How to find your council tax band

For a home in England or Wales, look up its address or postcode on the official GOV.UK service Check your Council Tax band. For a home in Scotland, GOV.UK sends you to the Scottish Assessors website. Band by Band does not look up addresses.

What the band letter means

Each home is placed in a valuation band. England has 8 bands, A to H, and Wales has 9, A to I (Local Government Finance Act 1992, section 5). In Scotland the Scottish Government publishes 8 bands, A to H.

The band is not based on what the home is worth today. According to GOV.UK, bands are based on how much a property was worth on:

• 1 April 1991, for England;
• 1 April 2003, for Wales.

The value range of each band is set out in council tax band values. The sources used on this site do not give the valuation date or the value ranges for Scotland; for Scottish homes, see mygov.scot.

From the band to the bill

GOV.UK lists three things you need to know to work out your council tax:

1. the valuation band of your home;
2. how much your local council charges for that band;
3. whether you can get a discount or exemption from the full bill.

This site gives the second for every council: choose your council on the front page. For the third, see council tax discounts and exemptions.

What can move a home to another band

GOV.UK says a property may be put in a different band in some circumstances, for example if:

• you demolish part of your property and do not rebuild it;
• you alter your property to create 2 or more self-contained units, for example an annexe (each unit will have its own band);
• you split a single property into self-contained flats, or convert flats into a single property;
• you start or stop working from home;
• the previous owner made changes to your property;
• there are significant changes to your local area, like a new road being built;
• a similar property in your area has its council tax band changed.

GOV.UK advises asking the Valuation Office if you want to know whether changes to your property will affect its band.

If you think the band is wrong

The same GOV.UK service is used to challenge a band in England and Wales; in Scotland a challenge goes to the local assessor. The conditions and time limits are in how to challenge your council tax band.