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

Mine is £231 for a single 75 year old in a 3 bed bungalow. Personally, I always thought that the community charge ‘poll tax’ was fair. All working adults and pensioners paying their share. But there was outcry from (mostly) young people who had never had to pay it beforehand. I have neighbours in a much larger property, with 3 working adults and a pensioner, who are paying much less than I am, again as the property has not been reassessed following enlargement.

Is your house in a posh part of London? What is the square footage?

My house is unfit for a dog size-wise and I have to pay £121 on my 75% if that's any consolation.

Ours is £133 for a tiny two bed terrace, and looking at the state of the town it's hard to see where the money's going. Bin collections are regularly missed, street lamps are always off, roads are full of pot holes. It's miserable living here! I'd rather pay a higher amount but live in an area where the council actually take care of the place.

Band E here, £325 pm. SE, fairly standard end terraced 3 bed house. Wish ours was as low as yours OP.

Mines £300 a month (over 12 months) it's extortionate.

Seems to vary wildly depending on the council. I pay £263/month band D ({without single person discount). It’s a small 3 bed semi.
The roads round here are awful for pot holes so clearly they are spending it on social care with nothing left for the roads which are in a terrible state.

It would probably help to get a balanced view if people felt comfortable listing their council and/or their band, although I quite accept this might be too much to share for some

I am in Runnymede, which has a lower than average age for council residents in England, but also one of the highest average incomes

Band D here is £249/month for 26/27

My 5-bed detached house is Band F, at £292

Looking at the figures people are being expected to pay, I can understand why councils are refusing to put where they rank on the national list on your council tax bill

You can find out the Band D figures here https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/council-tax-levels-set-by-local-authorities-in-england-2026-to-2027

If your council is charging more than average, then publicise this, and persuade people to vote the incumbent councillors out next week

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.

Band D here £220. Local Council slapping extra charges on 2nd home owners this year and read one couple to be charged over £10k pa for their holiday pad.

Public Sector like a pyramid, bottom (often most important layer) not well paid but higher up you go it’s astonishing… not to mention gold plated pensions, severance and sick pay that third and private sector staff could only dream of. Our local Chief Exec gets paid more than the Prime Minister by a considerable margin…

For a 3 bed terrace that banding seems high.
Is it in a "saught after" area of Surrey?

Well there you have it!

Sell up and buy a little house in a grotty area, something like my 2 bed terrace in Hampshire, band B

Mine has just broken the £200 a month barrier after an 8% rise. I shouldn't moan really as that does include our water.

Oh please. Local council salaries are pathetic. And you know public sector workers pay tax too right? Some of those workers can even use punctuation.

There is always loads of stuff about how much the council tax is increasing in national and local media as the end of the financial year approaches so it is a mystery to me why anyone is in the dark about how much their bill is going to be. Council tax used to be my worst bill but it has now been left traillng by the gas, electricity and food costs. At least with the other three you can cut back and shop around a bit to try and mitigate their impact but council tax is non-negotiable. I am not advocating a return of the poll tax but I am incensed that the three working age adults in the house next door to me end up paying £55 each per month (full bill of £167 divided by 3) while I who lve alone and with the 25% reduction pay £134 a month. I know it covers far more than bin collections but they have 2 full size green bins that go out for every collection, whereas I fill a half size green bin every 6 weeks and a half size recycling one every month.

Places that are average pay double, the most expensive pay 2.68x as much as the lowest so you'd have to pay nearly £400 per month if you lived in an expensive council area. The so called 'mansion tax' will balance it out a bit, looking at a Band F house in Wandsworth (cheapest area) they will have to pay an extra £2500 which will mean they are paying the same as someone in Devon (most expensive area).

£420 here. It has gone up quite a bit in recent years.

Mine is now about £370 a month for a 4-bed semi on a very average street. Most houses on the street are 1 or even 2 bands lower. I’ve challenged it but the challenge was turned down. There are people round here living in £2m + houses who only pay a bit more than us. So £232 doesn’t sound too bad to me!

Sounds quite low

Gosh. That's a lot for 3 bed isn't it.

Most of that will be spent on looked after children and children's social care. Imagine resenting sexually and physically abused children being fed and housed.
Have you thought about putting Oliver! on and screaming abuse at the orphans? Might make you feel better. Although they did get jobs as pickpockets so you might like them I guess.

People whinge about public services when tories are in power and whinge about taxes when labour are. Can't have it both ways folks.

including the public sector workers

Here we go again….

Other services should not be neglected though - our bin collections are sporadic, streets covered in fly-tipping , parks are derelict (equipment damaged and not replaced) libraries closed or have part time opening hours !

I am band B and with sole person discount mine is £180 a month.
Hoping to move soon (about 5 miles away into an area with a higher CT charge ) I perceive it worth it though (nicer quality of living )