Band D in Worcester is £2,400.53, up 7.7% on last year. The county council added £145.09 of that £171.65 rise. Every band A to H, all three parish areas, and the discounts.
A band D household in Worcester pays £2,400.53 in 2026-27, which is £46.16 a week. That is £171.65 more than last year, a rise of 7.70%.
That figure is well above the 4.99% ceiling most councils work to. The reason is not on Worcester City Council’s council tax pages, because it is not Worcester City Council’s doing. The city collects the bill but keeps 9% of it.
Every figure below was checked on 2 September 2026 against Worcester City Council’s own tables, Worcestershire County Council’s budget papers, the West Mercia Police and Crime Panel minutes and the fire authority’s own page, each linked beside the figures.
The full band A to H table for 2026-27
Most of the city is unparished. Two areas, Warndon Villages and St Peter’s, have parish councils and pay a little more.
| Band | Worcester city | Warndon Villages | St Peter’s |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | £1,600.35 | £1,621.20 | £1,615.62 |
| B | £1,867.08 | £1,891.41 | £1,884.89 |
| C | £2,133.81 | £2,161.61 | £2,154.17 |
| D | £2,400.53 | £2,431.81 | £2,423.43 |
| E | £2,933.98 | £2,972.21 | £2,961.97 |
| F | £3,467.43 | £3,512.61 | £3,500.51 |
| G | £4,000.88 | £4,053.01 | £4,039.05 |
| H | £4,801.06 | £4,863.62 | £4,846.86 |
From the council’s how much is my council tax page.
The parish precept is small. Subtracting the city column from the others, Warndon Villages Parish Council adds £31.28 at band D and St Peter’s adds £22.90.
Where the money goes
Four bodies precept on a Worcester bill, plus a parish council in two areas. This is the split at band D, and it is the part the city’s own table does not show.
| Precepting body | Band D 2026-27 | Change on last year |
|---|---|---|
| Worcestershire County Council | £1,760.80 | up £145.09, 8.98% |
| Police and Crime Commissioner for West Mercia | £306.50 | up £15.00, 5.2% |
| Worcester City Council | £226.01 | up £6.56, about 1.8p a day |
| Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Authority | £107.22 | up £5.00, 4.9% |
| Total | £2,400.53 | up £171.65, 7.70% |
The four add up exactly to the city’s published band D total.
The county council accounts for £145.09 of the £171.65 increase, which is 85% of it. Worcester City Council, which sends the bill and takes the phone calls, accounts for £6.56.
Why the county went above 4.99%
Worcestershire County Council raised its precept by 8.98%, which is not normally lawful without a referendum. It was one of seven councils given extra flexibility by the government for 2026-27, in its case an additional 4% on top of the usual limit. The others were Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Warrington, Trafford, Windsor and Maidenhead, Shropshire and North Somerset.
Two things sit behind that, both in the county’s own updated budget report of 26 February 2026:
- The extra 4% is worth £14.4 million a year to the county, and £43.2 million over its medium term plan.
- Even after taking it, the county still had a £59.933 million gap, which it is covering with a capitalisation directive under Exceptional Financial Support. That is permission to borrow to fund day-to-day spending. The council had £33.6 million of the same support last year, and its own papers project the gap rising to £84.5 million next year.
Of the 8.98%, 2 percentage points are ring-fenced for adult social care. The county puts band D at £1,760.80, a rise of £2.79 a week, in its 2026-27 council tax booklet. Nine years ago, in 2018-19, the same band D charge was £1,212.38.
The police precept rose by a flat £15 at band D, a 5.2% increase agreed by the West Mercia Police and Crime Panel on 6 February 2026. The panel’s minutes record a task group concluding that maximising the precept “was a fait accompli for all forces”.
Last year, for comparison
| Band | Worcester city 2025-26 | Worcester city 2026-27 | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | £1,485.92 | £1,600.35 | £114.43 |
| B | £1,733.56 | £1,867.08 | £133.52 |
| C | £1,981.23 | £2,133.81 | £152.58 |
| D | £2,228.88 | £2,400.53 | £171.65 |
| E | £2,724.20 | £2,933.98 | £209.78 |
| F | £3,219.49 | £3,467.43 | £247.94 |
| G | £3,714.80 | £4,000.88 | £286.08 |
| H | £4,457.76 | £4,801.06 | £343.30 |
Both years’ tables are published side by side by the city council. The increases are proportional because council tax bands are fixed by statute as ratios of band D.
What the city council’s 9% buys
Worcester City Council will spend £28.86 million in 2026-27. Its £226.01 at band D covers bin collections, street cleaning, parks and open spaces, housing and homelessness support, planning, building control, licensing, environmental health, car parks and parking enforcement, museums, sports centres, allotments, cemeteries and the crematorium, CCTV and elections. The full list is on its what your council tax pays for page.
Roads, schools, libraries and adult social care are county council services, paid for out of the £1,760.80.
Checking and challenging your band
Your band is set by the Valuation Office Agency, not by the council. Bands are still based on what a property was worth on 1 April 1991.
- Look it up free on the VOA council tax band search.
- Challenge it through the VOA if you think it is wrong. Keep paying the current bill while the challenge runs; you get a refund if it succeeds.
- The council’s own my local area search returns your band and the annual charge for your address.
Discounts, exemptions and premiums
The standard bill assumes two adults in the property.
- Single person discount: 25%. If you are the only adult and you host a Ukrainian refugee, you keep the discount and the refugee is disregarded.
- Students. Full-time students, student nurses and non-British spouses or dependants of students are disregarded.
- Empty and unfurnished: 50% off for up to two months, then the full charge.
- New builds, unoccupied and unfurnished: 100% discount for 3 months, then the full charge.
- Undergoing major repair or structural alteration: 100% discount for up to 12 months, then the full charge.
- Disability reduction is available where a property has been adapted.
Two premiums push bills the other way, and one is new this year:
- From 1 April 2026, a 100% premium applies to homes empty more than 12 months. That means a doubled bill.
- Second homes have carried a 100% premium since 1 April 2025, so 200% of the normal charge. Worcester adopted it under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023. Statutory exceptions exist, including armed forces accommodation and annexes treated as part of the main dwelling, but you have to claim them.
All of the above is from the council’s discounts and premiums page.
If you cannot pay
- Apply for Council Tax Support. It is means tested on income, savings and household circumstances.
- Second Adult Rebate may apply even on a high income, if you share with other adults on low incomes who are not your partner.
- You can ask to spread payments over 12 months to March rather than the default 10.
- Revenues and Benefits is on 0300 456 0560. Support is not normally backdated, so applying late costs money.
Council Tax Support also unlocks two things covered elsewhere on this site: a free bulky waste collection and a £29 rather than £39 replacement black bin. Both are on the bin collection days page.
One date worth noting
Worcester City Council was due to be abolished on 1 April 2028. The government decided in July 2026 that Worcestershire’s seven councils, including the county, would be replaced by two unitary authorities, with Worcester joining Malvern Hills and Wychavon in a South Worcestershire council.
That date is now under review. On 7 September 2026 the government paused the July decisions while it reviews the whole reorganisation programme, and said elections in May 2027 will go ahead to existing council boundaries. (GOV.UK) The city council’s reorganisation page says it is seeking clarification. Until the review reports, nobody can say which body sets the 2028-29 bill. We cover what the pause means for the city in our report on the paused abolition.
Updated 17 September 2026: this section previously gave 1 April 2028 as a settled date.
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