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Original poster

Council tax bill - is this wild or are yours insanely high too?

440 replies

Notmycircusnotmyotter · 01/05/2026 12:14

My local council took £232 in direct debit today for council tax. I'll be honest, I don't budget to the pound, so was shocked when I saw it and assumed they had wrongly taken off my single person discount. But nope. £232 is what 75% of the council tax charge is for my 3 bed terrace.

WTAF. This feels insanely high.

please don't tell me all about bankrupt councils and adult social care. I've heard it. I know.

My point is how are ordinary people paying these sorts of bills? I'm a single parent of two on a decent wage and it stings.

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AmIEnough · 11/05/2026 07:30

Ours is about £430 per month! It’s criminal!

Lifeomars · 10/05/2026 17:26

TheGreatDownandOut · 10/05/2026 15:36

ouch! Mine is £125 a month, which includes a single person discount and is over ten months. I live in a 3 bed semi. Eye opening to see how much some are paying!

Mine is £134 a month with single person's discount, I am in a Band A two up two down terrace which opens straight out onto the (filthy) street. It is so run down and grubby where i live that I hate having visitors as it is embarrassing.

TheGreatDownandOut · 10/05/2026 15:36

ouch! Mine is £125 a month, which includes a single person discount and is over ten months. I live in a 3 bed semi. Eye opening to see how much some are paying!

snowmichael · 10/05/2026 15:29

menopausalmare · 07/05/2026 20:42

To be fair to Woking, Spelthorne are pretty skint as well.

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But at least not bankrupt due to massive vanity projects
The two tower blocks in Staines were not underwritten by Spelthorne council

menopausalmare · 07/05/2026 20:42

snowmichael · 03/05/2026 00:25

Well, while we'd be pretty ;pissed offvhere in Runnymede to see our CT bills rise to 'pay for Spelthorne', in reality we're both going to get hammered because of Woking :(

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To be fair to Woking, Spelthorne are pretty skint as well.

MikeRafone · 05/05/2026 20:48

Thechaseison71 · 05/05/2026 20:23

What on earth are you on about?

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Read the posts by 2nd car owner

Shefliesonherownwings · 05/05/2026 20:45

Ours has increased by £50 a month too, so ridiculous. Our electricity tariff ends soon too, dreading what that will go up to.

Thechaseison71 · 05/05/2026 20:23

MikeRafone · 05/05/2026 12:27

That doesn’t have anything to do with in house care & children’s home opposed to cooperate businesses charging extortionate amounts for these services

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What on earth are you on about?

MidnightMeltdown · 05/05/2026 12:39

suburburban · 03/05/2026 21:17

Yes don’t they and I don’t agree with the taxis

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I remember once hearing a taxi driver complaining about this, saying that it was completely ridiculous and unnecessary, and costing the council an absolute fortune!

MikeRafone · 05/05/2026 12:27

Thechaseison71 · 04/05/2026 22:48

Your the one making excuses for people saying they can't be in 2 places at once

What do you suppose happens in you have 2 or 3 kids in different schools that haven't got SEN

And surely that's part of the stuff that FLA etc should cover as it's a cost of disability

Edited
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That doesn’t have anything to do with in house care & children’s home opposed to cooperate businesses charging extortionate amounts for these services

lilkitten · 05/05/2026 12:23

Mine's gone up to £155 (band A, 2 bed terrace), which is up a bit but water has gone up by more, and they now want to meter it which considering there's 4 of us in a 2-bed house will mean a lot more I'm sure. Paperwork should go out in advance for the council (I used to be a councillor, they pretty much were sent a day or two after we voted) but my water one is inaccessible as it's online only and the website is rubbish.

Thechaseison71 · 04/05/2026 22:48

XenoBitch · 04/05/2026 15:02

Then ask the LA. Why are you asking me what the excuse is.

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Your the one making excuses for people saying they can't be in 2 places at once

What do you suppose happens in you have 2 or 3 kids in different schools that haven't got SEN

And surely that's part of the stuff that FLA etc should cover as it's a cost of disability

Jenkibuble · 04/05/2026 17:55

LakieLady · 01/05/2026 16:13

Is that over 10 months or 12, @Jenkibuble ?

It may be too late for this year, but I'm really glad I switched to paying over 12 months. Mine (also band B and with single occupier discount) would be £195 if I was still paying over 10 months.

Apart from public transport, our services are pretty reasonable. The bin men are super efficient, the streets seem pretty clean, libraries have reduced hours but not actually closed down (yet!), the open spaces appear to be clear of litter and mowed regularly. I can't speak for play equipment, but I've never heard anyone griping about it.

Mind you, it's one of those places where the residents' association and other groups organise local litter picks and I've picked up the occasional bottle or can that's been dumped and put it in my own bin, so maybe the clean streets aren't all down to the council.

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10 months

suburburban · 04/05/2026 15:09

Thechaseison71 · 04/05/2026 14:49

Not always I know on 2 taxi kids due to sen. Both are only children. What's your excuse for that

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It’s probably because they can but I don’t agree with it.

XenoBitch · 04/05/2026 15:02

Thechaseison71 · 04/05/2026 15:01

Why ask the parents? They didn't ask for the taxi, the LA sent it.

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Then ask the LA. Why are you asking me what the excuse is.

Thechaseison71 · 04/05/2026 15:01

XenoBitch · 04/05/2026 15:00

Ask the parents?

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Why ask the parents? They didn't ask for the taxi, the LA sent it.

XenoBitch · 04/05/2026 15:00

Thechaseison71 · 04/05/2026 14:49

Not always I know on 2 taxi kids due to sen. Both are only children. What's your excuse for that

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Ask the parents?

Thechaseison71 · 04/05/2026 14:49

XenoBitch · 03/05/2026 21:20

Have you spoken to anyone who needs taxis for their SEN kids?
They use their car to get their non-SEN kids to school, and a taxi takes their SEN kid to their particular school, which is often not local.
A parent can not be in two places at once.

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Not always I know on 2 taxi kids due to sen. Both are only children. What's your excuse for that

CloudyVenus · 04/05/2026 13:24

Ours is now £137ish, with no reduction. A lot better than some people's here! Although we are band A. We do live in a house though, a 2 bed but even 3 beds on the same street are the same bracket I think

stargirl1701 · 04/05/2026 12:39

£416 here in Perthshire for us.

HPFA · 04/05/2026 12:32

These figures on council pensions are nonsense.

You might equally say none of your council tax goes on pensions, if you assume it all comes from cash given by central government.

There are also deductions made from each employee's salary, and it is actually compulsory for an employer to provide a pension scheme. So even if you make the schemes less "generous" there will still be costs. Plus in the short term the amount employers have to put in to the scheme would likely increase if the scheme was less attractive. Because then people decide not to join, less money comes in yet all the accrued benefits still have to be paid.

Tigerbalmshark · 04/05/2026 12:14

FruAashild · 03/05/2026 19:51

It's Shetland, in Orkney it's less than 100% but still high. Both have good local services that most places can only dream of though. Council tax is not a council's only source of income which is why council tax varies so much from area to area. So, for example, in some urban areas commercial rates are a much higher percentage of that coucil's income that the council tax. Shetland has large reserves due to its historic oil and gas income (it has one of the largest oil facilities in Europe) and uses these to shore up the shortfall in income. Orkney has a high income from harbour charges, it's world class historic sites means it's a popular stop for cruise ships.

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Exactly, people are using “100% of the total council tax take”, as if that is equivalent to “100% of council income”.

In reality, it is the same as me saying I spent all of DS’s child benefit money this month on cello lessons. Which is technically true, but luckily we have two incomes coming in as well so perfectly affordable.

Cherriesandapples1 · 04/05/2026 09:20

Friendlygingercat · 03/05/2026 01:43

Mine is 160 with the single person discount:( bills do not work well for single income households.

It does not take a mathematical genius to see that the single person discount should be 50% to be fair, The entire rotten system is built around the assumption of a two‑adult household. Families receive more state support. Single, childfree adults pay proportionally more and use proportionately less servces, When this is pointed out, that single people are effectively subsidising families then they feel accused. They cant handle it. So they reach for a moral justification rather than a factual one.

The obtuse argument that "my children will pay your pension and wipe your bum falls down completely.

Having children is not a public service and a pension is not a reward for having cvhildren.

Your children are not going to personally "look after" me. This is not an argument. Its a deflection. There is no gaurantee that your children will ever find jobs or contribute to the community. They could grow up to be criminals, drug addicts or have "mebtal health" problems and put nothing into society. Children suck up huge resources and generate waste. They spread disease. But their parents pay nothig extra.

Edited

Do you realise you were once one of those resource sucking children? What would you suggest we do with the children who have been abused or neglected by their parents, chuck them out on the streets to fend for themselves
You may not need social care help yourself yet, but what about elderly neighbours that haven't got the funds to pay for their own care? Just let them die without dignity or care?

Snakebite61 · 04/05/2026 08:16

Notmycircusnotmyotter · 01/05/2026 12:14

My local council took £232 in direct debit today for council tax. I'll be honest, I don't budget to the pound, so was shocked when I saw it and assumed they had wrongly taken off my single person discount. But nope. £232 is what 75% of the council tax charge is for my 3 bed terrace.

WTAF. This feels insanely high.

please don't tell me all about bankrupt councils and adult social care. I've heard it. I know.

My point is how are ordinary people paying these sorts of bills? I'm a single parent of two on a decent wage and it stings.

Is it a reform council? 🤣

Ladygodalmighty · 04/05/2026 00:10

Our council tax increased by 7.5% The local Council carried out research asking residents what their essential priorities were and the following was the result:
Supporting our older and vulnerable people, supporting our children and families, maintaining our roads, open and public spaces, schools and nurseries, children’s play areas, parks, gardens, open spaces and libraries.
.