Dorset council tax 2026/27: band D is £2,625.43 before your parish. Sturminster Newton adds £303.52, 28 parishes add nothing. Bands A to H and how to pay.
Under the 2026/27 Dorset council tax bands, every household in the Dorset Council area pays the same £2,625.43 at band D before its town or parish council adds anything. That covers Dorset Council, adult social care, Dorset Police and Dorset & Wiltshire Fire.
Then the parish precept goes on top, and the gap is wide. Sturminster Newton adds £303.52. Twenty-eight parishes add nothing at all. Two identical band D houses, one in Sturminster Newton and one in Chettle, are £303.52 apart on the year for exactly the same county services.
Bills for 2026/27 were issued on 10 March 2026. All the figures below come from Dorset Council’s own published charges, checked on 24 August 2026.
The band A to H table, before any parish precept
This is what everyone in the Dorset Council area pays. It is the figure to start from, and the only one that is the same everywhere.
| Band | Police | Fire | Dorset Council | Adult social care | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | £215.05 | £64.63 | £1,230.90 | £239.70 | £1,750.28 |
| B | £250.90 | £75.41 | £1,436.05 | £279.65 | £2,042.01 |
| C | £286.74 | £86.18 | £1,641.20 | £319.60 | £2,333.72 |
| D | £322.58 | £96.95 | £1,846.35 | £359.55 | £2,625.43 |
| E | £394.26 | £118.49 | £2,256.65 | £439.45 | £3,208.85 |
| F | £465.95 | £140.04 | £2,666.95 | £519.35 | £3,792.29 |
| G | £537.63 | £161.58 | £3,077.25 | £599.25 | £4,375.71 |
| H | £645.16 | £193.90 | £3,692.70 | £719.10 | £5,250.86 |
At band D that is a rise of £124.85 on last year, when the same figure was £2,500.58. Dorset Council’s own share, including adult social care, went up 4.99%, which is the maximum a social care authority can charge without holding a referendum.
Note what the table shows about who takes the money. Of the £2,625.43 at band D, Dorset Council and adult social care take £2,205.90, or 84p in every pound. Policing takes £322.58 and the fire service £96.95.
Two percentages that do not match the figures beside them
Dorset Council’s Your bill explained 2026 to 2027 page prints the percentage rise for each major precept next to its cash figure. For its own share the arithmetic holds: 2.9985% plus 1.9919% is 4.99%, and £2,101.05 rising to £2,205.90 is 4.99%.
For the other two it does not.
- The page labels the police precept a 5.4% increase. Band D went from £307.58 in 2025/26 to £322.58, which is £15 more, or 4.9%. The Police and Crime Commissioner’s own precept statement says an average band D household will pay “an extra £15 a year, or £1.25 a month”. The panel approved it on 7 February 2026.
- The page labels the fire precept a 2.7% increase. Band D went from £91.95 to £96.95, which is £5 more, or 5.4%. Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service says the same thing in its own announcement: £5, about 5.4%, agreed by the Authority on 10 February 2026.
The cash figures on the council’s page are right, and they are the ones on your bill. It is the two percentages that appear to have been swapped, and 2.7% matches neither authority.
What your town or parish adds
Dorset Council lists 219 towns and parishes on its full charges page, each with its own band A to H table. Twenty-eight of them levy no precept at all, so a band D bill there is the bare £2,625.43.
The larger towns, in full:
| Town | Band A | Band D | Band H | Parish adds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sturminster Newton | £1,952.63 | £2,928.95 | £5,857.90 | £303.52 |
| Wareham Town | £1,950.27 | £2,925.41 | £5,850.82 | £299.98 |
| Sherborne | £1,935.43 | £2,903.16 | £5,806.32 | £277.73 |
| Gillingham | £1,928.73 | £2,893.10 | £5,786.20 | £267.67 |
| Blandford Forum | £1,924.62 | £2,886.94 | £5,773.88 | £261.51 |
| Shaftesbury | £1,915.16 | £2,872.75 | £5,745.50 | £247.32 |
| Weymouth | £1,896.75 | £2,845.13 | £5,690.26 | £219.70 |
| Dorchester | £1,896.17 | £2,844.26 | £5,688.52 | £218.83 |
| Bridport | £1,894.87 | £2,842.31 | £5,684.62 | £216.88 |
| Swanage | £1,878.71 | £2,818.07 | £5,636.14 | £192.64 |
| Wimborne Minster | £1,869.37 | £2,804.07 | £5,608.14 | £178.64 |
| Portland | £1,854.71 | £2,782.07 | £5,564.14 | £156.64 |
| Verwood | £1,798.21 | £2,697.32 | £5,394.64 | £71.89 |
| Lyme Regis | £1,794.35 | £2,691.53 | £5,383.06 | £66.10 |
| 28 parishes with no precept | £1,750.28 | £2,625.43 | £5,250.86 | nothing |
Two things are worth taking from this. Size does not predict the precept: Verwood, one of the larger towns in east Dorset, adds £71.89, while Sturminster Newton adds more than four times as much. And a parish precept is not capped in the way a district or county precept is, so a town council can raise it sharply in a single year without a referendum.
Your own parish will be on the council’s list. Check the exact name, because several appear as grouped parishes, such as “Cerne Valley Group” or “Corscombe, Halstock & District”, rather than as the village you would look for.
Checking, and challenging, your band
Bands were set on what a property would have sold for on 1 April 1991, not today. Nothing that has happened in the housing market since then changes the band.
| Band | 1991 value |
|---|---|
| A | Up to £40,000 |
| B | £40,001 to £52,000 |
| C | £52,001 to £68,000 |
| D | £68,001 to £88,000 |
| E | £88,001 to £120,000 |
| F | £120,001 to £160,000 |
| G | £160,001 to £320,000 |
| H | More than £320,000 |
Look yours up free on the government’s council tax band search, and challenge it through the Valuation Office Agency. The council is clear that appeals are free and that there is no need to engage an agent. Companies that offer to do this for a fee are doing something you can do yourself in a few minutes.
The grounds for an appeal are narrow. From the council’s statutory information:
- you are the new owner and no previous appeal has been made on the same facts, in which case you have six months from becoming the taxpayer
- there has been a material reduction in value, for example part of the property has been demolished
- the Listing Officer has altered the band
Appealing does not let you stop paying. If you win, you get the overpayment back.
Discounts, and the two premiums that double a bill
Single adult: 25% off. A full bill assumes two adults live there.
Certain people are not counted at all when the council works out how many adults live in a property:
- permanent residents of a hospital, nursing home or care home
- full-time students and student nurses
- resident carers
- apprentices
- school leavers, and over-18s for whom child benefit is still paid
- people who are severely mentally impaired
If everyone in the house is disregarded, the discount is 50%. If all but one are, it is 25%. People under 25 leaving care qualify automatically.
Disability reduction. If someone in the house needs an extra room, an extra bathroom or kitchen, or space for a wheelchair indoors because of a permanent disability, the bill is charged at the band below. A band A property gets a reduction of one ninth of the band D charge.
Council Tax Support is means tested. Working age applicants need savings under £6,000; pension age applicants under £16,000. If you already get it, you must report a change of circumstances within 21 days or face a penalty of £70 or more.
Two premiums work the other way and double the bill:
- Second homes. A 100% premium since 1 April 2025 on any furnished property that is nobody’s main residence. That includes inherited properties and properties empty between tenants. A property actively marketed for sale or let is excepted for up to 12 months, once per owner per property.
- Long-term empty properties. Empty and unfurnished gets 100% off for the first month, then the full charge for up to 11 months, then a 100% premium from the one-year mark. A property undergoing major repair or structural alteration may get 50% off for up to 12 months.
Neither clock restarts when the owner or tenant changes.
How to pay, and the 12-instalment option
Dorset Council’s paying your council tax page lists four ways to pay:
- Direct Debit, which the council recommends. Payments can be taken on the 1st or the 16th of the month.
- Online, through the council’s payment page or your council tax account.
- By phone on the automated 24-hour line, 0300 7900 545.
- Bank transfer or standing order, quoting your council tax reference.
Bills are normally split into 10 monthly instalments. You can ask to pay over 12 months instead, which lowers each payment, but only through the council’s online form, not by phone.
One thing to know this autumn: when we checked on 27 October 2026, the council’s page said its online Direct Debit service was unavailable, with a new system expected in early November. Until then, setting up or changing a Direct Debit means calling the Revenues team on 01305 211970 during office hours.
Miss an instalment and you will usually get a reminder notice first; keep missing them and the council says it can take recovery action. If you are struggling, call before the reminder arrives, and check whether you qualify for Council Tax Support above.
Where else to check
- Dorset house prices, for what those 1991 bands are worth now
- Dorset bin collection days
- Parking in Dorset
Frequently asked questions
How much is band D council tax in Dorset for 2026/27? £2,625.43 before any town or parish precept, covering Dorset Council, adult social care, Dorset Police and Dorset & Wiltshire Fire. With the parish added, band D ranges from £2,625.43 in the 28 parishes with no precept to £2,928.95 in Sturminster Newton.
How much did Dorset council tax go up in 2026/27? £124.85 at band D before the parish precept, from £2,500.58 to £2,625.43. Dorset Council’s own share, including adult social care, rose 4.99%. Police rose £15 and fire £5 at band D.
Which Dorset town has the highest council tax? Sturminster Newton, at £2,928.95 for band D in 2026/27, because its town council adds £303.52. Wareham Town is close behind at £2,925.41.
Can I pay Dorset council tax over 12 months? Yes. Bills are normally spread over 10 monthly instalments, but you can ask for 12 using the council’s online form. It cannot be arranged by phone.
What Direct Debit dates does Dorset Council offer? The 1st or the 16th of each month.
Do I get a discount if I live alone in Dorset? Yes, 25% off if you are the only adult counted in the property. Some people, such as full-time students and resident carers, are not counted, so a household can qualify even with more than one adult living there.
Have your say