Council tax explained
Your council tax pays for essential local services in your community such as schools, libraries, police and rubbish collection. Council tax is charged on all residential properties in England. One council tax bill is sent to each property, however many people live there.
The amount of Council Tax you have to pay depends on your property’s ‘valuation band’. These bands are set by the Valuation Office Agency based on how much your property was worth on 1 April 1991, not its current value. The lower the value of your home, the less you will normally pay.
You can check your Council tax band on the GOV.UK website.
Your bill is made up of charges set by:
- Somerset Council
- With an additional precept to help fund adult social care precept
- Somerset Council’s charge includes a sum paid to the Somerset Rivers Authority
- The Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset
- Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service
- Local parish, town or city councils
Where a town or parish council sets a budget of more than £140,000 a year, we must show details of their expenditure plans. This applies to the following parishes:
- Bridgwater Town Council
- Bruton Parish Council
- Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge Town Council
- Castle Cary Parish Council
- Chard Town Council
- Cheddar Parish Council
- Crewkerne Town Council
- Frome Town Council
- Glastonbury Town Council
- Ilminster Town Council
- Martock Parish Council
- Minehead Town Council
- North Petherton Town Council
- St Cuthbert Out Parish Council
- Shepton Mallet Parish Council
- Somerton Parish Council
- South Petherton Parish Council
- Street Parish Council
- Taunton Parish Council
- Watchet Town Council
- Wellington Town Council
- Wells City Council
- Wincanton Town Council
- Yeovil Town Council
Why has the Council had to increase your Council Tax?
The Council Tax for 2023/24 has been set at a time when consumer inflation is running at around 10%, with the 5.0% per cent rise matching the rises in most councils across England and Wales. The move to a single council has produced savings, £3.9 million in the year of this budget, with further savings in future years.
However, in addition to inflation, which increases the costs of the goods and services the council buys, the council has seen an unprecedented rise in demand for care services for Somerset’s most vulnerable residents. We are seeing an increase in the number of residents, both adults and children, who need support from the council and with the support needed becoming increasingly complex. Funding for these two services has had to increase by £28 million and £19 million respectively, just to support existing demand. More detail can be found in the Council’s budget setting papers from the Council meeting on 22 February 2023, which are available on our website Councils Budget Papers.
How we can lower your bill
We can reduce your council tax bill by awarding:
- a discount – your bill assumes there are at least two adults living in your home. If only one adult lives there, we can lower the council tax by 25%. Some people are not counted as living in a property for council tax purposes. This means if there is more than one adult living in your home, you could still get a discount;
- an exemption – some properties are free from Council Tax;
- Council Tax Reduction – for people on low incomes
- a disabled person’s band reduction because an adult or child living in the home needs to use a wheelchair indoors. They may also need a special room within the house because of their disability.
One or more of these reductions may apply to your home.
The Council Tax Charge for Somerset Council
The New Somerset Council commencing 1 April 2023 will have one Council Tax rate for everyone living in Somerset.
The Council Tax charged by Somerset Council is split into two parts, one to help fund the general costs of the council and the other to specifically assist with funding the costs of Adult Social Care.
Government are allowing Councils to increase Council Tax by a maximum of 3.0% for general expenditure and an additional 2.0% for adult social care.
This 5.0% limit only applies to Somerset Council’s element of the Council Tax. The other authorities who levy a Council Tax charge (i.e. the Police, Fire and parish, town or city councils) can also increase their charges. The Police are limited to a £15 increase and the Fire authority are limited to £5. There is no limit on parish, town and city councils. The combined effect of increases in all of the charging organisations can result in the overall total increase exceeding 5%.
For the 2023/24 financial year the following amounts have been agreed by the Council for properties in Band D. (NB. The amounts charged will vary depending on which band your property is in).
| Area | Amount for 2023/24 | % increase |
|---|---|---|
| Somerset Council (for general expenditure) | £1,449.58 | 3.0% |
| Adult Social Care | £196.46 | 2.0% |
| TOTAL for Somerset Council | £1,646.04 | 5.0% |
The total amount of the Somerset Council charge represents an overall 5.0% increase from last year.
The Adult Social Care Precept
With effect from the 2016/17 financial year, councils with adult social care responsibilities have been allowed to charge an additional amount of Council Tax specifically to help fund services in this area.
For the 2023/24 financial year we are allowed by Government to increase the adult social care element of the charge by up to a further 2.0% of the total amount of the Somerset Council element of the Council Tax i.e. the total of the amount for general expenditure plus the adult social care amount.
For adult social care authorities, Council Tax demand notices are required to show two percentage changes: one for the part of the overall change attributable to the adult social care charge, and one for the part attributable to general expenditure.
The percentage change that is shown for the adult social care charge represents the amount of the increase for the adult social care element of the charge, shown as a percentage of the total charge for Somerset Council (i.e. including the adult social care amount).
So, for 2023/24 the total charge for Somerset Council is £1,646.04 and the increase for the adult social care element is £31.36. The percentage change shown for adult social care is calculated as follows: The Adult Social Care precept increase (£31.36)/Harmonised total for 2022/23 (£1,567.83) x 100 = 2%.
The calculation of the percentage increase for the adult social care element of the charge is different from how the other percentage changes are calculated and can cause confusion. However, we are required by Government to show the percentage change in this way and this approach reflects how the amount of the increase is calculated.
The calculation of the percentage increase for Somerset Council
Somerset Council did not exist in the previous financial year, 2022/23.
So, for the purposes of calculating the percentage increases, the Somerset Council charge for 2023/24 needs to be compared against the total of the Somerset County Council charge including the Adult Social Care precept and a harmonised figure for the District Council charges for the previous year, 2022/23, as detailed below.
| Area | 22/23 | 23/24 | Amount of increase | % increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Somerset County Council | £1,228.90 | £0.00 | £0.00 | 0% |
| Harmonised District Charge | £173.83 | £0.00 | £0.00 | 0% |
| New Somerset Council | £0.00 | £1,449.58 | £46.85 | 3.0% |
| Adult Social Care | £165.10 | £196.46 | £31.36 | 2.0% |
| Harmonised Total | £1,567.83 | £1,646.04 | £78.21 | 5.0% |
A harmonised figure is used in respect of the District Council charges because the charge for each District Council was different. For details of how the harmonised charge for 2022/23 is calculated please see the document Council Tax Harmonisation.
The percentage increases for Somerset Council shown on your bill
The actual percentage increases shown on your bill for the Somerset Council charge may differ from the amounts shown above.
This difference is because the actual charges levied by the District Councils in 2022/23 are different from the harmonised charge used for the purposes of calculating the overall percentage increase for 2023/24.
The percentage increases for each of the District areas are detailed below.
| Mendip District Council | 22/23 | 23/24 | Amount of increase | % increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Somerset County Council | £1,228.90 | £0.00 | £0.00 | 0% |
| Mendip District Council | £173.45 | £0.00 | £0.00 | 0% |
| New Somerset Council | £0.00 | £1,449.58 | £47.23 | 3.0% |
| Adult Social Care | £165.10 | £196.46 | £31.36 | 2.0% |
| Total | £1,567.45 | £1,646.04 | £78.59 | 5.0% |
| Sedgemoor District Council | 22/23 | 23/24 | Amount of increase | % increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Somerset County Council | £1,228.90 | £0.00 | £0.00 | 0% |
| Sedgemoor District Council | £177.32 | £0.00 | £0.00 | 0% |
| New Somerset Council | £0.00 | £1,449.58 | £43.36 | 2.8% |
| Adult Social Care | £165.10 | £196.46 | £31.36 | 2.0% |
| Total | £1,571.32 | £1,646.04 | £74.72 | 4.8% |
| Somerset West and Taunton Council | 22/23 | 23/24 | Amount of increase | % increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Somerset County Council | £1,228.90 | £0.00 | £0.00 | 0% |
| Somerset West and Taunton Council* | £162.65 | £0.00 | £0.00 | 0% |
| New Somerset Council | £0.00 | £1,449.58 | £58.03 | 3.7% |
| Adult Social Care | £165.10 | £196.46 | £31.36 | 2.0% |
| Total | £1,556.65 | £1,646.04 | £89.39 | 5.7% |
| South Somerset District Council | 22/23 | 23/24 | Amount of increase | % increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Somerset County Council | £1,228.90 | £0.00 | £0.00 | 0% |
| South Somerset District Council | £182.11 | £0.00 | £0.00 | 0% |
| New Somerset Council | £0.00 | £1,449.58 | £38.57 | 2.4% |
| Adult Social Care | £165.10 | £196.46 | £31.36 | 2.0% |
| Total | £1,576.11 | £1,646.04 | £69.93 | 4.4% |
The ‘Total’ figures shown above represent the totals of the Somerset County Council, District Council and Adult Social Care charges for 2022/23 and of the Somerset Council and Adult Social Care charges for 2023/24. They do not reflect the overall total increase shown on your bill which also includes the charges for the other authorities charging Council Tax, that is, Police, Fire and parish, town or city councils.
* The figure used for the Somerset West and Taunton charge for 2022/23 has been reduced to take into account the transfer of budget to Taunton Parish Council. This reduced figure has been used to ensure an accurate comparison is made between the combined total amount charged for 2022/23 by Somerset County Council (including the Adult Social Care precept) plus the Somerset West and Taunton and the Somerset Council Charge (including the Adult Social Care precept) for 2023/24.
In some instances, the percentage increases shown above for Somerset Council may not reflect the percentage increase detailed on your Council Tax bill. This is because the calculation of the percentage increase shown on your bill is calculated based on the comparison between the general expenditure related charges for 2022/23 and 2023/24, but does not take into account the Adult Social Care precept. This does not affect the calculation of the amount of Council Tax actually payable, which is correct and as detailed on your bill.
About Taunton Parish Council
The new Taunton Parish Council covers the previously unparished area of Taunton (the only part of Somerset not to be parished as a result of local government reorganisation in 1974) and parts of neighbouring parishes which were considered under the Community Governance Review.
It includes the unparished area of Taunton and the entirety of Comeytrowe Parish, the urban area within the Maidenbrook Ward of Cheddon Fitzpaine Parish, and the majority of Staplegrove Parish with the remaining part of that parish included in the boundary of Kingston St. Mary Parish.
Taunton Parish Council which will come into being on 1 April 2023 – the same day as the new unitary Somerset Council and will be responsible for most of the Parks and Public Toilets in Taunton as well as a range of other matters such as events and allotments.
Once established, a parish council in an urban area may resolve to be called a town council. It is thought likely that this council, established to serve Taunton, will do so at its first meeting and will then be known as Taunton Town Council.
More information about Taunton Parish Council.
Where you live in the new Taunton parish area, your bill will include a charge for the new Taunton Parish Council. Because this is a new parish council we cannot show a percentage change figure on the bill as there was no actual charge for the previous year to compare against.
The charge for the new Taunton Parish Council will impact on the overall total percentage change for the Council Tax for your property. This will vary according to which area or parish your property was located in during the preceding financial year. The overall total percentage increases are detailed below. (The amounts shown relate to a property in band D, but the percentage change is the same across all of the Council Tax bands A to H).
| Former parish | Parish precept for Band D property 2022/23 | Total charge for Band D property 2023/24 | Taunton Town parish charge for Band D property 2023/24 | Total charge for Band D property 2023/24 | Percentage increase for the total charge 2023/24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staplegrove | £16.37 | £1,927.99 | £109.67 | £2,118.70 | 9.9% |
| Bishops Hull | £29.16 | £1,940.78 | £109.67 | £2,118.70 | 9.1% |
| Comeytrowe | £12.06 | £1,923.68 | £109.67 | £2,118.70 | 10.1% |
| Trull | £28.50 | £1,940.12 | £109.67 | £2,118.70 | 9.2% |
| Cheddon Fitzpaine | £40.97 | £1,952.59 | £109.67 | £2,118.70 | 8.5% |
| West Monkton | £30.34 | £1,941.96 | £109.67 | £2,118.70 | 9.1% |
| The unparished area | £5.78 | £1,917.40 | £109.67 | £2,118.70 | 10.5% |
| Average | £23.31 | £1,934.93 | £109.67 | £2,118.70 | 9.5% |
For properties previously in the unparished area now in Bishops Hull:
| Unparished area precept for Band D property 2022/23 | Total charge for Band D property for 2022/23 | Bishops Hull parish charge for Band D property 2023/24 | Total charge for Band D property 2023/24 | Percentage increase for the total charge 2023/24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £5.78 | £1,917.40 | £30.19 | £2,039.22 | 6.4% |
For properties previously in Staplegrove now in Kingston St Mary:
| Staplegrove precept for Band D property 2022/23 | Total charge for Band D property for 2022/23 | Kingston St Mary parish charge for Band D property 2023/24 | Total charge for Band D property 2023/24 | Percentage increase for the total charge 2023/24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £16.37 | £1,927.99 | £28.89 | £2,037.92 | 5.7% |
More information about Taunton Parish Council.
