Council tax bands in Bedford 2026-27
Band D council tax in Bedford, including special expenses, is £2,431.59 a year in 2026-27, about £243.16 a month over 10 payments.
This includes Bedford's special expenses for local services, which average £23.24 a year at Band D and vary by area. Every part of Bedford pays a special expense or a parish charge, so no home pays the basic amount of £2,408.35 alone.
Every band in Bedford
Council tax in Bedford runs from £1,621.06 a year for Band A to £4,863.18 for Band H.
| Band | Yearly | 10 payments | 12 payments | One adult (25% off) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Band A | £1,621.06 | £162.11 | £135.09 | £1,215.80 |
| Band B | £1,891.24 | £189.12 | £157.60 | £1,418.43 |
| Band C | £2,161.41 | £216.14 | £180.12 | £1,621.06 |
| Band D | £2,431.59 | £243.16 | £202.63 | £1,823.69 |
| Band E | £2,971.94 | £297.19 | £247.66 | £2,228.96 |
| Band F | £3,512.30 | £351.23 | £292.69 | £2,634.23 |
| Band G | £4,052.65 | £405.27 | £337.72 | £3,039.49 |
| Band H | £4,863.18 | £486.32 | £405.27 | £3,647.39 |
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How bands work: every band is a fixed fraction of Band D, set in law (Band A is 6/9 of Band D and Band H 18/9), rounded here to the penny. A home's band comes from its value on 1 April 1991: Band A up to £40,000, Band H over £320,000. Payments are the yearly charge divided by 10 or 12. Other bands may differ by a penny from your council's table because of how councils round.
Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027, local authority level data (Table 10, Data_Billing), published 25 March 2026.
Homes by band in Bedford
The most common band in Bedford is Band C (25% of homes). Semi-detached houses, about 3 in 10 homes here, are mostly Band C (56%). The most common kind of home is a 3-bedroom semi-detached house (15,720 homes), mostly Band C (65%). These are shares of all 81,610 homes on the list, not the band of any one home: a home's own band is on GOV.UK.
| Band | Share of homes |
|---|---|
| Band A | 13.3% |
| Band B | 23.5% |
| Band C | 24.9% |
| Band D | 15.5% |
| Band E | 11.1% |
| Band F | 7.3% |
| Band G | 4.1% |
| Band H | 0.3% |
Compared with the East of England average, there are about the same share in Bands A and B (37%, against 35%) and about the same share in Band F and above (12%, against 11%).
Most common band by type of home
| Type of home | Homes | Share of homes | Most common band |
|---|---|---|---|
| Semi-detached houses | 21,070 | 26% | Band C (56%) |
| Terraced houses | 19,270 | 24% | Band B (58%) |
| Detached houses | 18,580 | 23% | Band E (34%) |
| Flats and maisonettes | 15,920 | 20% | Band A (58%) |
Source: Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties, 31 March 2026 (CTSOP3.0, band by property type), published 24 September 2026. VOA counts are rounded to the nearest 10; property types with fewer than 500 homes are not shown.
Where Band D council tax in Bedford goes
| Authority | Band D share |
|---|---|
| Bedford council, with special expenses (average) | £2,011.28 (83%) |
| Police | £297.59 (12%) |
| Fire and rescue | £122.72 (5%) |
£38.31 of the council's own Band D share in 2026-27 is the adult social care precept (MHCLG).
The council's share includes its special expenses at their average; they vary by area. Parish and town council charges come on top for homes in their areas.
How council tax in Bedford has changed
Band D including special expenses went up by £119.09 (5.2%), from £2,312.50 in 2025-26 to £2,431.59 in 2026-27.
Including parish and special charges, the average Band D bill went up by £120.80 (5.1%), from £2,350.94 to £2,471.74.
Band D in Bedford is £96.45 a year above the East of England average of £2,335.14, and its 5.2% rise this year was bigger than most councils in the East of England (East of England average: 4.7%).
Over the four years from 2023-24 to 2026-27, Band D here rose 15.8%, close to the East of England average rise of 15.0%.
Band D in Bedford is the 8th highest of 45 councils in the East of England, and the 121st highest of 296 councils in England, ranked by the Band D figure on each council's page.
Averages are weighted by number of homes and use each council's Band D as shown on its page.
Bedford and other councils
Nearby councils
| Council | Band D 2026-27 |
|---|---|
| Central Bedfordshire | £2,351.85 |
| Huntingdonshire | £2,398.80 |
| Milton Keynes | £2,235.27 |
| North Northamptonshire | £2,343.66 |
| North Hertfordshire | £2,413.98 |
| Luton | £2,439.93 |
Similar unitary councils
Other unitary councils closest in size to Bedford (81,610 homes).
| Council | Band D 2026-27 | Homes |
|---|---|---|
| Southend-on-Sea | £2,256.30 | 83,390 |
| North Lincolnshire | £2,293.48 | 78,540 |
| Reading | £2,612.77 | 77,920 |
| Telford and Wrekin | £2,109.73 | 86,280 |
Band D as shown on each council's page: the basic charge, or where no home pays that alone, Band D including special expenses or the average including parish charges. Similar councils are the same type of council, nearest in number of homes (Valuation Office Agency, 31 March 2026).
Finding a home's band
Each home's band is set by the Valuation Office Agency. You can look up any home's band on GOV.UK.
- Cost of living in Bedford: rent, earnings, house prices, energy and water.
- Council tax on the Bedford profile, next to the other costs.
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Council tax in Bedford: questions
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