Your council tax band reflects what your home would have sold for on 1 April 1991 in England and Scotland, or 1 April 2003 in Wales, not what it is worth now. If the band is wrong you may be paying too much, and challenging it with the Valuation Office is free. This guide explains how to check your band and how to challenge it.
Key points
✓Your band reflects what the property was worth in April 1991 in England and Scotland, or April 2003 in Wales. It is not based on what it is worth now.
✓Check your band by looking up your address or postcode on GOV.UK for England and Wales, or on the Scottish Assessors website for Scotland.
✓The main evidence GOV.UK asks for is the addresses of up to 5 similar properties in a lower band than yours.
✓You have a legal right to challenge if you have paid council tax on the property for less than 6 months, or the band changed in the last 6 months. You can only appeal to the Valuation Tribunal if you had that legal right.
✓If your band is reduced, your council revises your bill and pays any refund that is due. How far back it goes depends on why the band was wrong.
What are the council tax bands?
In England, properties are placed in one of eight bands (A to H) based on their value on 1 April 1991. Each band is charged as a fixed proportion of the Band D charge:
England and Wales: look up your address or postcode on GOV.UK
Scotland: search by address or postcode on the Scottish Assessors website
The Valuation Office assesses properties in England and Wales to make sure they are in the correct band
If you have moved into a property that has no council tax band, contact your local council
How do I know if I'm in the wrong band?
GOV.UK sets out what the Valuation Office looks at. Signs you may be wrongly banded:
Similar properties are in a lower band than yours: the same type, size, age and style, and in the same street or estate in a town or city, or the same village or area in the countryside
Your property or similar properties sold between 1 April 1989 and 31 March 1993 (England) for a price outside the band's range
Your property has changed, for example it has been split into multiple properties or merged into one
Your property's use has changed, for example part of it is now used for business
Your local area has changed physically, for example a new supermarket or main road has been built
GOV.UK says the Valuation Office will not consider average house price information from websites such as Nationwide House Price Index, Nethouseprices, Rightmove or Zoopla as strong evidence. The Scottish Assessors point out that, because of the range of values within each band, two properties that look similar in size can be in different bands.
How to appeal your council tax band
1
Gather your evidence
If you have paid council tax for more than 6 months and nothing has changed, GOV.UK says you need addresses for up to 5 similar properties in a lower band than yours. You can also use sale prices from the right period as evidence, giving the addresses, the sale prices and the dates the properties were sold. The closer the sale was to the valuation date, the more likely the Valuation Office can use it.
2
Contact the Valuation Office
For properties in England and Wales, use the online service on GOV.UK. You can use it whether or not you have a legal right to challenge. In Scotland, you submit your challenge to an assessor based in your local Valuation Joint Board or council. You must continue paying council tax while your challenge is reviewed.
3
Wait for the Valuation Office's decision
The Valuation Office will confirm it has your challenge, usually within a few days but sometimes up to 28 days. A decision can take up to 4 months where you have a legal right to challenge, and up to 12 months for a band review. It will change your band and let your council know, remove or add the property to the list, or tell you why the band cannot be changed.
4
If you disagree: appeal to the Valuation Tribunal
You can only appeal the decision if you had a legal right to challenge. Appeal to the Valuation Tribunal England or the Valuation Tribunal Wales. It is free to appeal, but you pay your own costs, such as travel or an agent. You normally need to appeal within 3 months of getting the decision in England, or 4 months in Wales, and you may be able to get the time limit extended.
GOV.UK says that when the Valuation Office changes your band, it lets your council know, and your council revises your bill and pays any refund that is due. In England, the date a change takes effect depends on why the band was wrong:
A change that corrects an inaccuracy in the list as it was on the day it was compiled has effect from the day the list was compiled, which was 1 April 1993 when council tax began, unless the band shown was lower than it should have been
A change reflecting a material reduction in the value of the property has effect from the day the circumstances that caused the reduction arose
If that day cannot be worked out and the change is made on a proposal, it has effect from the day the proposal was served
A change reflecting a material increase in value, or correcting a band that was too low, has effect from the day it is entered in the list
The Valuation Office automatically assesses some properties, for example when a property is newly built. Bands are based on the price the property would have sold for on the open market on 1 April 1991 in England or 1 April 2003 in Wales, and assessments take account of size, layout, character, location, change in use and that valuation-date value.
If you have been paying council tax for less than 6 months, you have a legal right to challenge the band by making a proposal
You must give the date you became a council tax payer, which might be before you moved into the property
After 6 months, with no recent changes to the property, you can ask for a band review, with addresses of up to 5 similar properties in a lower band
If your property does not yet have a band, you can ask for it to be added to the council tax list and suggest the band
Yes. You challenge your band with the Valuation Office in England and Wales, or with your local assessor in Scotland. You can only appeal the Valuation Office's decision to the independent Valuation Tribunal if you had a legal right to challenge. It is free to appeal. Of the challenges the Valuation Office resolved in England in 2023 to 2024, 27% led to a band reduction.
How far back can I get a refund on overpaid council tax?
In England, a change that corrects an inaccuracy in the list as it was on the day it was compiled has effect from that day, which was 1 April 1993 when council tax began, unless the band shown was lower than it should have been. A change reflecting a material reduction in value has effect from the day the circumstances that caused it arose. Your council pays any refund that is due.
What is the most common council tax band in England?
Band A. At 31 March 2026 there were 6.1 million band A properties in England, 23.6% of all properties, followed by band C with 5.7 million, 22.0%. In Wales the most frequent band was C. Every other band is charged as a proportion of Band D, from 6/9 for band A to 18/9 for band H.
Know Your Rights UK. "Council Tax Bands: How to Check and Appeal Your Band." Know Your Rights UK, https://www.knowyourrightsuk.com/council/council-tax-bands