Council Tax Bands in North East England 2026/27
Band D rates for the 12 North East local authorities in 2026/27, with year-on-year change. The region spans Tyne and Wear, Northumberland, County Durham and the Tees Valley, split across three police forces (Northumbria, Durham and Cleveland) and separate fire authorities. Click any council for the full Band A to H rate table.
Cheapest covered authority
Sunderland
£2,197.14
Most expensive covered authority
Gateshead
£2,715.81
Northumbria Police precept 2026/27
£214.34
Band D, Tyne and Wear and Northumberland
North East Authority Band D Rates 2026/27
| Council | Band D 2026/27 |
|---|---|
| Sunderland City Council | £2,197.14 |
| South Tyneside Council | £2,434.43 |
| North Tyneside Council | £2,461.77 |
| Darlington Borough Council | £2,493.83 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne City Council | £2,542.19 |
| Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council | £2,544.48 |
| Middlesbrough Council | £2,549.16 |
| Hartlepool Borough Council | £2,560.20 |
| Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council | £2,589.83 |
| Northumberland County Council | £2,596.94 |
| Durham County Council | £2,622.15 |
| Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council | £2,715.81 |
Figures are the Band D total for the main billing area of each authority, including police, fire, and adult social care precepts. Parished areas pay a small additional parish precept on top. Source: individual authority 2026/27 council tax schedules.
Police and Fire Precepts Across the North East
Unlike Greater Manchester or the West Midlands, the North East is not covered by a single combined-authority precept. It is split across three police forces, and this is a large part of why bills differ from one part of the region to the next.
- Northumbria Police covers Tyne and Wear (Newcastle, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Sunderland) and Northumberland. Its Band D precept for 2026/27 is £214.34, up £18.50 (about 9%) on the year, and it is still the lowest police precept of any force in England and Wales.
- Durham Constabulary covers County Durham and Darlington, which levy the Durham police precept instead.
- Cleveland Police covers the four Tees Valley boroughs of Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and Stockton-on-Tees.
Fire is split too. The five Tyne and Wear boroughs share the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Authority precept, which is £105.11 at Band D for 2026/27 (up £5, about 9.4%). County Durham and Darlington fall under the County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Authority, the Tees Valley boroughs under Cleveland Fire Brigade, and Northumberland runs its own fire service through the county council. Every household also pays an adult social care precept, which each council sets within the government cap.
Why North East Bills Differ
Across the authorities we track, Band D bills run from £2,197.14 in Sunderland to £2,715.81 in Gateshead, a spread of £518.67 a year at Band D. Part of that gap is the different police and fire precepts described above; the rest comes from each council's own demand and the adult social care precept it levies.
Newcastle upon Tyne sits at £2,542.19 at Band D for 2026/27, up £129.04 (5.3%) on 2025/26. See the full Newcastle Band A to H rate table for the monthly figures and band breakdown.
Updated July 2026. Source: individual North East authority council tax schedules 2026/27, the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner precept 2026/27, and the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Authority precept 2026/27.