Council Tax Bands in South West England 2026/27
Band D rates for the 27 South West local authorities in 2026/27, with year-on-year change. The region runs from Gloucestershire and Wiltshire down through Bristol and Somerset to Devon and Cornwall, split across five police forces (Avon and Somerset, Devon and Cornwall, Dorset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire) and separate fire authorities. Click any council for the full Band A to H rate table.
Cheapest in the region
Isles of Scilly
£2,047.96
Most expensive in the region
Dorset
£2,765.02
Avon & Somerset Police precept 2026/27
£308.20
Band D, Bristol, B&NES, North Somerset and Somerset
South West Authority Band D Rates 2026/27
| Council | Band D 2026/27 |
|---|---|
| Isles of Scilly | £2,047.96 |
| Tewkesbury | £2,340.53 |
| Gloucester City Council | £2,355.84 |
| Cheltenham | £2,369.52 |
| Bath and North East Somerset Council | £2,383.42 |
| Cotswold | £2,391.65 |
| Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council | £2,435.58 |
| Swindon Borough Council | £2,438.10 |
| Plymouth City Council | £2,441.85 |
| Forest of Dean | £2,443.42 |
| Torbay Council | £2,470.25 |
| North Somerset Council | £2,491.22 |
| Stroud | £2,491.36 |
| Exeter | £2,495.36 |
| South Gloucestershire | £2,550.59 |
| Somerset Council | £2,560.59 |
| Wiltshire Council | £2,571.78 |
| Cornwall Council | £2,590.93 |
| East Devon | £2,595.46 |
| Torridge | £2,601.42 |
| South Hams | £2,615.22 |
| North Devon | £2,642.21 |
| Teignbridge | £2,643.12 |
| Mid Devon | £2,656.41 |
| West Devon | £2,705.33 |
| Bristol City Council | £2,713.68 |
| Dorset Council | £2,765.02 |
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 West
The South West 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.
- Avon and Somerset Police covers Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and Somerset. Its Band D precept for 2026/27 is £308.20, up £15 (about 5.1%) on the year.
- Devon and Cornwall Police covers Plymouth, Cornwall and Torbay, which levy the Devon and Cornwall precept instead.
- Dorset Police covers Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and the rest of Dorset; Wiltshire Police covers Wiltshire and Swindon; and Gloucestershire Constabulary covers Gloucester.
Fire is split too, between authorities such as Avon, Devon and Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire, and Gloucestershire. Every household also pays an adult social care precept, which each council sets within the government cap. In the two-tier shire areas 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 West Bills Differ
Across the billing authorities, Band D bills run from £2,047.96 in Isles of Scilly to £2,765.02 in Dorset, a spread of £717.06 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. Many of the region's authorities are large rural unitary councils, where higher costs of delivering services across a dispersed population push bills up.
Bristol sits at £2,713.68 at Band D for 2026/27, up £129.79 (5.0%) on 2025/26. See the full Bristol Band A to H rate table for the monthly figures and band breakdown.
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.