MILLIONS of households will see their council tax bills rise in April, but some areas could see record high hikes of up to £320 extra a year.
Several councils around the UK have asked for permission to raise their levy by as much as 25%.
This is considerably higher than the 5% that the government allows most local authorities to hike bills by.
Several councils have warned that increases are vital to help them balance their books next year – but requests still need to be approved by the government.
Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at broker Hargreaves Lansdown, warned that councils are facing “desperate times” but that these hikes risk leaving households struggling instead.
“People are only just starting to emerge from the cost-of-living crisis and finding their feet again, so a massive council tax hike could whip the rug out from underneath them and leave them with another struggle to make ends meet,” she said.
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead has applied to raise its council tax levy by an unprecedented 25%, adding £320 a year to a band D property.
This would take the annual bill from £1,671.39 to £2,089.19, excluding any extra charges from individual parishes within the borough.
In a statement in December last year, the council said that if it is unable to secure this level of extra funding, it is “almost inevitable” that the council will be “effectively bankrupt”.
The council’s deputy Leader and cabinet member for Finance, Cllr Lynne Jones, said: “Our proposals reflect the difficult decisions needed to ensure that we can balance the budget, and start putting back money into the services that matter to our residents.”
Meanwhile, Hampshire County Council has asked the government to allow it to increase council tax by 15%, a rise of £230 a year for a band D property, from £1,533.24 to £1,763.23
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”How to challenge your council tax band” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6350702552112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]In a statement on its website this week, it said it had sent the government extra requested information to help it decide whether to let the council hike bills by the huge amount.
It added that the move is part of “ongoing efforts” to balance its budget amid rising costs and demand pressures.
Bradford Council has also requested to hike bills by up to 15%, increasing residents’ annual payment by £304.60 from £2,030.63 to £2,335.23.
Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe, leader of Bradford Council, said: “Like many other councils, after 14 years of reductions in funding, we have been left in an unsustainable financial position.”
Newham Council in London, Cheshire East Council, Birmingham Council and Carmarthenshire Council have all asked the government to allow them to raise their levies by around 10% in 2025/26.
For residents in the Newham Council area, this would increase their annual bill by £172.43 for a band D property, up from £1,724 to £1,896.
Cheshire East residents in a band D home would face a £214.60 hike from £2,145 to £2,360.20, while Carmarthenshire households would pay an extra £203.80 at £2,252.83 a year.
A spokesperson for Cheshire East Council said: “It is important that we explore every option to improve financial sustainability and address under-funding and growth in demand.”
Birmingham Council was also previously granted permission to hike bills by 10% in 2024/25 and 2025/26.
This year, that will add £208.38 to a band D property’s bill, rising from £2,083.76 to £2,292.14 in 2025/26.
In Carmarthenshire, residents potentially face a 9.75% hike, adding £199.68 a year to a band D property’s bill, while residents of Slough face a 7.99% hike of £174.36 for a band D home.
Carmarthenshire council’s cabinet member for resources, Cllr Alun Lenny, said: “Carmarthenshire County Council is £150million worse off, in real terms, than we were in 2010 and every year it gets harder.
“Only 16% of the council’s remaining income comes from the council tax, so the Authority has to strike a balance between making substantial cuts to services and raising council tax.”
A Newham Council spokesperson added: “Newham is on the frontline of the London Housing Crisis. Even with the potential 10% increase, Newham would still have the 7th lowest council tax in London.”
Why are councils proposing such big increases?
The limit on how much council tax can be raised each year is set by the government, and it is then applied to households’ bills from April.
It’s then up to each local authority to decide if it will choose the maximum amount or lower.
But since 2020, councils have been able to request extra support from the government, called Exceptional Financial Support, including allowing them to hike council tax bills above the maximum amount.
[quote credit=”Laura Suter” credit-meta=”AJ Bell”]Councils are facing a tricky combination of rising costs, rising wage bills, an increasing social care burden and budget cutbacks, all of which means they either need to operate much more efficiently, pare back services or raise bills. [/quote]The support will not necessarily be granted and is assessed on a case by case basis, the government says.
However, a number of councils have reported that they are in financial difficulty in recent years.
[authenticated-scripts src=”%3Cscript%20class%3D%22palin-poll%22%20src%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thesun.co.uk%2Fpollingwidgets%2Fv3%2Fwidget.js%3Fquestion_id%3D103030%26game%3Dpolling%22%3E%3C%2Fscript%3E” type=”embedded” width=”100″ /]Ms Coles explained: “Rules from central government lay out the biggest council tax hikes that can be imposed without carrying out a local referendum. This year, that’s 5%.
“However, there’s another rule that councils can take advantage of in order to impose much bigger rises: they can apply to central government to be allowed to hike council tax – to get ‘exceptional financial support’.
“To get to this stage, councils have to be on the verge of going bust. Unfortunately, these are desperate times for several councils, who have massively overspent their budgets in the wake of soaring costs, and wage bills.”
Laura Suter, director of personal finance at AJ Bell, explained that this is because of a range of factors.
“Councils are facing a tricky combination of rising costs, rising wage bills, an increasing social care burden and budget cutbacks, all of which means they either need to operate much more efficiently, pare back services or raise bills. Most will be implementing a combination of all three,” she said.
Windsor and Maidenhead says it is at risk of going bankrupt if it can’t secure the funding it has requested.
Hampshire Council said it will need to “scale back” its core duties in order to save money while it awaits confirmation it can hike council tax bills.
Meanwhile, Bradford Council was saved from the brink of bankruptcy last year, but warned it would have to make cuts for around five more years to stay afloat.
Check how much your council tax bill will go up by
Keep an eye on your council’s website for information on its budget plans for the 2024/25 financial year, which will include information on any proposed increases to council tax.
The exact amount more households pay will depend on which “band” their property is in.
Your band is based on your home’s estimated market value in April 1991. So, typically, the more expensive the property is, the higher the band – and the more council tax you’ll pay.
Check which council tax band your property falls under to work out how much the increase will cost you.
You can find this out by checking your local authority – use the gov.uk search tool here: gov.uk/find-local-council.
You’ll then be sent a council tax bill in April outlining how much you need to pay.
Residents can choose to make payments over 10 months. You can also opt to pay instalments over 12 months if you prefer.
Ms Suter said: “Anyone struggling with their bills should check whether they are eligible for extra support or a reduction in bills. You can get a tax break if you are living alone or with children, or if you’re on certain benefits.”