Council Tax Bands in London 2026/27

London Borough Band D Rates 2026/27

The Greater London Authority Precept

Every London household pays a Greater London Authority (GLA) precept as part of their council tax bill. For 2026/27, the GLA Band D precept is £510.51 (a £20.13 increase on 2025/26), which funds the Mayor of London's office, Transport for London (TfL), the Metropolitan Police Service, and the London Fire Brigade. The City of London pays a reduced GLA precept of £176.38 because it funds its own police force. This precept is set by the Mayor and applies across all 32 London boroughs.

The GLA precept increased for 2026/27 primarily due to continued funding pressure on Transport for London and the Metropolitan Police. The combined bill you see on your council tax notice includes both the borough's own element and the GLA precept. Your borough cannot control the GLA element.

This means that when comparing London boroughs, the variation in total Band D rates largely reflects the borough's own spending decisions. Westminster and Wandsworth still set among the lowest own-elements in England (around £518 to £538 Band D in 2026/27 before the GLA precept), which is why their total bills remain the lowest in London despite the same GLA precept as every other borough.

Why Are Some London Boroughs So Much Cheaper?

Westminster and Wandsworth stand out as exceptional outliers in the London council tax landscape. Both boroughs have historically chosen to fund a large proportion of their services from other income sources, particularly commercial property income and parking revenues, allowing them to keep their own-element council tax low. Westminster, with its substantial commercial property base in the West End and Mayfair, set its own Band D element at £538 for 2026/27 — the total bill of £1,050 is still the second lowest in London after Wandsworth, but rising GLA precepts have pushed the headline figure above £1,000 for the first time.

Wandsworth similarly benefits from a deliberate political strategy of low council tax, historically one of the lowest in London. Changes in political control of a council can affect this: Wandsworth saw its rate rise more sharply after the 2022 local elections changed its political administration.

Boroughs with higher Band D rates typically face greater demands for adult social care and housing support, and have smaller commercial property tax bases to offset the cost. Inner London boroughs with significant social housing populations often face higher expenditure demands than their outer London counterparts.