Council tax freeze 2026/27: what it means for your bill

The change in plain English: a council tax freeze in 2026/27

A council tax freeze means a council holds its own charge at last year’s level. It does not mean your whole bill stays the same, because the county council, police, fire service and any parish or town council set their own charges. Where those rise, your total bill can still go up even when the district or borough share is frozen.

Two councils have set out freezes for 2026/27. Westminster City Council plans to freeze the main Westminster element of council tax, while the adult social care precept, which funds care for older and disabled people, rises by 2%. The council said this means the Westminster share of the bill for Band D payers will increase by just 20p a week. Braintree District Council in Essex is proposing to keep its Band D charge at £206.01 a year, or £3.96 a week.

Who pays more and who pays less

In Westminster, Band D households face a small rise. The council said its proposed Band D charge for 2026/27 is £537.34 and includes the 2% adult social care increase. Cllr Adam Hug, the council’s leader, said: “Like other local authorities, Westminster City Council is facing significant financial pressures.” The council also says it will keep the second lowest council tax in the country, a claim that comes from the council itself.

In Braintree, the freeze applies only to the council’s own slice. The council said that slice is 9.4% of the final bill. The rest goes to Essex County Council (72%), Essex Police (11.8%), Essex Fire and Rescue (4%) and parish or town councils (2.8%), all of which set their own charges. The council’s statement does not say what those bodies will charge, so households should wait for their bill. Braintree also said it will keep its Local Council Tax Support scheme, which helps more than 7,000 low-income households.

Not every council is freezing. Moray Council in Scotland approved a 10% rise for 2025/26 and indicative rises of 10% in 2026/27 and 6% in 2027/28. Its leader, Cllr Kathleen Robertson, said: “I know this won’t be a popular decision but it’s necessary to continue to provide statutory, never mind optional, services.” Scotland sets council tax under its own system, so the English figures do not carry across.

A worked example for a Band D household

The table below puts the published figures side by side. The Westminster total adds the council’s proposed charge to the Mayor of London’s precept of £510.51, which pays for services such as fire and police. That sum is our own calculation and excludes anything else on a bill. The Moray figures for 2026/27 and 2027/28 are also our calculation, applying the indicative percentages to the approved 2025/26 charge.

In Westminster, 20p a week is about £10.40 over a year. In Braintree, if £206.01 is 9.4% of the bill, a full Band D bill would be roughly £2,190, though that is our estimate and depends on the other authorities’ charges. If Moray’s indicative rises go ahead, a Band D bill would be about £404 higher in 2027/28 than in 2024/25, a rise of around 28%.

What to do now

Start with your bill when it arrives and look at how it splits between authorities. A frozen district or borough share tells you little unless you also check the county, police and fire lines. If you have a Band D home, compare the total with last year’s bill rather than relying on a headline about a freeze.

If money is tight, ask your council about its council tax support or reduction scheme. Braintree said it is keeping its scheme, and Moray points residents to its website for eligibility and how to apply for a reduction, discount or exemption. Do this before your first instalment is due.

Residents of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea should note that bills are late. The council said a cyber-attack in late November 2025 affected its systems, and it expected to send annual bills in May, with instalments starting in June. Monthly payers pay from June to March, and quarterly payers in June, September, December and March. New residents are told to set aside money for when the first bill arrives, and anyone claiming a discount or exemption should email details and evidence.

Dates to watch: Braintree’s Full Council was scheduled to decide its budget on 16 February, and Westminster’s was scheduled to vote on 4 March. Figures described as proposed here remain proposals until the budgets are confirmed, so check the final figures. Councils in England must return their council tax forms to the government within seven days of setting their requirement or by 11 March, whichever comes first, according to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Your questions answered

Does a freeze mean my total bill stays the same?

No. A freeze covers only the council that announces it. In Braintree’s case, that council receives 9.4% of the bill, and the county council, police, fire service and parish councils set the rest. Westminster’s own freeze also comes with a 2% adult social care rise, which is why a Band D payer there faces 20p a week more.

Why are councils freezing if they say budgets are tight?

Braintree says it can afford a freeze and attributes this to careful financial management. It also said rising costs, demand and cuts in central government funding will still put pressure on budgets in the medium term. Westminster’s leader said the council faces significant financial pressures. Moray took a different view, saying previous freezes left it with a gap that it now needs to recover.

Could bills rise more in future years?

Possibly. Government statistics notes say the adult social care increase has been set at 2% a year since 2023-24. Westminster has government approval to raise council tax beyond the normal referendum limit in 2027/28 and 2028/29, but said it did not ask for that flexibility and has no plans to use it.