By council
Wiltshire council tax 2026/27
One unitary council for the whole county, and more than two hundred town and parish councils that each add their own precept.
Wiltshire, Band E, 2026/27
£3,143a year
First payment £317.29, then 9 of £314.00
| Band E charge | £3,143.29 |
| Bill for the year | £3,143.29 |
Band E at 11/9 of Band D.
Where the council tax goes
How Wiltshire compares
Band D here is £2,571.78, number 52 of 296 in England (1 = dearest). The same band in Wandsworth, the cheapest, costs £1,257 on the same terms.
Think the band is wrong? How a band challenge works
The average Band D council tax in Wiltshire for 2026/27 is £2,571.78, 5.3 % higher than the £2,443.40 charged in 2025/26. The word average matters here: Wiltshire has 252 town and parish councils, and their precepts add a mean of £195.41 at Band D, so the real figure on a bill depends on the parish where the home stands. The rest of the Band D total is £1,981.15 for Wiltshire Council, which includes £37.74 of adult social care precept, £298.27 for the police and £96.95 for fire and rescue. A Band E home, where the calculator starts, pays £3,143.29 with two adults, or £317.29 in April followed by nine payments of £314.00. A family annex lived in by a relative can be exempt or receive 50 % off, a rule that often matters in a rural county.
Figures checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the bill is worked out
Wiltshire charges by band, before the parish adjustment
| Band | Share of D | Two adults | Living alone | Each of 10 payments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band A | 6/9 | £1,714.52 | £1,285.89 | £171.45 |
| Band B | 7/9 | £2,000.27 | £1,500.20 | £200.03 |
| Band C | 8/9 | £2,286.03 | £1,714.52 | £228.60 |
| Band D | 9/9 | £2,571.78 | £1,928.83 | £257.18 |
| Band E | 11/9 | £3,143.29 | £2,357.47 | £314.33 |
| Band F | 13/9 | £3,714.79 | £2,786.09 | £371.48 |
| Band G | 15/9 | £4,286.30 | £3,214.72 | £428.63 |
| Band H | 18/9 | £5,143.56 | £3,857.67 | £514.36 |
Read this table as a county average. The council publishes a separate set of band charges for each town and parish, because the precept differs in each one. Parish precepts make up 7.6 % of the average Band D bill in Wiltshire, a far larger share than in most of England, where many urban areas have no parish at all.
Town and parish councils
Wiltshire Council runs the main services across the whole county, from schools to waste collection, while each town or parish council decides its own budget for local facilities and sets a precept to pay for it. A town council that runs open spaces or community buildings needs more than a small village that funds a hall and a clerk. The result is a wide spread of local charges on top of the £2,376.37 that every Band D home pays to Wiltshire Council, the police and fire. Your annual bill names the parish and shows its line separately, so it is the best way to see what you pay; the calculator above uses the county average.
Wiltshire and its neighbours
The comparison below includes the parish column, which explains part of the differences. Wiltshire ranks 11 of 27 South West councils by Band D, from the dearest, and the South West page has the full list.
| Council | Parish average at D | Band D | Band E | Change on 2025/26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dorset | £139.59 | £2,765.02 | £3,379.47 | 5.1 % |
| Wiltshire | £195.41 | £2,571.78 | £3,143.29 | 5.3 % |
| Somerset | £191.82 | £2,560.59 | £3,129.61 | 5.0 % |
| South Gloucestershire | £119.25 | £2,550.59 | £3,117.39 | 5.1 % |
| Swindon | £176.38 | £2,438.10 | £2,979.90 | 5.2 % |
| Cotswold | £123.68 | £2,391.65 | £2,923.13 | 5.0 % |
| Bath and North East Somerset | £65.76 | £2,383.42 | £2,913.07 | 5.2 % |
| Test Valley | £51.35 | £2,305.52 | £2,817.86 | 5.0 % |
Annexes on farms and family homes
Converted barns, stables and garages used by relatives are a frequent case in the countryside. If an annexe has its own kitchen and bathroom it is usually banded separately by the Valuation Office Agency. The Exempt Dwellings Order removes the charge entirely when the annexe is lived in by a dependent relative of the main household, for instance a parent aged 65 or over. Otherwise, an annexe used by a family member or as part of the main home receives a 50 % discount, so a Band A annexe would cost about £857 a year at the average county rate. The annexes guide sets out each case.
Second homes and empty homes
English councils may add up to 100 % on second homes and between 100 % and 300 % on long-term empty homes, depending on how long they have been empty. Check Wiltshire Council's own decision for 2026/27 before relying on a figure, then select the case in the calculator and type the rate. The GOV.UK rules and the second home guide explain who is caught and the exceptions.