Council Tax

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The UK has an additional tax system called the "council tax" this is a tax paid directly to the local council to pay for services such as waste collection, local Police and Fire services, libraries, leisure facilities, recyling and other community services.

If the Council did not receive this money via Council Tax it would need ot get it from the Government (i.e. national taxes)

The amount of council tax you must pay depends on your Council Tax Property Band. This council tax band of a property is not related to its current market value. This is because, by law, council tax valuations are based on the price a property would have fetched if it had been sold on 1 April 1991 (for Wales it is 1993).

The exact amount of Council Tax that you get charged is up to the Council that you are in (subject to government capping council tax)., however the chart below gives some indication of average Council Tax Bills

Council Tax Band	Range of house values*	Estimated+ Council Tax Bill (2006)
A	Less than £40,000	£800
B	£40,000 to £52,000	£1000
C	£52,000 to £68,000	£1200
D	£68,000 to £88,000	£1,234
E	£88,000 to £120,000	£1500
F	£120,000 to £160,000	£1750
G	£160,000 to £320,000	£2000
H	Over £320,000	£2500

*This council tax band of a property is its 1991 value.
+Based on public information on council tax band D and estimation elsewhere

In 1997 the average council tax bill in England was £564. In 2005 it was close to £1,100.

The charts below show how the council tax bands in the UK by region. It is clear that the most expensive properties (in the G-H council tax bands) are in the South of England. London has the highest proportion of houses in the highest council tax band.

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Properties exempt from council tax

Some property is exempt from council tax altogether. It may be exempt for only a short period, for example, six months, or for a longer time. Contact your local council office for more information