepts as the county around them. A Band C home in Medway pays £2,069.82, against £2,224.52 in Maidstone, a few miles away.
Sussex
East Sussex districts head the regional table: Lewes at £2,756.17 and Wealden at £2,728.43. Both have substantial parish precepts as well as the county's high share. West Sussex districts are cheaper by £233 at Band D on average, and Brighton and Hove, a unitary city between the two counties, charges £2,580.54.
Unitary councils
The 13 unitary councils include the Berkshire six, which replaced Berkshire County Council in 1998, the cities of Brighton and Hove, Portsmouth and Southampton, Medway, Milton Keynes, the Isle of Wight and Buckinghamshire, unitary since 2020.
Using the calculator
The calculator above opens on Reading, Band D. Choose your council, band and household, and read the yearly bill, the monthly instalments and the split between county, district, police and fire. For homes with a self-contained annex, common in the region, see the annex guide.