Band D rates for the 64 South East local authorities in 2026/27, with year-on-year change. The region runs from Berkshire and Oxfordshire down to Hampshire, Sussex and Kent, split across five police forces (Thames Valley, Hampshire and Isle of Wight, Sussex, Surrey and Kent) and separate fire authorities. Click any council for the full Band A to H rate table.
Figures are the area Band D total for the main billing area of each authority, including police, fire, and adult social care precepts. In two-tier shire districts the figure blends the parished and unparished parts of the area, and individual parished addresses pay a small parish precept on top. Source: MHCLG, ‘Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England: 2026 to 2027’ (accredited official statistics, published 25 March 2026), Tables 9 and 10, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Police and Fire Precepts Across the South East
The South East is not a single combined authority. It is split across five police forces, and this is a large part of why bills differ from one part of the region to the next.
Thames Valley Police covers Berkshire (Reading, Slough, Wokingham, West Berkshire, Bracknell Forest, Windsor and Maidenhead), Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. Its Band D precept for 2026/27 is £298.28, up £15 (about 5.3%) on the year.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary covers Southampton, Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight, which levy the Hampshire police precept instead.
Sussex Police covers Brighton and Hove, Surrey Police covers Guildford and the rest of Surrey, and Kent Police covers Medway and Ashford.
Fire is split too, between authorities such as Royal Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire and Isle of Wight, East and West Sussex, Surrey, and Kent and Medway. Every household also pays an adult social care precept, which each council sets within the government cap. In the two-tier shire counties a bill also combines a county precept and a district precept, so two homes a few miles apart in different districts can pay noticeably different totals.
Why South East Bills Differ
Across the billing authorities, Band D bills run from £1,952.62 in Windsor and Maidenhead to £2,756.17 in Lewes, a spread of £803.55 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. Windsor and Maidenhead has long run one of the lowest Band D charges in the country.
Oxford sits at £2,678.40 at Band D for 2026/27, up £121.27 (4.7%) on 2025/26. See the full Oxford Band A to H rate table for the monthly figures and band breakdown.
Independent information. Not affiliated with the Valuation Office Agency, any local authority, or Scottish Assessors. Rate data is compiled from published 2026/27 council tax schedules. Not legal or financial advice. Contact your local authority for billing queries.
Source: MHCLG, ‘Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England: 2026 to 2027’ (accredited official statistics, published 25 March 2026), Tables 9 and 10, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Last verified 25 March 2026 · Sourced from MHCLG, Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England: 2026 to 2027 (OGL v3.0)
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