Every band A to H for 2026/27, and what your parish adds. Where the £2,269.91 band D bill goes: £335.86 to police, £116.62 to fire, plus how to challenge.
City of York Council raised council tax by 4.99% for 2026/27, the maximum it could set without a referendum, made up of a 2.99% rise in basic council tax and a 2% adult social care precept (City of York Council). Below is the full band table, the parish charges that sit on top of it in 31 villages and suburbs, and where the money actually goes.
Every band, 2026/27
These are the charges for the parts of York not covered by a parish council, which is most of the built-up city, for 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 (City of York Council).
| Band | 1991 property value | Charge for the year |
|---|---|---|
| AR | Up to £40,000, disabled reduction | £1,261.06 |
| A | Up to £40,000 | £1,513.28 |
| B | £40,001 to £52,000 | £1,765.48 |
| C | £52,001 to £68,000 | £2,017.69 |
| D | £68,001 to £88,000 | £2,269.91 |
| E | £88,001 to £120,000 | £2,774.34 |
| F | £120,001 to £160,000 | £3,278.76 |
| G | £160,001 to £320,000 | £3,783.19 |
| H | More than £320,000 | £4,539.82 |
Band AR is the reduced band applied under the disabled band reduction scheme. The values are 1991 values, not today’s, which is why a modest terrace in Holgate and a much larger house in the same street can sit in the same band.
Where the £2,269.91 goes
Only part of your bill is spent by City of York Council. The rest is collected on behalf of the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, which sets both the police precept and the mayoral general precept covering fire and rescue.
The combined authority’s published band D figures for 2026/27 are £335.86 for the police precept, up £15.00 from £320.86, and £116.62 for the mayoral general precept, up £9.60 from £107.02, an 8.97% rise (York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority). The mayor chose to raise only the fire and rescue element of that second precept. Subtract both from the £2,269.91 band D charge and the City of York Council share works out at £1,817.43.
Worth noticing which line rose fastest. The council’s 4.99% is the number that gets reported, but the fire precept went up by nearly twice that in percentage terms.
What your parish adds
If you live in one of York’s parished villages or suburbs, your bill is higher than the table above, because a parish or town council precept is added. The gap is not trivial: at band D it ranges from £16.31 a year in Murton to £67.16 in Earswick, a difference of more than £50 between two villages a few miles apart. Band D charges for 2026/27 (City of York Council):
| Parish | Band A | Band D | Band H |
|---|---|---|---|
| Murton | £1,524.15 | £2,286.22 | £4,572.44 |
| Acaster Malbis | £1,524.63 | £2,286.93 | £4,573.86 |
| Clifton Without | £1,527.29 | £2,290.93 | £4,581.86 |
| Stockton-on-the-Forest | £1,528.03 | £2,292.04 | £4,584.08 |
| Osbaldwick | £1,528.85 | £2,293.26 | £4,586.52 |
| Copmanthorpe | £1,529.37 | £2,294.04 | £4,588.08 |
| Rawcliffe | £1,529.55 | £2,294.32 | £4,588.64 |
| Naburn | £1,529.57 | £2,294.35 | £4,588.70 |
| Strensall with Towthorpe | £1,529.61 | £2,294.41 | £4,588.82 |
| Heworth Without | £1,530.27 | £2,295.40 | £4,590.80 |
| Bishopthorpe | £1,532.81 | £2,299.20 | £4,598.40 |
| Elvington | £1,533.23 | £2,299.83 | £4,599.66 |
| Rufforth and Knapton | £1,533.76 | £2,300.63 | £4,601.26 |
| New Earswick | £1,534.88 | £2,302.31 | £4,604.62 |
| Holtby | £1,535.85 | £2,303.76 | £4,607.52 |
| Upper Poppleton | £1,538.18 | £2,307.26 | £4,614.52 |
| Deighton | £1,538.63 | £2,307.93 | £4,615.86 |
| Dunnington | £1,539.40 | £2,309.09 | £4,618.18 |
| Kexby | £1,539.86 | £2,309.78 | £4,619.56 |
| Nether Poppleton | £1,540.39 | £2,310.58 | £4,621.16 |
| Hessay | £1,541.03 | £2,311.53 | £4,623.06 |
| Skelton | £1,541.12 | £2,311.67 | £4,623.34 |
| Wheldrake | £1,546.77 | £2,320.15 | £4,640.30 |
| Askham Bryan | £1,548.43 | £2,322.64 | £4,645.28 |
| Wigginton | £1,548.67 | £2,322.99 | £4,645.98 |
| Huntington | £1,548.85 | £2,323.27 | £4,646.54 |
| Fulford | £1,550.69 | £2,326.02 | £4,652.04 |
| Askham Richard | £1,554.01 | £2,331.01 | £4,662.02 |
| Heslington | £1,555.89 | £2,333.83 | £4,667.66 |
| Haxby Town | £1,557.97 | £2,336.94 | £4,673.88 |
| Earswick | £1,558.05 | £2,337.07 | £4,674.14 |
Two practical readings of that table. Haxby and Earswick, next door to each other north of the city, are the two most expensive places in York to hold a band D property, about £67 a year above an unparished address. And a band H house in Earswick pays £134 a year more than the same band H house in, say, Fishergate. If you are comparing two houses in different villages, the parish line is a real difference, and it is one estate agents never mention. Our York house prices page covers the other half of that sum.
Checking and challenging your band
Your band comes from the Valuation Office Agency, not the council, and it is based on what the property was worth on 1 April 1991. Check it free at gov.uk/council-tax-bands, which also shows your neighbours’ bands.
If a similar property in the same street sits a band lower, you can ask the VOA to review yours. Two things to know before you do. A review can move the band up as well as down. And a successful challenge usually applies to the whole group of similar properties, so your neighbours may be reassessed too. Formal challenges have deadlines, generally within six months of becoming the taxpayer or after a relevant change, and the VOA’s own service will tell you whether you can make a proposal or only an informal request.
Discounts and support
York applies the standard reductions, plus a few worth knowing about (City of York Council, property discounts and exemptions):
- Single person: 25% off. The one most often left unclaimed after a household changes.
- Students: a property occupied only by full-time students is exempt, with partial discounts where a household is mixed.
- Severe mental impairment: 100% exemption if the person lives alone, a 50% reduction if they live with one carer, 25% if they live with one other adult. This one also unlocks the 50% garden waste discount.
- Second adult rebate: 7.5%, 15% or 25% depending on the income of the other adult in the house.
- Council Tax Support: for low income households with savings under £16,000.
- Annexes: exempt if occupied by a dependent relative aged 65 or over, or who is severely mentally impaired or substantially disabled, and 50% off for other relatives.
- Major structural repairs: up to 50% off an unoccupied property being repaired.
- Armed forces: 50% off a furnished but unoccupied property where the occupier has to live in MOD accommodation.
- Disabled adaptations: a band reduction, which is what the AR row in the first table is.
Empty homes: the premium bites at one year
York charges an empty homes premium on top of the normal bill, and the escalation is steep (City of York Council):
| Empty for | Premium | You pay |
|---|---|---|
| More than 1 year | 100% | Twice the normal rate |
| More than 5 years | 200% | Three times the normal rate |
| More than 10 years | 300% | Four times the normal rate |
That has applied since 1 April 2024. On a band D house in unparished York, a property empty for over a year costs £4,539.82 a year, and one empty over ten years costs £9,079.64. There are exceptions, including armed forces accommodation and a six month allowance for a property genuinely being marketed for sale or rent. Discounts for second homes and furnished unoccupied properties ended in March 2013, so an empty furnished house gets no relief at all.
The short version
- Band D in unparished York: £2,269.91 for 2026/27, up 4.99%.
- Of that, £1,817.43 is the council, £335.86 the police, £116.62 fire and rescue.
- 31 parishes add between £16 and £67 a year at band D. Haxby and Earswick are the dearest.
- Check your band free at gov.uk, and remember a challenge can go either way.
- Single person discount is 25%. Empty over a year and you pay double.
Also useful: York bin collection days, parking in York and planning news.
Sources
- City of York Council: current council tax charges and charges in parish council areas
- Understanding council tax charges, City of York Council
- York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority: council tax and precepts
- Help with council tax for your household and property discounts and exemptions
- Council tax empty homes premium
- GOV.UK: check your council tax band
Every charge here was checked against the council’s own published tables on 15 August 2026. Charges are set annually in February and apply from 1 April.
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