By region
West Midlands council tax 2026/27
Seven metropolitan boroughs, four unitary councils and three two-tier counties, two of which were allowed to raise bills by up to nine per cent.
Wolverhampton, Band B, 2026/27
£1,975a year
First payment £201.77, then 9 of £197.00
| Band B charge | £1,974.77 |
| Bill for the year | £1,974.77 |
Band B at 7/9 of Band D.
Where the council tax goes
How Wolverhampton compares
Band D here is £2,538.99, number 69 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
The West Midlands region has 30 billing authorities for 2026/27, with Band D charges from £2,144.84 in Dudley to £2,627.48 in Walsall for a home with two adults, and a simple average of £2,399.67. The seven metropolitan boroughs, Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton, share the same police and fire precepts, so their bills differ only by the councils' own charges. Two councils in the region received special referendum limits this year: Shropshire 9 % and Worcestershire County Council 9 %. The Worcestershire limit applies to the county's share, which reaches every district below it, so Worcester, Wychavon and Wyre Forest had among the largest total rises in England. Staffordshire and Warwickshire districts have two-tier bills too, while Herefordshire, Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and Stoke-on-Trent are unitary.
Figures checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the bill is worked out
All 30 councils
| Council | Band A | Band D | Band H | Band D 2025/26 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walsall | £1,751.65 | £2,627.48 | £5,254.96 | £2,498.27 | 5.2 % |
| Herefordshire | £1,716.25 | £2,574.37 | £5,148.74 | £2,449.17 | 5.1 % |
| Wolverhampton | £1,692.66 | £2,538.99 | £5,077.98 | £2,413.98 | 5.2 % |
| North Warwickshire | £1,688.07 | £2,532.10 | £5,064.20 | £2,431.78 | 4.1 % |
| Shropshire | £1,685.45 | £2,528.18 | £5,056.36 | £2,318.80 | 9.0 % |
| Coventry | £1,677.81 | £2,516.72 | £5,033.44 | £2,413.68 | 4.3 % |
| Wyre Forest | £1,674.98 | £2,512.47 | £5,024.94 | £2,327.49 | 7.9 % |
| Nuneaton and Bedworth | £1,668.11 | £2,502.16 | £5,004.32 | £2,398.13 | 4.3 % |
| Stratford-on-Avon | £1,656.11 | £2,484.17 | £4,968.34 | £2,379.91 | 4.4 % |
| Rugby | £1,655.37 | £2,483.05 | £4,966.10 | £2,378.04 | 4.4 % |
| Bromsgrove | £1,652.43 | £2,478.65 | £4,957.30 | £2,302.72 | 7.6 % |
| Redditch | £1,641.97 | £2,462.95 | £4,925.90 | £2,289.33 | 7.6 % |
| Warwick | £1,641.03 | £2,461.55 | £4,923.10 | £2,356.53 | 4.5 % |
| Malvern Hills | £1,633.95 | £2,450.92 | £4,901.84 | £2,280.82 | 7.5 % |
| Worcester | £1,603.87 | £2,405.81 | £4,811.62 | £2,233.93 | 7.7 % |
| Cannock Chase | £1,583.89 | £2,375.83 | £4,751.66 | £2,282.30 | 4.1 % |
| Wychavon | £1,582.13 | £2,373.19 | £4,746.38 | £2,200.98 | 7.8 % |
| Birmingham | £1,575.27 | £2,362.90 | £4,725.80 | £2,245.41 | 5.2 % |
| Lichfield | £1,567.93 | £2,351.90 | £4,703.80 | £2,259.21 | 4.1 % |
| East Staffordshire | £1,567.56 | £2,351.34 | £4,702.68 | £2,257.48 | 4.2 % |
| Staffordshire Moorlands | £1,558.81 | £2,338.21 | £4,676.42 | £2,240.43 | 4.4 % |
| Newcastle-under-Lyme | £1,556.17 | £2,334.25 | £4,668.50 | £2,244.85 | 4.0 % |
| South Staffordshire | £1,542.45 | £2,313.67 | £4,627.34 | £2,219.66 | 4.2 % |
| Stafford | £1,535.12 | £2,302.68 | £4,605.36 | £2,210.78 | 4.2 % |
| Tamworth | £1,533.84 | £2,300.76 | £4,601.52 | £2,209.81 | 4.1 % |
| Telford and Wrekin | £1,504.17 | £2,256.26 | £4,512.52 | £2,146.19 | 5.1 % |
| Sandwell | £1,496.31 | £2,244.46 | £4,488.92 | £2,133.45 | 5.2 % |
| Solihull | £1,464.84 | £2,197.26 | £4,394.52 | £2,087.81 | 5.2 % |
| Stoke-on-Trent | £1,455.41 | £2,183.12 | £4,366.24 | £2,078.34 | 5.0 % |
| Dudley | £1,429.89 | £2,144.84 | £4,289.68 | £2,038.57 | 5.2 % |
Worcestershire's higher limit, district by district
Worcestershire County Council's share is the same in each of its 6 districts, so its larger rise moved all of them up together. Their total Band D changes for 2026/27: Bromsgrove 7.6 %, Malvern Hills 7.5 %, Redditch 7.6 %, Worcester 7.7 %, Wychavon 7.8 %, Wyre Forest 7.9 %. In Wychavon the county takes £1,760.80 of a £2,373.19 Band D bill; the district itself only £128.21.
Shropshire and the Marches
Shropshire and Herefordshire are large rural unitary councils with many parishes: 190 and 242 respectively, averaging £128.15 and £93.01 at Band D. Both share West Mercia Police with Worcestershire and Telford and Wrekin, at £306.50 at Band D.
The metropolitan boroughs
The West Midlands police and fire precepts add £329.69 at Band D in all seven boroughs. Birmingham, the largest council in England by population, charges £2,362.90. Coventry charges £2,516.72, and Solihull, with its 16 parishes, £2,197.26.
Staffordshire and Warwickshire
Staffordshire's eight districts and Warwickshire's five each pay their county's share plus their own. Stoke-on-Trent, a unitary city inside Staffordshire, has one of the lowest Band D charges in the region at £2,183.12, and most of its homes are in Band A.
What a typical home pays
Band D is a poor guide to the bills most households in the region receive. In the Black Country and Stoke-on-Trent most homes are in Bands A and B, which pay six and seven ninths of Band D; in Solihull, Warwickshire and the rural districts of Worcestershire and Shropshire many more are in Bands D to F. A Band B home in Sandwell pays £1,745.69 for 2026/27, a Band E home in Stratford-on-Avon £3,036.21. The table above shows Band A and the top band for each council, so you can see both ends of the scale before choosing your own band in the calculator.
The single person discount, the student exemption and the Disabled Band Reduction apply in the same way in every council of the region; only the premiums on second and empty homes depend on each council's own decision.
Using the calculator
The calculator above opens on Wolverhampton, Band B. Choose your council and band, then the household, to see the 2026/27 bill and its monthly instalments.