Council Tax bills and how we use your money

Council Tax bills for 2026/27

Council Tax bills are sent out in March and set out how much you need to pay for the year 2026/27. They also show how your Council Tax is shared between local services, including fire and police.

How much you pay depends on the Council Tax bands and charges set for your property.

Your bill is based on your account balance in February. If you made a payment after this, it may not appear on your bill, but it will still be on your account and reflected in your balance. If you’re unsure, you can check your account online.

Please note, if you pay by standing order, you will need to update the amount to match your new bill.

How we work out Council Tax charges

To work out how much Council Tax our residents need to pay, we work out how much money we need to deliver our services and then take away the money we receive from the government and other sources.

Council Tax budget changes 2026/27

The council’s budget pays for day-to-day services like adult social care, children’s services, environmental health, highways, libraries, parks, planning, playgrounds, recycling and waste, street cleaning and transport.

The council has net budget requirement of £199.7m for 2026/27, with Council Tax bills raising £134.2m. The remainder is funded from a range of sources, including business rates, and funding from grants.

The council has a capita budget that is used to invest in Reading to improve council homes, day facilities for vulnerable adults, leisure facilities, parks, roads and pavements, sheltered housing and supported accommodation for vulnerable adults.

Reading Borough Council has set a band D equivalent (including adult social care precept) Council Tax of £2,223.18 for 2026/27. The following tables show how the charges are calculated.

Gross income and expenditure in 2025/26 and 2026/27

Income / expenditure	Budget 2025/26 (£m)	Budget 2026/27 (£m)	Change (£m)
Gross expenditure	476.1	532.7	56.6
Gross income	(298.0)	(333.0)	(35.0)
Net budget requirement	178.1	199.7	21.6

How the budget in 2025/26 and 2026/27 is funded

Funded by	Budget 2025/26 (£m)	Budget 2026/27 (£m)	Change (£m)
Business Rates Local Share	(47.9)	(34.9)	13.0
New Homes Bonus Grant	(0.8)	0.0	0.8
Revenue Support Grant	(2.8)	(36.7)	(33.9)
One-off Collection Fund (Surplus)/Deficit	(0.5)	6.1	6.6
Total Funding (excluding Council Tax Requirement)	(52.0)	(65.5)	(13.5)
Council Tax Requirement	(126.1)	(134.2)	(8.1)
Total Funding	(178.1)	(199.7)	(21.6)

Breakdown of Council Tax charges (band D equivalent)

Reading Borough Council (Own Purposes)	2025/26	2026/27	Change
Band D Equivalent Charge (Excluding Adult Social Care)	£1,786.49	£1,849.80	£63.31
Band D Equivalent – Adult Social Care	£331.03	£373.38	£42.35
Band D Equivalent (A*)	£2,117.52	£2,223.18	£105.66

Thames Valley Police and Berkshire Fire and Rescue

Your Council Tax also helps to pay for services delivered by Thames Valley Police and the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service. 

Further information on the budgets and Council Tax requirements for these services can be found at:

Thames Valley Police & Crime Commissioner – Council Tax leaflets

Berkshire Fire and Rescue – financial transparency

Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley	2025/26	2026/27	Change
Total Budget Requirement	£594.9m	£622.2m	£27.3m
Reading Precept	£16.9m	£18.0m	£1.1m
Band D Equivalent (B*)	£283.28	£298.2m	£15.0m

Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service	2025/26	2026/27	Change
Total Budget Requirement	£48.0m	£50.6m	£2.6m
Reading Precept	£5.1m	£5.5m	£0.4m
Band D Equivalent (C*)	£86.31	£91.31m	£5.0m

Grand total

*Total	2025/26	2026/27	Change
Grand Total Band D Equivalent (A+B+C)	£2,487.11	£2,612.77	£125.66

How the Council Tax requirement has changed 2025/26 to 2026/27

Item	2025/26 (£m)	2026/27 (£m)
Net Budget Requirement 2025/26		178.1
Contractual inflation	6.1
Budget pressures	27.4
Efficiency savings	(8.7)
Invest to save	(0.9)
Income fees and charges	(2.4)
Net budget requirement increase (A)		21.6
Net budget requirement 2026/27		199.7
Net increase in funding (B)		13.5
Total increase in Council Tax requirement (A-B)		8.1

Budget by directorate in 2025/26 and 2026/27

Council Tax is like income tax – it’s not a charge for individual services, it contributes towards the overall running costs of delivering our services. It goes toward a range of services you use daily that benefit everyone. For example, your bin collections, supporting those homeless or at risk of becoming homeless and electoral services. Some services are used by fewer residents depending on personal circumstances but remember, we never know what services we may need in the future.

Directorate / Service	Budget 2025/26 (£m)	Budget 2026/27 (£m)	Change (£m)
Communities & Adult Social Care	67.7	74.2	6.5
Children’s Services	59.0	62.8	3.8
Economic Growth & Neighbourhood Services	22.8	24.2	1.4
Resources	25.8	24.1	(1.7)
Chief Executive Services	1.7	1.6	(0.1)
Corporate Budgets	1.1	12.8	11.7
Total Service Expenditure	178.1	178.1	10.2

Your Council Tax

Your Council Tax helps to pay for services delivered by Reading Borough Council, Thames Valley Police, and the Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue Service.

The economic landscape over the 2025/26 period has resulted in high inflation, increasing interest rates and a cost of living crisis. In 2026/27, the council’s element of Council Tax will increase by 4.99% – an increase of £1.80 a week for a band C property. For band D the increase is £2.02 per week.

The 4.99% is made up of a 2.99% increase in general Council Tax and 2.00% for the adult social care element which was created by government to help fund the rising costs of social care.

This increase will raise £2.556 million for adult social care and will help continue to protect vulnerable adults in the town. The adult social care budget has increased by £4.7m in 2026/27.

Council Tax bands and charges

Environment Agency

The Environment Agency charges local authorities, including Reading Borough Council, a levy for providing flood defence. In the Thames region, this includes maintenance of the river system and the operation of a flood warning system.

In 2025/26 the Council was levied £142,335, and for 2026/27 the Council has been levied £145,426. These costs are included within the corporate budgets for Reading Borough Council.

Council Tax and the adult social care precep

In 2026/27, the council’s element of Council Tax will increase by 4.99% – an increase of £2.02 per week for a band D property (£1.80 a week for a band C property). The majority of properties in Reading are band C and below. The change is made up of a 2.99% increase in general Council Tax and a 2.00% increase for adult social care.

This increase in the adult social care precept will raise £2.6 million for adult social care and will help us to continue to protect vulnerable adults in the borough. Our adult social care budget has increased by £4.7 million for 2026/27.

What is adult social care?

Your Council Tax bill includes a 2% adult social care precept. This will contribute £2.556m towards the total increase of £4.7m in our adult social care budget in 2026/27 and will help us to continue to protect vulnerable adults in the town.

Social care support means anything from help to get up, using the bathroom, dressing, eating, managing things like cooking and shopping, and assisting with accessing work, leisure or social activities.

We can help anyone over the age of 18 years who needs support because of a physical or learning disability, a mental health illness, or because their age has affected their ability to carry out tasks independently.

Every resident is entitled to an assessment of their needs. If eligible, a support plan is devised, and then it is determined if the local authority pays for the services needed, or if the resident is able to pay towards their needs in part or in full. The costs can vary considerably per resident and is determined by how much assistance is needed to help them live independently.

Support is usually provided in the resident’s home or in the community, but sometimes provided in residential facilities like care or nursing homes.

Support can be short term to help people overcome an illness, injury or hospital stay, or long term because of a life-long condition.

We work with the resident to understand what they are able to do themselves, what support they already have access to, and then work with them to build upon these.

Help paying your Council Tax

There are many ways to pay your Council Tax. If you are struggling to keep up with Council tax payments, you can find out if you’re eligible for discounts or exemptions.

Help paying your Council Tax

Help managing your finances

If you are struggling financially don’t miss out on the help available. Find information to help improve your financial situation, including a benefit checker, a directory of local and national advice services along with other useful information.

Money matters: cost of living advice and support

Manage your Council Tax online

An online Bills and Benefits account is the easiest and quickest way to manage Council Tax payments and keep track of bills. Find out how to manage your Council Tax online.