Households in England and Wales have been warned that Council Tax bills are set to increase by an average of £109 per household from April.
Every year, Council Tax is increased by most authorities in line with a cap on the amount it can go up without invoking a local referendum.
The cap, set at 5%, is here to stay after Downing Street confirmed that there are no plans to remove it.
The problem is that cash strapped local authorities almost always apply the maximum 4.99% increase that they can each April.
It means that, for the average Band D property, Council Tax will increase by £108.55 from April 2025.
For those in larger houses on higher council tax bands, the increase will be even more severe.
According to the County Councils Network, as many as 75% of councils were forecast to hike tax bills by the maximum amount next spring.
There are Council Tax discounts and reductions on offer for some though. If you claim Universal Credit, Pension Credit, or are on a low income, you may be eligible for a Council Tax discount of up to 100 percent.
Each local authority runs its own Council Tax support scheme with varying levels of reductions from 25% for a single person discount up to 100% for pensioners on low incomes.
Council tax rises will help ensure local authorities are funded next year, a minister has said as he rejected Tory claims of a £2.4 billion “black hole”.
Shadow communities minister David Simmonds told the Commons today “Answers to parliamentary questions show that the Government is expecting spending power to increase by £3.7 billion, funded by grants of £1.3 billion. That demonstrates that the Chancellor’s Budget has opened up a £2.4 billion black hole in council finances.”
Communities minister Matthew Pennycook replied: “The Government is committed to a fair funding settlement for local government. We will set out further details in the usual way in the upcoming local government finance settlement, which will be presented to Parliament.
“On the £2.4 billion figure, I’m afraid we simply don’t recognise it. I assume (Mr Simmonds) in his calculations has failed to take account of the over £300 million raised in business rates, £300 million in additional new houses to come along.
“So it is right that £1.8 billion will be raised through council tax in 2025/26, but as I made clear that is because the Government is clear that we’re maintaining the previous government’s policy on council tax, in line with the OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility) forecast made in March 2024.”
