Surrey Council Tax 2025-26: Every District's Band D Charge, Ranked

Waverley charges the most Band D council tax in Surrey for 2025-26 at £2,483.85 — £1.82 ahead of Woking and £103.79 ahead of the county’s lowest-charging district, Runnymede, at £2,380.06. Every figure in this guide comes from the Home-Checker database, which was loaded from the GOV.UK Council Tax Levels Set by Local Authorities in England 2025 to 2026 publication.

Use it to understand your specific bill before you make an offer.

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The complete 2025-26 Band D ranking

The table below lists all eleven Surrey billing authorities, sorted highest to lowest by their combined annual Band D charge. These are the total combined charges — county, district, police, and fire precepts included — for a standard unparished property. Properties in parished areas (common in rural Waverley and Mole Valley) will pay a small additional parish precept on top of the figures below.

Rank	District	2025-26 Band D
1 — highest	Waverley	£2,483.85
2	Woking	£2,482.03
3	Tandridge	£2,471.62
4	Surrey Heath	£2,467.86
5	Reigate and Banstead	£2,459.20
6	Elmbridge	£2,442.92
7	Guildford	£2,428.89
8	Epsom and Ewell	£2,416.84
9	Spelthorne	£2,412.78
10	Mole Valley	£2,405.75
11 — lowest	Runnymede	£2,380.06

Source: Home-Checker council_tax_bands table; data ETL’d from GOV.UK Table 9, Council Tax Levels Set by Local Authorities in England 2025 to 2026. Rows last updated 8 May 2026, financial year 2025-26.

Three things stand out from this table:

The spread is tighter than most buyers expect. Waverley at the top and Runnymede at the bottom are separated by £103.79. The entire county fits inside a £104 window at Band D. Headlines suggesting hundreds of pounds of variation at the district level are overstated — the meaningful cash variation comes from property band, not district, as the section below explains.

Woking is second, not first. Earlier drafts of Surrey council tax guides placed Woking at the top. At Band D, Woking (£2,482.03) sits £1.82 below Waverley (£2,483.85). The margin is narrow but unambiguous. Woking’s financial position is a legitimate buyer concern, but it does not hold the highest absolute charge in the county.

Tandridge is third, not highest. Some guides have listed Tandridge as the highest-charging Surrey district. That is incorrect for 2025-26. Tandridge (£2,471.62) is rank 3, behind both Waverley and Woking.

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What Band D actually means — and why most Surrey buyers are in Band E, F, or G

Band D is the statutory reference point for council tax across England. It is not the most common band for Surrey homes. It is the anchor from which every other band is calculated.

All properties are assigned a band (A through H) based on their estimated capital value as at 1 April 1991 — not their current market value. The statutory ratios, set by the Local Government Finance Act 1992, are fixed:

Band	Fraction of Band D	Decimal	Formula
A	6/9	0.667	Band D × 6 ÷ 9
B	7/9	0.778	Band D × 7 ÷ 9
C	8/9	0.889	Band D × 8 ÷ 9
D	9/9 = 1	1.000	Reference
E	11/9	1.222	Band D × 11 ÷ 9
F	13/9	1.444	Band D × 13 ÷ 9
G	15/9	1.667	Band D × 15 ÷ 9
H	18/9 = 2	2.000	Band D × 2

These ratios are fixed by statute and uniform across every local authority in England. If you know the Band D figure for a district, you can calculate the exact charge for any band by applying the fraction above.

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Every district’s full band table for 2025-26

The following table lists the exact annual charge for every band across all eleven Surrey districts. Every figure is derived from the Band D value using the statutory ratios above and confirmed against the Home-Checker database.

District	Band A	Band B	Band C	Band D	Band E	Band F	Band G	Band H
Waverley	£1,655.90	£1,931.88	£2,207.87	£2,483.85	£3,035.82	£3,587.78	£4,139.75	£4,967.70
Woking	£1,654.69	£1,930.47	£2,206.25	£2,482.03	£3,033.59	£3,585.15	£4,136.72	£4,964.06
Tandridge	£1,647.75	£1,922.37	£2,197.00	£2,471.62	£3,020.87	£3,570.12	£4,119.37	£4,943.24
Surrey Heath	£1,645.24	£1,919.45	£2,193.65	£2,467.86	£3,016.27	£3,564.69	£4,113.10	£4,935.72
Reigate and Banstead	£1,639.47	£1,912.71	£2,185.96	£2,459.20	£3,005.69	£3,552.18	£4,098.67	£4,918.40
Elmbridge	£1,628.61	£1,900.05	£2,171.48	£2,442.92	£2,985.79	£3,528.66	£4,071.53	£4,885.84
Guildford	£1,619.26	£1,889.14	£2,159.01	£2,428.89	£2,968.64	£3,508.40	£4,048.15	£4,857.78
Epsom and Ewell	£1,611.23	£1,879.76	£2,148.30	£2,416.84	£2,953.92	£3,490.99	£4,028.07	£4,833.68
Spelthorne	£1,608.52	£1,876.61	£2,144.69	£2,412.78	£2,948.95	£3,485.13	£4,021.30	£4,825.56
Mole Valley	£1,603.83	£1,871.14	£2,138.44	£2,405.75	£2,940.36	£3,474.97	£4,009.58	£4,811.50
Runnymede	£1,586.71	£1,851.16	£2,115.61	£2,380.06	£2,908.96	£3,437.86	£3,966.77	£4,760.12

All values sourced directly from the Home-Checker council_tax_bands table, financial year 2025-26.

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The district gap is £104 at Band D — but £173 at Band G

The full-band table above contains the most practically useful number for buyers evaluating mid-to-high-value Surrey property: the gap widens as you move up the bands.

• At Band D: Waverley (£2,483.85) vs Runnymede (£2,380.06) = £103.79 gap
• At Band G: Waverley (£4,139.75) vs Runnymede (£3,966.77) = £172.98 gap

The percentage spread is identical (4.4% in both cases — that is simply how the statutory fractions work), but the cash difference grows because you are applying the same percentage to a larger base number. Over ten years of ownership, a Band G property in Waverley versus an identical Band G property in Runnymede costs approximately £1,730 more in council tax — before any further precept increases are applied.

The more material variable for most buyers, however, is the band of their specific property, not the district. The difference between Band F and Band G within the same district is typically larger than the difference between districts at the same band. Take Runnymede: Band F is £3,437.86 and Band G is £3,966.77 — a £528.91 annual difference. That single-band step within the lowest-charging district is more than five times larger than the entire cross-district gap at Band D.

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Why bands are still based on 1991 valuations

Council tax bands were set on the estimated value of properties on 1 April 1991 and have never been revalued for England. A property currently worth £1.5m in Cobham may sit in Band G if its 1991 equivalent was valued at £160,001–£320,000. A modest 1930s semi that has since been heavily extended may still carry the band it was assigned when it was a two-bedroom cottage.

The consequence: band does not track current market value closely in Surrey, where prices have risen substantially since 1991.

Improvement markers are the specific mechanism buyers need to know about. When a property is significantly extended or improved, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) can note an improvement marker on the council tax record. The band does not change while the current owner remains in occupation. The moment the property is sold, the VOA has the power to reassess the band. A buyer purchasing a heavily extended property in, say, Band F may find it is moved to Band G after completion — adding over £500 per year to their liability.

You can check whether a property carries an improvement marker through the VOA website at gov.uk/council-tax-bands, using the property address. This check costs nothing. Any buyer’s solicitor should confirm the position, but there is no reason to wait until conveyancing to look.

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What drives differences between Surrey districts?

Your annual council tax bill is a combined charge from multiple precept-setting bodies:

Surrey County Council sets a precept that is uniform across all eleven districts. Every Surrey resident in the same band pays the same SCC amount — this is the largest single component of the bill. Precise SCC precept figures for 2025-26 are published in Surrey County Council’s annual budget papers.

Your district or borough council sets its own precept. This is where the district-to-district variation in the table above originates. The district element is the smaller portion of the combined charge — the figures in the database are combined totals, so the exact district-level split is not available from this source. The published precept notice for each district will confirm the breakdown.

Surrey Police sets a precept applied uniformly across the county.

Parish or town councils, where they exist, add their own precept on top of all the above. These apply only to properties within parished areas. Rural parts of Waverley, Mole Valley, Tandridge, and Guildford have extensive parish coverage. A property in a parished area will pay slightly more than the combined totals in the table above — the exact additional amount depends on the specific parish, and figures are published in each billing authority’s annual council tax leaflet.

The figures in the ranking table represent the standard combined charge for unparished properties. If you are buying in a parished area, check the billing authority’s published council tax schedule for your specific postcode.

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1991 band value ranges — for context

For readers who want to understand how the bands were originally defined, the 1991 capital value ranges are:

• Band A: up to £40,000
• Band B: £40,001–£52,000
• Band C: £52,001–£68,000
• Band D: £68,001–£88,000
• Band E: £88,001–£120,000
• Band F: £120,001–£160,000
• Band G: £160,001–£320,000
• Band H: over £320,000

These thresholds explain why virtually all high-value Surrey properties are concentrated in Bands E, F, and G, with Band H largely reserved for the largest and most valuable homes. A property that sold for £350,000 in 1995 would likely have been valued in the range of £200,000–£250,000 in 1991 terms — comfortably in Band G. The same property might sell for £1.2m today, but the band is unchanged unless the VOA reassesses on sale.

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Checking your specific property’s band and charge

The process for confirming the exact council tax position on any property in Surrey:

1. Find the VOA band — go to gov.uk/council-tax-bands and enter the full property address. The result shows the current band and any improvement markers.

2. Find the annual charge — once you have the band, locate the billing authority’s published council tax schedule. Each district publishes a schedule showing the combined charge by band for the current financial year. These are available on the district council website and are typically published each April.

3. Check for improvement markers — as described above, visible in the VOA record against the property address.

4. Ask your solicitor to confirm — conveyancing searches should confirm the billing authority and current band. For properties with visible markers or any sign of significant extension, a specific VOA banding enquiry is worth raising explicitly.

The district-level ranking in this guide tells you the combined charge at Band D. Your actual bill depends on which band your specific property sits in.

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Single-occupancy discount

If you live alone in a property, you are entitled to a 25% reduction in your council tax bill. This applies regardless of which Surrey district you are in and regardless of which band the property is in. The discount reduces a Band G Waverley charge of £4,139.75 to £3,104.81. It is a significant sum — apply for it if you are eligible. Contact the billing authority directly; it is not applied automatically.

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Surrey’s council tax in the context of a property purchase

Council tax is a non-discretionary, recurring cost that continues for as long as you own the property. Over a ten-year ownership period, the cumulative council tax on a Band G property in Waverley — at current 2025-26 rates and setting aside any future increases — is approximately £41,398. The same calculation for a Band G property in Runnymede is approximately £39,668.

Neither figure is trivial. Council tax deserves the same analytical attention as service charges, ground rent, or insurance premiums — costs that buyers typically model carefully. The practical tools for doing this are all publicly available: the VOA band check, the district’s published schedule, and the Home-Checker database tables that underpin this guide.

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Council tax figures are for the 2025-26 financial year. Data sourced from the Home-Checker council_tax_bands database table, ETL’d from GOV.UK “Council Tax Levels Set by Local Authorities in England 2025 to 2026”, Table 9. Statutory band ratios per Local Government Finance Act 1992, Section 5. Parish precept additions are not included in the district totals above — check your specific billing authority’s published schedule. Home-Checker is not a financial or legal adviser. Always verify the current band and charge for any property with the relevant billing authority before exchange.