What is Council Tax?

Council Tax is a fee you pay to your local council to help fund services like Adult Social Care, Children's Social Care, Education services, Housing Services, libraries, bin collections and community improvements. It also supports police, fire services, and parish costs. This page explains how your Council Tax bill is calculated.

Who has to pay?

Council Tax must be paid on every property that is not exempt. There is only one Council Tax bill for each home. To work out who pays for your home, from the list below, when you reach the first description that applies to someone in your home, they are responsible for the bill. They are known as the 'liable person'.

A resident freeholder (for owner-occupied property, this will be the owner)
A resident leaseholder
A resident with a statutory or secure tenancy
A resident licensee
A resident
The owner

Residents - You will normally pay Council Tax if you are over 18 and own or rent a property. If more than one person owns or leases the property, they will be equally responsible for the one Council Tax bill for that property. The partner of someone is also jointly liable for Council Tax, whether or not they are married. You may be eligible for a discount on your bill if you live alone or if no one else in your household is considered an adult for Council Tax purposes.

Owners and landlords - If no one lives in the property, the owner of the home will be liable to pay the Council Tax. Owners and landlords are also responsible for properties that are specifically built for many people to live or stay in such as hostels, care homes and student accommodation. If the property is rented to several people and they each have an individual tenancy agreement to occupy only part of the building, the property is a 'house in multiple occupation' (HMO) and the landlord is responsible for paying the Council Tax. In the following circumstances the owner of a property will be responsible for paying the Council Tax:

Care homes, hospitals and hostels
Religious communities such as monasteries and convents
Properties where a minister of religion is resident such as a vicarage
Property provided for employment of residential staff
Houses in multiple occupation (HMO)
Accommodation occupied only by asylum seekers

You don't have to pay Council Tax if everyone in your home is a full-time student. You might also get discounts, reductions and exemptions depending on your situation, and the Council Tax support scheme supports people on low incomes to pay their bill.

How much is my bill?

The amount of Council Tax you pay depends on the value of your home on 1 April 1991, not its current value. The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) decided which Council Tax band your home has been placed in, you can check your Council Tax band on GOV.UK.

2026/27 Band Values	Sunderland City Council	Fire	Police	Sunderland Total	Hetton Town Council	Hetton Total
A	£1,251.20	£70.07	£142.89	£1,464.16	£10.23	£1,474.39
B	£1,459.73	£81.75	£166.71	£1,708.19	£11.94	£1,720.13
C	£1,668.27	£93.43	£190.52	£1,952.22	£13.64	£1,965.86
D	£1,876.80	£105.11	£214.34	£2,196.25	£15.35	£2,211.60
E	£2,293.87	£128.47	£261.97	£2,684.31	£18.76	£2,703.07
F	£2,710.93	£151.83	£309.60	£3,172.36	£22.18	£3,194.54
G	£3,128.00	£175.18	£357.23	£3,660.41	£25.58	£3,685.99
H	£3,753.60	£210.22	£428.68	£4,392.50	£30.70	£4,423.20

Understanding you Council Tax bill explains how the bill has been calculated, and how much you need to pay and when.

You might need to contact the VOA if you think your Council Tax band is wrong. Find out more about when you can challenge your Council Tax band and what you need to do. If you challenge your band, you must continue to pay Council Tax at your current band until your appeal is decided.

How your Council Tax is used

You can find more information about how your Council Tax is used in our Council Tax 2026 - 2027 booklet and on our Council Tax financial information page.

Request your Council Tax bill in a different format

If you have difficulty reading your Council Tax bill because the print is too small, or it is not in your preferred language, we can help. You can request your Council Tax bill in a different format to receive it in a way that suits your needs.

What to do if you disagree with your bill

If you think your bill has been calculated incorrectly or think your property is in the wrong band, you can appeal, more information is available on the How to appeal your Council Tax bill page.

Who is not counted for Council Tax?

Some adults are disregarded and therefore not counted when deciding how many people live in a property. If only one person is counted then you will get a 25% discount, if all adults are not counted you will get a 50% discount or, in some circumstances an exemption on your bill.

The following people are not counted when working out your Council Tax bill, subject to meeting certain criteria.