Stockport's 2026/27 council tax is £2,618.90 at Band D, up £143.59. The full band A to H table, what each precept costs and the discounts worth claiming.
Stockport’s council tax bill went up £143.59 at Band D this year, to £2,618.90. That is a 5.8% rise once the two Greater Manchester precepts are counted, made up of a 4.99% increase set by the council itself plus £15 on the police precept and £25 on the mayoral general precept. Here is the full table for every band, where the money actually goes, and the reductions worth checking before you pay.
Every band, 2026/27 and what changed
There is one set of charges for the whole borough. The bill is built from four parts and none of them is a parish precept, so a Band C house in Marple pays exactly what a Band C house in Edgeley pays.
| Band | 1991 value | 2025/26 | 2026/27 | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Up to £40,000 | £1,650.21 | £1,745.93 | £95.72 |
| B | £40,001 to £52,000 | £1,925.23 | £2,036.92 | £111.69 |
| C | £52,001 to £68,000 | £2,200.27 | £2,327.91 | £127.64 |
| D | £68,001 to £88,000 | £2,475.31 | £2,618.90 | £143.59 |
| E | £88,001 to £120,000 | £3,025.38 | £3,200.88 | £175.50 |
| F | £120,001 to £160,000 | £3,575.44 | £3,782.85 | £207.41 |
| G | £160,001 to £320,000 | £4,125.52 | £4,364.83 | £239.31 |
| H | Over £320,000 | £4,950.62 | £5,237.80 | £287.18 |
Charges from the council’s how much is council tax page; the prior-year figures and the increases from the budget and council tax statement. At Band D that increase works out at £11.97 a month.
The valuations are the ones from April 1991, not what the house is worth now, which is the single most common misunderstanding about the system.
Where your money goes
Only £1,804.91 of a Band D bill is council tax the borough sets for general services. £374.74 is the ring-fenced adult social care precept, which rose by 2% this year. £285.30 goes to the Mayoral Police and Crime Commissioner precept, up £15, and £153.95 to the Mayoral General precept covering fire services, up £25. The two mayoral increases are set by the Mayor of Greater Manchester, not by Stockport Council (what your council tax pays for).
Across the whole borough that yields £179.946m in council tax plus £37.361m from the adult social care precept, together 57.2% of the council’s funding. Business rates bring in £139.209m, government grants £19.283m. The council plans to spend £887m on services in 2026/27, with a net revenue budget of £380m, of which £151.579m goes on adult social care and £94.296m on children’s and education services. More than 75% of service budgets go on children’s and adults’ social care and SEND.
One number explains why the bill rose the maximum allowed: the council’s government funding rises 3.03% in 2026/27, against a metropolitan borough average of 7.98%. Government assumes councils will take the full 4.99%, and setting less means forgoing income the funding formula has already counted (budget statement).
Check your band, and challenge it if it is wrong
Your band is set by the Valuation Office Agency, not by the council, and the council cannot change it or appeal on your behalf.
- Look it up free on GOV.UK.
- To challenge the band, use the GOV.UK challenge service or call the VOA on 03000 501 501. You will need your council tax reference, which is on your bill: ten characters, starting 50.
- Before you start, read the VOA’s own note on when it will review a band and what evidence it wants. Neighbours in a lower band is not on its own enough.
If the bill rather than the band is wrong, write to the Council Tax Team at the Town Hall, Stockport SK1 3XE, or email council.tax@stockport.gov.uk. Put the reference in the subject line in the form “Reference 5011111111” and not in the body, which is the council’s own instruction for getting it dealt with faster. The council has two months to reply; if you disagree with the answer or hear nothing, you can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal Service. Keep paying while any appeal is running (council tax appeals).
Reductions worth claiming
- Single person: 25% off if you are the only adult in the property (single person).
- Students: a household where everyone over 18 is a student pays nothing. One non-student in the house means a 25% reduction instead. Full-time higher education means a course of at least 24 weeks a year and 21 hours of study a week in term time; for under-20s in further education it is 12 hours a week for more than three months. If you are 18 or 19 and leave school or college between 1 May and 31 October, the reduction runs to 1 November (students).
- Severe mental impairment and permanent disability both carry reductions, applied for separately.
- Council Tax Support for low-income households, with a Second Adult Rebate of up to 25% for pension-age residents living with another adult on a low income (council tax support).
The band cap most Stockport claimants do not know about
Stockport’s local support scheme for 2026/27, approved by Full Council on 15 January 2026, calculates working-age awards on a Band A equivalent bill whatever band you actually live in. If your household needs three or more bedrooms under the Local Housing Allowance criteria, it is calculated on Band B instead. Only claimants receiving Disabled Persons Relief have their support worked out on their real liability.
In practice that means a working-age claimant in a Band D house is having support assessed against £1,745.93 rather than £2,618.90, and the gap is theirs to pay. Other local rules in the same scheme: savings above £8,000 disqualify you entirely for working age (£16,000 at pension age), the minimum award is £1 a week, Second Adult Rebate is not available to working-age claimants, non-dependant deductions are £10 a week where the other adult’s gross income is £188 or more and £5 below that, and new claims are not backdated at all: entitlement starts the Monday after you apply (council tax support scheme). That last rule is the expensive one. Do not put the application off.
Empty and second homes: the premium doubles the bill
Stockport gives no discount at all for an empty property, a home needing repair, a holiday home, a second home or any furnished property that is not someone’s main residence. After that it charges premiums on top of the full bill:
| How long empty | Premium | You pay |
|---|---|---|
| Unfurnished, over 1 year | 100% | Double the normal charge |
| Unfurnished, over 5 years | 200% | Triple |
| Unfurnished, over 10 years | 300% | Four times |
| Furnished, over 1 year (since 1 April 2025) | 100% | Double |
The clock runs from the date the property became empty, not from the date you bought it, which is the detail that catches out buyers of long-empty houses. The council will tell you what a property is currently charged before you buy if you ask (empty properties). Some empty properties are exempt rather than charged, for instance where the liable person has moved elsewhere to receive care.
Where to go next
- How much is council tax for the official band table
- Ways to pay, and difficulties paying if the bill is not affordable
- Ways to reduce your council tax
Our other practical pages: bin collection days, parking in Stockport, roadworks and travel and Stockport house prices, which is where the 1991 valuations start to feel a long time ago.
Sources
- Stockport Council: how much is council tax and what your council tax pays for
- Stockport Council: budget and council tax statement 2026/27 and the council tax leaflet for 2026 to 2027 (PDF)
- Stockport Council: council tax appeals, empty properties, students, single person, council tax support and the local council tax support scheme 2026/27
- GOV.UK: check your council tax band and challenge your band
All charges were taken from Stockport Council’s published 2026/27 figures and checked on 15 August 2026. This is general information about the borough’s charges, not advice on your own bill: the council tax team is on council.tax@stockport.gov.uk.
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