Council tax bands and valuation
Your band decides your bill. Bands in England and Scotland are still based on what homes were worth in 1991, and a wrong band can cost hundreds of pounds a year. Challenging one is free, but it is not risk-free.
In short
- Bands in England and Scotland are still based on 1991 values, and many are wrong.
- One band too high costs about £266 to £797 a year at this year's average English bill.
- A challenge is free, but your band can go up as well as down, so check the evidence first.
- A band challenge does not pause arrears recovery. Keep paying, or agree an arrangement.
Every home in England, Wales and Scotland is placed in a council tax band. Your council sets the amount for each band every year, and your band decides which of those amounts you pay, before any discounts or reductions.
What band am I? Your band is on your council tax bill. You can also look it up, free, for any home: in England and Wales with the Valuation Office Agency’s “Check your council tax band” service on GOV.UK, and in Scotland on the Scottish Assessors’ website.
If your band is too high, you pay too much every single year, and the difference is larger than most people expect. If it has been wrong since you moved in, a successful challenge can bring a refund going back to that date.
How your band turns into a bill
Each council sets a charge for Band D. Every other band is a fixed fraction of Band D, set in law. So a Band A home in England always pays two-thirds of the Band D charge, and a Band H home always pays twice it.
For 2026 to 2027, the average Band D charge was:
- England: £2,392, up 4.9% on the year before
- Wales: £2,283, up 4.8%
Those averages include the police and parish or community council parts of the bill. Your own council’s figure may be higher or lower.
What one band is worth
Because each band is a fixed fraction of Band D, you can work out what a wrong band costs. The chart starts at the 2026 to 2027 average for England. Put in your own council’s Band D charge to see your figures.
It is on your bill, or on your council’s website.
- A £1,595 Up to £40,000 in 1991
- B £1,860 £40,001 to £52,000 in 1991
- C £2,126 £52,001 to £68,000 in 1991
- D £2,392 £68,001 to £88,000 in 1991
- E £2,924 £88,001 to £120,000 in 1991
- F £3,455 £120,001 to £160,000 in 1991
- G £3,987 £160,001 to £320,000 in 1991
- H £4,784 Over £320,000 in 1991
One band lower saves about £266 a year in Bands A to D, £532 in Bands E to G, and £797 in Band H.
Over ten years in the wrong band, that is roughly £2,700 to £8,000. Your own figures will depend on your council’s Band D charge, but the scale is the point: this is not a rounding error.
The band values
Bands are based on what a property would have sold for on a fixed date, not on what it is worth now.
- England: 1 April 1991
- Scotland: 1 April 1991
- Wales: 1 April 2003
England and Scotland have never been revalued. Wales was revalued once, which is why it has a ninth band, Band I.
England
| Band | Value on 1 April 1991 | Share of Band D |
|---|---|---|
| A | Up to £40,000 | 6/9 |
| B | £40,001 to £52,000 | 7/9 |
| C | £52,001 to £68,000 | 8/9 |
| D | £68,001 to £88,000 | 9/9 |
| E | £88,001 to £120,000 | 11/9 |
| F | £120,001 to £160,000 | 13/9 |
| G | £160,001 to £320,000 | 15/9 |
| H | Over £320,000 | 18/9 |
Wales
| Band | Value on 1 April 2003 | Share of Band D |
|---|---|---|
| A | Up to £44,000 | 6/9 |
| B | £44,001 to £65,000 | 7/9 |
| C | £65,001 to £91,000 | 8/9 |
| D | £91,001 to £123,000 | 9/9 |
| E | £123,001 to £162,000 | 11/9 |
| F | £162,001 to £223,000 | 13/9 |
| G | £223,001 to £324,000 | 15/9 |
| H | £324,001 to £424,000 | 18/9 |
| I | Over £424,000 | 21/9 |
Scotland
Scotland changed the fractions for its higher bands in April 2017, so Bands E to H pay proportionately more than in England.
| Band | Value on 1 April 1991 | Share of Band D |
|---|---|---|
| A | Up to £27,000 | 240/360 |
| B | £27,001 to £35,000 | 280/360 |
| C | £35,001 to £45,000 | 320/360 |
| D | £45,001 to £58,000 | 360/360 |
| E | £58,001 to £80,000 | 473/360 |
| F | £80,001 to £106,000 | 585/360 |
| G | £106,001 to £212,000 | 705/360 |
| H | Over £212,000 | 882/360 |
Why so many bands are wrong
The original valuations in England and Scotland were done in a very short time in the early 1990s, for around 20 million homes in England alone. Valuers often worked from the outside of properties, a street at a time, and homes that looked alike were banded alike.
That is why errors tend to cluster. If one house on a street is in the wrong band, its neighbours may be too. It is also why a band that has never been questioned is not necessarily a band that is right.
Bands can also go wrong later, for example when a property is split into flats, merged, or wrongly recorded after building work.
Is your band worth checking?
Two checks, both free, will tell you whether a challenge is worth considering.
1. Compare with similar homes nearby
Bands are public. Look up your street on the Valuation Office Agency’s Check your Council Tax band service in England and Wales, or on the Scottish Assessors website in Scotland.
Look for homes that are genuinely similar to yours: the same type, size, age and style, in the same street or estate. If homes that are materially the same as yours are in a lower band, that is the strongest single sign that yours may be wrong.
Be honest about the differences. A neighbour’s house in a lower band may be smaller, have no garage, or have been extended only after 1991.
2. Estimate what your home was worth on the valuation date
Take the price your home sold for at some point, then use a house price index for your region to work back to 1 April 1991 (or 1 April 2003 in Wales). Compare the answer with the band values above.
This is only a rough guide, because house prices do not move evenly. But if your estimate lands comfortably inside a lower band, and similar homes nearby are in that lower band too, you have the beginnings of a case.
Neither check proves anything on its own. Both together make a case worth putting.
A challenge can go up as well as down. When your band is reviewed, it is looked at afresh. If the review finds your home is actually in too low a band, your band can be increased, and similar homes nearby can be reviewed too. Only challenge where the evidence genuinely points towards a lower band.
How to challenge your band in England and Wales
Bands in England and Wales are set by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), not by your council. Your council collects the tax, but it cannot change your band.
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Step 1
Check before you challenge
Compare genuinely similar homes nearby, and estimate what your home was worth on the valuation date.
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Step 2
Proposal or band review
A formal proposal if you became the taxpayer, or the band changed, in the last six months. Otherwise a band review.
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Step 3
Send your evidence to the VOA
Addresses of comparable homes in a lower band, and any sale prices from around the valuation date.
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Up to 6 months, or 12 for a review
The VOA decides
Your band can go down, stay the same, or go up.
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Within 3 months
Appeal if you disagree
To the Valuation Tribunal, after a formal proposal. It is free.
When you have a legal right to challenge
You can make a formal challenge, called a proposal, if:
- you have been paying council tax on the property for less than six months, or
- your band has been changed in the last six months, or
- the property or the area around it has physically changed, for example the home has been demolished, split into flats or merged, or something in the local area has changed its value. This can be done at any time.
The VOA aims to decide a formal proposal within six months.
When you do not have a legal right to challenge
You can still ask the VOA to look at your band. This is called a band review. You will need to give evidence that the band is wrong, and it can take up to 12 months, and it does not carry the same right of appeal to the tribunal that a formal proposal does.
What evidence to send
The VOA wants evidence that your home would have sold for less than the lower limit of its band on the valuation date. The most useful evidence is:
- addresses of similar homes nearby in a lower band, with an explanation of why they are comparable
- sale prices of your home or similar homes, ideally from around the valuation date
- details of your property: its size, type, condition and anything unusual about it
Opinions about what your home is worth today are not evidence. Nor is the amount of your bill, or what you can afford.
If you disagree with the decision
If the VOA turns down a formal proposal, you can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal for England or the Valuation Tribunal for Wales. You normally have three months from the date of the VOA’s decision notice. The tribunal is free, independent, and does not award costs against you.
How to challenge your band in Scotland
In Scotland, bands are set by your local Assessor, not the VOA. You can make a proposal to the Assessor in similar circumstances: within six months of becoming the taxpayer, within six months of a band change, or where there has been a material change to the property.
If you disagree with the Assessor’s decision, the appeal goes to the Local Taxation Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland.
If your band is reduced
Your council will recalculate your bill and refund or credit the overpayment.
How far back the refund goes depends on why the band was wrong. Where the band has been wrong from the start, the reduction is usually backdated to the date you became the council taxpayer at that address, or to 1 April 1993 if you have lived there since council tax began. Previous occupiers can claim for the years they lived there.
A refund can be used to clear arrears on the same account. Ask your council to confirm how it has been applied.
If you have extended or improved your home
Building work does not change your band straight away. In England and Wales, an extension or improvement that would put the property in a higher band is normally only taken into account when the home is next sold. The buyer may then find the band goes up.
The exception is where a property is split or merged, for example a house converted into flats or two flats knocked into one. That changes the banding straight away, because the properties themselves have changed.
Banding when you are in arrears
If you are behind with council tax and you think your band is wrong, deal with both, but treat them as separate matters. The VOA or Assessor decides the band. Your council collects the tax. A band challenge does not pause recovery action, and the council cannot hold off because you have asked for a review.
Keep paying at the current band while the challenge is looked at, or agree an arrangement on the arrears. If the band is later reduced, the overpayment will be refunded or credited against what you owe.
What is changing
Wales: a planned revaluation
The Local Government Finance (Wales) Act 2024 provides for Welsh homes to be revalued in 2028 and every five years after that, with the possibility of new bands. In 2026 the Welsh Government declined to confirm that the 2028 date will be kept, so treat it as planned rather than certain.
England: a surcharge on homes worth £2 million or more
From April 2028, owners of homes in England valued at £2 million or more are due to pay a new High Value Council Tax Surcharge on top of their council tax. The announced rates run from £2,500 a year for homes valued at £2 million to £2.5 million, up to £7,500 a year above £5 million. The government consulted on the design between May and July 2026. It is paid by owners rather than occupiers, and it does not change the existing bands.
Be careful with companies that offer to challenge your band for a fee. Making a challenge is free, the evidence is public, and firms that charge a share of any refund are not doing anything you cannot do yourself. Some encourage challenges on thin evidence, which carries the risk of an increase.
Questions people often ask
Can my council change my band?
No. Your council collects council tax but cannot change bands. In England and Wales that is the Valuation Office Agency; in Scotland it is your local Assessor.
Will my band go up if I build an extension?
Not straight away. In England and Wales, improvements are normally taken into account only when the home is next sold.
My neighbour’s identical house is in a lower band. Should I challenge?
It is a good sign, but check that the houses really are the same, and that it is not your neighbour’s band that is wrong. Remember that a review can increase a band as well as reduce it.
Do I have to keep paying while I challenge?
Yes. A challenge does not suspend the bill, and missed payments start the recovery process in the usual way. Any overpayment is refunded or credited if you win.
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