What We Do
Council Tax Checker is a free tool that pulls live data from the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) — the government body responsible for setting council tax bands in England and Wales — and lets you see your band, your neighbours' bands, and whether your property might be incorrectly placed.
Council tax bands were set in 1991, based on estimated property values at the time. The original banding exercise was rushed (it came in the wake of the poll tax riots) and many properties were incorrectly assessed. An estimated 3.2 million UK homes are believed to be in the wrong band — meaning their owners have been overpaying for decades. The average overpayment is around £221 per year; over 30 years, that adds up to over £6,600.
The data to check this is publicly available on gov.uk. But navigating the VOA website, cross-referencing neighbours, and understanding whether you have a case takes time and knowledge most people don't have. We simplify that process into a single postcode lookup.
Our Data Sources
We use authoritative, official sources for all band data:
- check_circleEngland & Wales: Valuation Office Agency (VOA) — tax.service.gov.uk
- check_circleScotland: Scottish Assessors Association — saa.gov.uk
- check_circleNorthern Ireland: Land & Property Services (LPS) — nidirect.gov.uk
- check_circleCouncil tax rates: Individual local councils — updated annually at the start of each financial year (April)
Last data update: March 2026. Tax year 2026/27 rates are current.
Why We're Independent
Council Tax Checker is not affiliated with HMRC, the Valuation Office Agency, any local council, or any claims management company. We are an independent information service. We do not receive referral fees from the VOA or government bodies.
When we refer users to no-win, no-fee council tax specialists, we are transparent about that relationship. Those specialists only earn a fee if they succeed in reducing your band. We vet our referral partners and only connect users with qualified professionals.
Who We Are
Council Tax Checker is a UK-based property information service. Our team includes people with backgrounds in property data, software engineering, and consumer rights. We believe that information that can save households hundreds of pounds per year should be easy to access — not buried in government portals.
This site is part of the Property Hub — a network of free property information tools including EPC Checker and Great British Energy.
Editorial Standards
All guides and articles on this site are researched using primary sources: GOV.UK, VOA publications, Office for National Statistics data, and official local council rate schedules. We link to our sources directly. Where we cite statistics (e.g. "1 in 8 homes are in the wrong band"), we attribute them to their original source.
Our content is reviewed and updated at the start of each financial year (April) and whenever material changes to council tax rules or rates occur. Each page displays a "Last updated" date.
Found an error? Email us at [email protected] with the page URL and the correction. We take accuracy seriously and will investigate all reported errors within 2 business days.