Where Council Tax is rising and falling in 2016/17

We reveal which councils are hiking, freezing or cutting Council Tax for 2016/17.

The new tax year is nearly upon us and that means a myriad of changes that will impact our finances.

These include adjustments to Council Tax charges (or rates if you're in Northern Ireland).

So we’ve taken a look at what councils across the UK have planned for 2016/17 and whether you’ll be paying more, less or the same.

Council Tax in England

The average Band D Council Tax level for homes in England in the coming tax year will go up by 3.1%.

In cash terms that means the average bill for 2016/17 will be £1,530, £46 more than the year before.

Larger councils are subject to a cap on rises of 2% unless they hold a referendum, though smaller parishes have more freedom.

For 2016/17, larger local authorities have been allowed to increase bills by up to 4% as long as the additional income goes towards adult social care.

So where in England is Council Tax going up, staying the same or going down?

English councils that have frozen or cut Council Tax

Just 14 councils in England have announced a cut or freeze on Council Tax for 2016/17 according to our analysis, all of which are in London.

Local Authority	2015/16 Council Tax Band D	2016/17 Council Tax Band D	% change
Greater London Authority	£295	£276	-6.44%
Hammersmith & Fulham	£1,023	£1,004	-1.86%
Kensington & Chelsea	£1,078	£1,059	-1.76%
Ealing	£1,355	£1,336	-1.40%
Hounslow	£1,375	£1,356	-1.38%
Merton	£1,401	£1,382	-1.36%
Hillingdon	£1,408	£1,389	-1.35%
City of London	£943	£931	-1.30%
Westminster	£674	£669	-0.76%
Wandsworth	£683	£680	-0.51%
Southwark	£1,207	£1,206	-0.06%
Newham	£1,241	£1,241	-0.01%

Source: loveMONEY analysis of Department for Communities and Local Government figures

English councils that have raised Council Tax

Bills are set to rise in 313 out of the 327 local authorities, according to loveMONEY analysis.

There are simply too many councils raising Council Tax in cash terms to cover here. So instead I’ve just featured the councils imposing rises of at least 3.8%.

Local Authority	2015/16 Council Tax Band D	2016/17 Council Tax Band D	% change
Taunton Deane	£1,433	£1,502	4.79%
Mendip	£1,496	£1,567	4.73%
West Somerset	£1,486	£1,554	4.60%
Pendle	£1,624	£1,698	4.56%
South Somerset	£1,502	£1,570	4.55%
Birmingham	£1,320	£1,380	4.54%
Cornwall UA	£1,550	£1,620	4.53%
Sedgemoor	£1,472	£1,538	4.46%
Isle of Wight Council UA	£1,547	£1,616	4.43%
Hart	£1,470	£1,533	4.29%
Northumberland UA	£1,591	£1,657	4.13%
East Lindsey	£1,443	£1,501	4.03%
Chichester	£1,495	£1,556	4.03%
Isles of Scilly	£1,241	£1,291	4.02%
Thanet	£1,539	£1,601	4.01%
North Tyneside	£1,491	£1,551	4.00%
Gateshead	£1,634	£1,700	3.99%
Sunderland	£1,350	£1,403	3.99%
East Devon	£1,573	£1,636	3.99%
Swindon UA	£1,404	£1,460	3.98%
Walsall	£1,600	£1,663	3.97%
Wolverhampton	£1,531	£1,592	3.97%
Sandwell	£1,337	£1,390	3.96%
Boston	£1,471	£1,529	3.96%
Dudley	£1,287	£1,338	3.96%
South Gloucestershire UA	£1,550	£1,612	3.96%
West Oxfordshire	£1,552	£1,613	3.96%
South Tyneside	£1,480	£1,538	3.95%
Coventry	£1,537	£1,597	3.95%
Maldon	£1,526	£1,586	3.95%
Newcastle-upon-Tyne	£1,545	£1,606	3.94%
Wiltshire UA	£1,534	£1,595	3.93%
Breckland	£1,500	£1,559	3.93%
Hinckley & Bosworth	£1,480	£1,538	3.90%
Teignbridge	£1,613	£1,675	3.89%
Bradford	£1,361	£1,414	3.89%
Leeds	£1,375	£1,429	3.88%
Wyre Forest	£1,563	£1,623	3.87%
Cheshire East UA	£1,483	£1,540	3.86%
Ashford	£1,482	£1,540	3.86%
Kirklees	£1,471	£1,528	3.86%
Cheshire West and Chester UA	£1,525	£1,584	3.85%
Herefordshire UA	£1,584	£1,645	3.84%
Sheffield	£1,526	£1,585	3.84%
Tameside	£1,443	£1,498	3.84%
North Dorset	£1,675	£1,739	3.83%
Calderdale	£1,459	£1,515	3.83%
Southend-on-Sea UA	£1,380	£1,433	3.83%
Manchester	£1,382	£1,435	3.83%
Daventry	£1,475	£1,531	3.83%
Medway UA	£1,410	£1,464	3.82%
Brighton & Hove UA	£1,569	£1,628	3.82%
Rotherham	£1,526	£1,585	3.82%
Test Valley	£1,415	£1,469	3.82%
Thurrock UA	£1,338	£1,389	3.81%
Shepway	£1,593	£1,654	3.81%
Kettering	£1,484	£1,541	3.80%
Bury	£1,514	£1,571	3.80%
Mid Devon	£1,633	£1,695	3.80%

Source: loveMONEY analysis of Department for Communities and Local Government figures

So, some households face far more significant hikes to their Council Tax, with residents in Taunton Deane and Mendip needing to shell out around £70 extra next year.

Council Tax in Wales

Across the Welsh principality, Council Tax will rise by an average of 3.46% for 2016/17, taking the average Band D bill from £1,328 to £1,374, an increase of £46.

Here’s the breakdown of the changes in each of the Unitary Authorities.

Local Authority	Band D 2014/15	Band D 2015/16	% change
Conwy	£1,286	£1,342	4.37%
Monmouthshire	£1,349	£1,406	4.26%
Ceredigion	£1,300	£1,354	4.16%
Pembrokeshire	£1,029	£1,071	4.12%
Bridgend	£1,483	£1,542	4.01%
Flintshire	£1,301	£1,353	4.00%
Swansea	£1,342	£1,395	3.93%
Newport	£1,154	£1,199	3.92%
Torfaen	£1,352	£1,405	3.87%
Vale of Glamorgan	£1,312	£1,362	3.85%
Gwynedd	£1,430	£1,484	3.75%
Cardiff	£1,224	£1,270	3.74%
Powys	£1,287	£1,335	3.70%
Blaenau Gwent	£1,635	£1,695	3.65%
Merthyr Tydfil	£1,554	£1,609	3.57%
Isle of Anglesey	£1,296	£1,341	3.43%
Carmarthenshire	£1,348	£1,392	3.31%
Neath Port Talbot	£1,609	£1,657	3.01%
Rhondda Cynon Taf	£1,519	£1,563	2.90%
Wrexham	£1,276	£1,310	2.62%
Denbighshire	£1,422	£1,445	1.57%
Caerphilly	£1,215	£1,233	1.53%

Source: StatsWales

Council Tax in Scotland

For the ninth straight year Council Tax has been frozen by all of Scotland’s 32 local authorities.

However, from April 2017 the freeze will end and local authorities will be able to increase council tax by up to 3% per year. In addition, the way the rates paid by those in the four highest council tax bands (E-H) relative to Band D will be adjusted to bring in an extra £100 million a year.

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Rates in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland doesn’t have Council Tax, instead it uses a system called rates.

These consist of both regional and district rates and vary depending on whether the property is domestic or non-domestic.

Regional rates are set by the Northern Ireland Executive and account for just over half of a typical rates bill while district rates are fixed by each district council.

Your domestic rate is calculated as follows: domestic regional rate plus domestic district rate multiplied by the capital value of your property.

Domestic regional rates are increasing by 1.7% in 2016/17, rising from 0.4042p to 0.4111p.

The table below details the new combined domestic rates for the regions.

District Council	2015/16 rate (pence)	2016/17 rate (pence	% change
Lisburn and Castlereagh Council	0.2722	0.418014	53.57%
Ards and North Down Borough Council	0.2986	0.418237	40.07%
Mid Ulster Council	0.3013	0.418292	38.83%
Belfast City Council	0.3094	0.418351	35.21%
Fermanagh and Omagh Council	0.3238	0.418501	29.25%
Antrim and Newtownabbey Council	0.3492	0.418686	19.90%
Newry, Mourne and Down Council	0.3528	0.418807	18.71%
Causeway Coast and Glens	0.3568	0.418779	17.37%
Mid and East Antrim Council	0.396	0.41921	5.86%
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council	0.4	0.419248	4.81%
Derry City and Strabane District Council	0.4332	0.419636	-3.13%

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More on Council Tax:

Council Tax rebanding: the risks

How to slash your Council Tax bill

Where does my Council Tax money go?

Council Tax Reduction schemes: what you need to know