Liverpool Council Tax Bands 2026/27: What Each Band Costs
Liverpool council tax bands A to H for 2026/27, what each one costs a year, the discounts and exemptions available, and how to challenge your band.
By Brian K · 13 Aug 2026 · 8 min read
Cunard Building by Rodhullandemu, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
If you want to know what your council tax actually costs in Liverpool this year, the number you need depends on one letter: your property's band. This guide gives the full figure for every band from A to H for 2026/27, checked against Liverpool City Council's own charges page.
Most Liverpool homes are in the lower bands, so the headline "Band D" figure you see quoted in the news is higher than what most people here actually pay. A Band A property pays £1,782.39 a year. Band D pays £2,673.59.
The part worth knowing before you read on: your band is based on what the property was worth on 1 April 1991, not what it is worth now. That is a real quirk with real consequences, and it is why some Liverpool streets have neighbouring houses in different bands. You can challenge it, and we explain how below.
The short version
Band A costs £1,782.39 a year in 2026/27. Band D costs £2,673.59.
Bands are set by the Valuation Office Agency, not the council, and are based on 1991 values.
Living alone gets you 25% off. Full-time students may pay nothing at all.
Liverpool's Band D charge rose 5.0% this year, an increase of about £127.
You can challenge your band through the VOA for free. Do not pay a company to do it for you.
The monthly figures are the annual charge divided by 12, which is what you pay if you have moved to 12 monthly instalments. The council's default is 10 instalments from April to January, which makes each payment higher but gives you two months with nothing to pay. You can ask to switch to 12.
Why Band A matters more here than the national average
National coverage almost always quotes Band D, because it is the standard reference point used to compare councils. In Liverpool that is misleading. The city has a housing stock weighted towards smaller and older terraced property, so a large share of homes sit in Bands A and B.
If you live in a two-bedroom terrace in Kensington, Anfield, Walton or Kirkdale, Band A is the realistic figure. If you are in a Victorian villa in Aigburth, Mossley Hill or the Georgian Quarter, you are more likely to be looking at Bands E and above.
This is also why a percentage rise lands differently across the city. A 5% increase on Band A is about £85 a year. The same 5% on Band H is about £254.
What went up, and by how much
Liverpool's Band D charge rose by 5.0% for 2026/27, an increase of roughly £127 on the year before.
That figure is not arbitrary. Councils in England that provide adult social care can raise council tax by up to 5% without holding a local referendum: normally up to 3% general increase plus up to 2% ring-fenced for adult social care. Liverpool has gone to the maximum available.
What this is not: a decision the council took in isolation. The referendum threshold is set by central government, and the level of core funding councils receive is set there too. Both main explanations you will hear locally, that the council chose to raise your bill and that the council had no choice, are simplifications of the same funding settlement.
Who sets your band, and why 1991 still matters
Terraces on Clarence Street by Rodhullandemu, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Your band is not set by Liverpool City Council. It is set by the Valuation Office Agency, a central government body. The council only collects the money.
The council states the position plainly: all properties were valued and placed in a band between A and H, and "in England these bands are based on their value on 1st April 1991, not their current value".
England has never revalued. That means a house built in 2024 is given an estimated 1991 value, and two identical houses on the same street can sit in different bands because of decisions made more than three decades ago. It is the single most common reason a Liverpool band turns out to be wrong.
The council's rule is direct: "If only one adult lives in the property, we'll reduce your bill by 25%."
On Band A that takes the annual charge from £1,782.39 to about £1,336.79. On Band D it goes from £2,673.59 to about £2,005.19. It is not applied automatically. If your circumstances changed and you did not tell the council, you are probably still paying the full amount.
Full-time students
A household where everyone is a full-time student is normally exempt from council tax entirely. The council's wording is that a full-time student "might be entitled to a discount or exemption depending on who else is living with you", and that qualifier matters.
If you share with one non-student, the property is not exempt, but the non-student can usually claim the 25% single-person discount because students are disregarded when counting adults. If two or more non-students live there, the full charge applies.
With roughly 70,000 students in the city, this is the discount that catches out the most people in Liverpool, particularly in Kensington, Smithdown, Wavertree and the city centre. You need a council tax certificate from your university or college, and you have to apply.
Other reductions
Severe mental impairment. The council says that if someone aged 18 or over living with you is mentally disabled, "you may be entitled to a reduction". This one is widely under-claimed nationally.
Disability band reduction. If a room or extra space in the property is needed by a disabled occupant, the council may reduce your council tax, effectively charging you at the band below.
Empty properties. Exemptions exist but are time-limited, and long-term empty homes can attract a premium rather than a discount.
Council Tax Support. If you are on a low income you may qualify for help through Liverpool's Council Tax Support scheme, which is separate from the discounts above.
How to challenge your band
If you think your band is wrong, you can ask the VOA to review it. This is free.
Check what band you are in using the government's council tax band checker. It is also worth looking up neighbouring properties of the same size and age on the same street.
Look for evidence. The strongest case is a similar property on your street in a lower band, or evidence about what your home was worth around 1991.
Keep paying while it is considered. A challenge does not pause your bill, and falling behind creates a separate problem.
Two warnings. First, a review can move your band up as well as down, so check comparable properties before you start. Second, you do not need to pay anyone to do this. Companies that offer to reclaim council tax for a share of the refund are doing something you can do yourself for nothing.
What is still uncertain
The 2026/27 charges above are confirmed and in force. Two things are not settled.
The council's published band table does not break the charge down into its parts, so the exact split between Liverpool City Council, the adult social care precept, the Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority is not visible on that page. The breakdown appears on your individual bill and in the council's budget papers.
Longer term, revaluation is a live political question. England has not revalued since 1991, and reform has been discussed by successive governments without action. Nothing has been announced that changes any band for 2026/27.
What to do next
Three practical steps, in order of how much they are likely to be worth:
Check whether you are claiming everything you are entitled to. Single occupancy and student status are the two most commonly missed in Liverpool.
Check your band against your neighbours on the GOV.UK checker before deciding whether a challenge is worth it.
If paying is the problem, contact the council early. Council Tax Support and payment arrangements exist, and both are easier to arrange before arrears build up.
