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

Adult social care makes up the majority of it. The rest is pennies in comparison.

I don’t think ‘poor parenting’ causes the bulk of fire brigade or police call outs.

Plus pension contributions unheard of in the private sector.

Council tax is the one bill I hate the most. Mainly because I can't really control it. I live alone and with the single person discount it's still about £175 per month which seems such a huge number now I have retired. I live in a 3 bed (ha) new build which is very modest. Two tiny doubles and a single. I don't even live in an area with a ton of facilities. The grass never seems to be cut enough by the councils now which pisses me off given how high the bill is. Very annoying when trying to walk the dog.

I want to move house at some point and I will actually take the council tax into account for the first time. Prior to this it has never been a consideration but now it is. It's the bill i really hate paying as I am on a tight budget now and is just seems disproportionately high.

At least it's only 10 months a year. Mine is crazy high and it pisses me off that I pay more than my neighbours who are in a lower band than us but have done massive extensions and added 3 more bedrooms but not been rerated.

It depends on the job. Some jobs are actually higher in the public sector now than they would be in the private. And you’re usually guaranteed a raise every year.

Crikey that's a ripoff! 3 bed house here SE just over 200 per month. Our bins are collected weekly. Out council are pretty good at balancing the books. They are going to amalgamate with other councils soon so I expect it will all go to pot then.

Ask for it to be reviewed. Houses only normally change bands due to extensions etc, when they are sold.

I had a review of a property a few years ago and the band was moved up and I got a rebate of the over payments.

Well okay, whatever. My point is that we got a £4000 + council tax bill out of the blue.

why would just 2 of the 27 houses in our street be band F when the other 25 are band E?
There are two designs of houses in the street, but lots of the houses (all?) have been extended or otherwise modified over the years. It seems odd that just 2 are in band F.

Public sector pay is shite compared to private. Granted we get decent pensions, that just about makes up for it.

Mine is just under £300 - next year it will go over I am sure.

What do I get for it? Streetlights/bin emptying and the library which I have recently started using again.

I'm in Band F - £358 per month for a 2 bedroom flat.

Do you not have any street lighting? No road repairs?

The street lighting is poor and some of the roads are so badly potholed I plan routes to avoid them. But I take your point, it pays for the infrastructure as well as the services you use personally.

Yes, damn all those pesky social workers and OTs.

Do you not have any street lighting? No road repairs? You do know the police and fire service get a percentage don’t you? I’m sure you’d expect the fire brigade to come to you if your house was on fire. What about the care you may need when you’re older? Does your council not have any parks that you’ve walked through ever? They maintain those. Crematorium? That’s the council as well.
Your council tax pays for so much more than refuse collection.

The Council does not decide property splits and rebanding - the Valuation Office Agency does. Your council is just the billing authority and has to bill in accordance with the entries and bandings on the valuation list.

No, we should work for free obviously.

If it makes people feel any better, in real terms we’ve actually had year on year pay cuts.

Wilson/Callaghan economics again...and where did that end up?

And then we do our own 6 bin/bag rubbish arrangements too……we are absolutely robbed.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/sep/12/cost-of-place-in-childrens-care-homes-in-england-hits-almost-320000-a-year

The cost of contracting out to private companies for the care of looked after children and other services is what makes me the most angry. We are all being ripped off to a ridiculous degree. I really don't mind paying my fair share for vital public services (ours is 400 plus a month) but I hate lining the pockets of greedy venture capitalists and other opportunists because multiple government's have failed to plan for and implement sustainable long term solutions.

Ours is £283, I think it’s disgusting!

Yes, mine begins with a 4!

Putting aside care of the elderly, the vast vast majority is paid out due to feckless people failing to bring up their children properly. Police/social services/fire brigade…….

They cost society a fooking fortune.

What annoys me is that the government make a big deal of the cost of living struggles people have due to their increased energy and water bills, but council tax has always been and will always be our households biggest bill and we can’t exactly control usage or shop around to lower the cost. They seem to disregard the fact that council tax is a major outgoing for households and has a huge impact on cost of living and far more in my opinion than utility bills!

It's social care, the bill is rising and is eye watering. I know of one private operator of childrens care homes getting £21,000 a week to look after one child with complex needs. All funded via the Council. There are many of these children. Social care needs a long term plan but politics is very short term. Sorry not the point of your thread but it explains why council tax is rising and will continue to do until Councils build care homes and run them.