Where your money goes and a guide to your council tax bill.
Council tax and your bill
Council tax is your way of helping to pay for many local services like emergency services, rubbish and recycling collection, libraries, schools, street lights and much more.
Council tax is charged on the household. It's based on the value of the property and not on what the household earns. The band is decided by the Valuation Office. See council tax charges and bands.
The amount of council tax you have to pay depends on which property band your home is in.
Your final bill will be changed if you qualify for any of the council tax discounts or exemptions.
Find out more about paying the right level of council tax with GOV.UK's plain English guide to council tax.
Budget 2024 to 2025
- Gross expenditure (spending on council services, schools and welfare benefits): £1,260 million (spending by schools and on benefits is largely funded by the government)
- Revenue budget (money spent on running the council and overheads): £530.1 million
- Council tax contribution: £282 million
- Council tax increase: 4.99% (2.99% council tax increase, 2% Adult Social Care precept)
- Avon Fire Authority increase: 2.9%
- Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commisioner increase: 4.9%
Council services are also paid for by income from business rates, grants, service users, other organisations and our investments.
2023 to 2024
- Gross expenditure: £1,188 million
- Revenue budget: £483.5 million
- Council tax contribution: £258.8 million
- Council tax increase: 4.99% (2.99% council tax increase, 2% Adult Social Care precept)
- Avon Fire Authority increase: 5.9%
- Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commisioner increase: 6.4%
2022 to 2023
- Gross expenditure: £1,091 million
- Revenue budget: £431.1 million
- Council tax contribution: £243.3 million
- Council tax increase: 2.99% (1.99% council tax increase, 1% Adult Social Care precept)
- Avon Fire Authority increase: 1.99%
- Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commisioner increase: 4.1%
Adult Social Care precept
The Secretary of State gave Adult Social care authorities the option to charge an additional ‘precept' on its council tax without holding a referendum, to help them cover their costs for adult social care from the financial year 2016/17.
It was originally made for the financial years up to and including 2019-20. If the Secretary of State chooses to renew this offer in respect of a particular financial year, it will be subject to the approval of the House of Commons.
Note: Adult Social Care authorities are local authorities which have functions under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014. This include county councils in England, district councils for areas in England for which there is no county council, London borough councils, the Common Council of the City of London and the Council of the Isles of Scilly.
For 2024/25, following public consultation, we've agreed to take up the offer and increased council tax by 2% to help cover the costs of social care.
Levies on the council
The Environment Agency (EA) and the Lower Severn Internal Drainage Board (IDB) charge the council a levy for flood defence and land drainage. The Devon and Severn Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA) charge a levy for the management of the local marine environment. The Regional Flood and Coastal Committees (RFCC) charge a levy to fund local flood and coastal priorities.
| Region | Gross expenditure (£m) | Total levy requirement (£m) | Levy on the council (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| EA Severn and Wye RFCC | 33.4 | 1.27 | 3,335 |
| EA Wessex RFCC | 137.6 | 4.1 | 499,693 |
| Lower Severn IDB | 2.0 | 1.8 | 948,676 |
| Devon and Severn IFCA | 0.94 | 0.79 | 44,356 |
| Region | Gross expenditure (£m) | Total levy requirement (£m) | Levy on the council (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| EA Severn and Wye RFCC | 33.6 | 1.25 | 3,297 |
| EA Wessex RFCC | 94.6 | 4.01 | 477,286 |
| Lower Severn IDB | 2.0 | 1.6 | 876,576 |
| Devon and Severn IFCA | 0.76 | 0.76 | 43,064 |
| Region | Gross expenditure (£m) | Total levy requirement (£m) | Levy on the council (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| EA Severn and Wye RFCC | 33.8 | 1.22 | 2,880 |
| EA Wessex RFCC | 61.6 | 3.93 | 470,554 |
| Lower Severn IDB | 1.9 | 1.5 | 804,477 |
| Devon and Severn IFCA | 0.76 | 0.76 | 43,064 |
Council tax notice
The pdf Council Tax Notice for 2024/25 (74 KB) shows the council tax bands commencing from 1 April 2024.
Emergency services
Get information on spending plans for the Police and fire brigade and details of how the budgets are finalised:
2024/25
- pdf Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner 2024/25 (761 KB)
- pdf Avon Fire Authority: Your fire and rescue service 2024/25 (218 KB)
2023/24
- pdf Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner 2023/24 (1.06 MB)
- pdf Avon Fire Authority: Your fire and rescue service 2023/24 (231 KB)