Council tax band C
For 2026-27, a home in council tax band C in England pays roughly £2,126 a year on average. In Wales the average is around £2,029, and in Scotland it's about £1,470. What you actually pay comes down to your own council, so your bill may sit well above or below these numbers.
- of homes in Wales are band C, the largest share
- 21.8%
- average band C bill in England, 2026/27
- £2,126
- band C homes in England
- 5.7 million
Band C council tax bills for 2026-27
Each nation publishes an official average bill for Band D, and the band C average is worked back from that. Band D sits in the middle of the system, and each of the other bands is charged a set fraction of it. Band C pays slightly less than Band D would in the same place.
England's figure is taken from the government's 2026-27 council tax statistics. Wales draws on the Welsh Government's figures, and Scotland on the Scottish Government's datasets. Scotland works out its Band D average a slightly different way.
| Bill | England | Wales | Scotland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical Band D bill a year | £2,392 | £2,283 | £1,653 |
| Typical band C bill a year | £2,126 | £2,029 | £1,470 |
What does band C cost in different councils?
Where you live makes a big difference to what the same band costs. In England, a band C home in Wandsworth pays £913.96 a year, whereas Dorset asks £2,457.80.
All of these are yearly amounts for 2026-27, based on the official numbers for each of England, Wales and Scotland.
| Nation | Cheapest band C bills | Priciest band C bills |
|---|---|---|
| England | Wandsworth at £913.96, Westminster at £932.93, City of London at £1,181.83 | Dorset at £2,457.80, Lewes at £2,449.93, Nottingham at £2,449.24 |
| Wales | Cardiff at £1,789.49, Caerphilly at £1,851.45, Newport at £1,856.43 | Merthyr Tydfil at £2,305.42, Neath Port Talbot at £2,259.01, Blaenau Gwent at £2,250.01 |
| Scotland | South Lanarkshire at £1,305.31, Shetland Islands at £1,322.58, Na h-Eileanan Siar at £1,338.22 | Midlothian at £1,614.36, Argyll and Bute at £1,585.18, Stirling at £1,558.11 |
Band C value ranges by nation
Your band doesn't come from your home's price today. It comes from what the home would have sold for on a single date in the past, known as the valuation date. In England and Scotland that date is 1 April 1991, and in Wales it's 1 April 2003.
For England and Wales, the ranges come from the government guidance on how your band is worked out. Scotland's range is taken from the Scottish Assessors' band table.
| England | Wales | Scotland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valuation date | 1 April 1991 | 1 April 2003 | 1 April 1991 |
| Band C value range | £52,001 to £68,000 | £65,001 to £91,000 | Over £35,000, up to £45,000 |
What sort of homes are in band C?
More homes sit in band C in Wales than in any other band: 323,360 homes in total, which works out at 21.8% of all properties there. In England it's the second most common band, with about 5.7 million homes, roughly one in five, according to the 2025 council tax property figures.
Plenty of ordinary family homes fall into this band. Semi-detached houses in England land in band C 31% of the time, and bungalows 26% of the time. Among three-bedroom homes, band C comes up more than any other band, at 28%.
Band C is also the most common band in London, eastern England and the South East, where it covers between 26% and 27% of homes.
How does band C compare with Band D?
In England, band C is set by law at a little less than band D, so a band C home pays about £1 less for every £9 a band D home pays in the same area.
Scotland uses the same rule under section 74 of the Act, so a band C bill there is also about a ninth lower than the local band D bill. So wherever you live, a band C bill comes in one ninth below the local Band D bill.
To give an example, England's average Band D bill of £2,392 a year works out at about £2,126 for band C.
Help with a band C bill
If money is tight, or you get benefits, you may be able to get Council Tax Reduction, which lowers your bill. The government's council tax guide explains how it works, so it's worth a look before you pay in full.
How this is worked out
We started from each nation's official average Band D bill and took off a ninth, because that's how much less band C pays everywhere.
Your council's website will show the exact band C amount for your area, so check there for the figure on your own bill.