Council Tax bands in Preston
A Band D household in Preston pays £2,576 in 2026/27. Every other band is a fixed proportion of that figure — the proportions are set in law, so once you know the Band D amount you know what every band costs. The table below is that calculation, alongside how many homes in Preston actually sit in each band.
What each band costs in Preston
Figures include the precepts charged alongside the council’s own share — police, fire and, where they apply, county and parish precepts. This is the amount a household is billed, not the council’s own portion of it. Charges are rounded to the nearest pound; your actual bill states pence.
| Band | Value at 1 April 1991 | 2026/27 charge | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amost common | up to £40,000 | £1,717 | 31,000 | 44.0% |
| B | £40,001–£52,000 | £2,003 | 13,610 | 19.3% |
| C | £52,001–£68,000 | £2,290 | 11,260 | 16.0% |
| D | £68,001–£88,000 | £2,576 | 7,490 | 10.6% |
| E | £88,001–£120,000 | £3,148 | 3,750 | 5.3% |
| F | £120,001–£160,000 | £3,721 | 2,130 | 3.0% |
| G | £160,001–£320,000 | £4,293 | 1,080 | 1.5% |
| H | over £320,000 | £5,151 | 70 | 0.1% |
What the numbers say about Preston
Preston has 70,390 domestic properties on the valuation list. 79.4% of them are in bands A to C, and 90% are at Band D or below. The most common band is Band A.
A caveat that matters more here than in most places: 44% of homes in Preston are already in Band A, which is the lowest band there is. If you are in Band A, a challenge cannot reduce your band — there is nothing below it. That is worth knowing before you spend any time on it.
Preston's housing is dominated by bands A–C, with the Victorian and Edwardian terraces close to the centre almost entirely in the lowest bands. Where challenges tend to be worth investigating is in the pockets of newer estates, where a property can be banded on an original build valuation that no longer reflects how the estate was finally laid out.
Does that mean your band is wrong?
Not on its own. The single most common mistake is reading a table like the one above and concluding that because most homes nearby are in a lower band, yours must be too. Band is a judgement about your specific property at 1 April 1991 — its size, type and age — so the only comparisons that count are with properties genuinely like yours. A large detached house surrounded by flats is usually banded correctly, however lopsided the street looks.
Be aware too that a review can move a band up as well as down, and it can affect neighbouring properties. That is why our free check scores the strength of the evidence before anything else, and tells you plainly when a challenge is not worth pursuing.
Where these figures come from
Band D charges are MHCLG published figures for 2026/27, including all precepts. The per-band charges are derived from that Band D amount using the statutory ratios, which is exactly how a council calculates them. Property counts are the Valuation Office Agency’s Council Tax stock of properties data as at 31 March 2025. All three are Open Government Licence.
Charges change each April and stock counts are published annually, so treat the counts as the most recent official position rather than a live figure.
Related reading
Check a Preston postcode against its real comparables
We pull the band for every property at your postcode, compare only genuinely like-for-like homes, and score honestly whether a challenge is worth making. No payment until you have seen the result.