Every Brighton council tax band from A to H for 2026/27, the single adult rate, the police and fire precepts, and how student exemptions work.

The Brighton council tax bands for 2026/27 run from £1,719.63 at Band A to £5,158.88 at Band H, and Brighton & Hove City Council does something unusual with them: it publishes a second column for households with one adult, so you can see the single person rate without doing the arithmetic yourself. Below is every band, what the parish and enclosure charges are for the handful of addresses that pay them, how much of the bill goes to Sussex Police and East Sussex Fire rather than the council, and the discounts worth claiming, including the student rules that matter in a city with two universities. Every figure is linked back to its source.

Brighton council tax bands 2026/27

These are the standard charges for 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027, published by Brighton & Hove City Council.

Brighton & Hove council tax by band, 2026/27
Band1991 property value2 or more adults1 adult
AUp to £40,000£1,719.63£1,289.72
B£40,001 to £52,000£2,006.23£1,504.67
C£52,001 to £68,000£2,292.84£1,719.63
D£68,001 to £88,000£2,579.44£1,934.58
E£88,001 to £120,000£3,152.65£2,364.49
F£120,001 to £160,000£3,725.86£2,794.39
G£160,001 to £320,000£4,299.07£3,224.30
HOver £320,000£5,158.88£3,869.16
Brighton & Hove council tax by band, 2026/27 Annual charge for a household of two or more adults £1,719.63 £2,006.23 £2,292.84 £2,579.44 £3,152.65 £3,725.86 £4,299.07 £5,158.88 A B C D E F G H Source: Brighton & Hove City Council, How much Council Tax is 2026 to 2027 Chart by The Brighton Times
Chart by The Brighton Times, from the council's published 2026/27 charges.

What it means for you: Band D has risen from £2,455.79 in 2025/26 to £2,579.44, an increase of £123.65 on the year, or just over 5%. Band C, the most common band for a Brighton terrace or flat, is now £2,292.84, which is roughly £229 a month over ten instalments.

Why some addresses pay more

Four groups of properties pay a different figure because a parish council or a garden enclosure committee levies its own charge on top: Hanover Crescent, Royal Crescent, Marine Square and Rottingdean Parish. At Band D these run from £2,618.23 in Rottingdean to £3,007.92 at Royal Crescent, against the standard £2,579.44. The enclosure charges pay for the private communal gardens those terraces are built around. The full table for every band is in the council’s 2026/27 charges.

Where the money actually goes

Brighton & Hove is a unitary authority, so unlike most of England there is no county council taking the largest slice. The bill has three parts, and the council collects all of it.

How a Band D bill of £2,579.44 divides in 2026/27
WhoBand D chargeRoughly
Brighton & Hove City Council£2,180.0485%
Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner£281.9111%
East Sussex Fire Authority£117.495%

The policing precept of £281.91 at Band D was agreed by the Sussex Police and Crime Panel on 30 January 2026 and approved by the Commissioner on 9 February 2026 (Sussex PCC budget and council tax 2026/27).

The fire precept of £117.49 at Band D is a £5 increase, which East Sussex Fire Authority describes as the maximum allowed without a referendum and as “an increase of just 10 pence per week”. Its own per-band figures run from £78.33 at Band A to £234.98 at Band H (East Sussex Fire Authority council tax and budget information 2026-2027). The council’s share above is what is left once those two precepts are taken out of the published total.

Behind the figures, this was not a routine budget year. The council published draft proposals in February 2026 describing “the most challenging financial position the council has ever faced”, with temporary accommodation costs forecast to rise by £11 million (budget proposals), and later confirmed that the government had agreed £15 million in Exceptional Financial Support (confirmation of financial support).

What a band actually means

Bands are set on what a property would have sold for on 1 April 1991, not on what it is worth now. That date has never moved since council tax began in 1993, which is why bands in a city where prices have risen as far as Brighton’s often look out of step with the market. Banding is done by the Valuation Office Agency, not by the council.

To check your band, search your postcode on the GOV.UK council tax band tool, which also shows your neighbours’ bands. If similar homes on your street sit a band lower, that is the strongest evidence you have. To challenge it, use the VOA challenge service. You do not need to pay a company to do this, and a review can raise your band as well as lower it.

Students: the rule that matters in this city

Brighton has two universities, and student status is the single largest source of council tax confusion here. The council’s position is precise (council tax discounts for students):

  • If everyone in the property is a full-time student, nobody pays council tax during the course dates. The council verifies those dates with your place of study. Outside the course dates, council tax is payable.
  • If one person is not a full-time student, that person is liable for the entire bill for the property, though they can claim a 25% discount because everyone else is disregarded.
  • If two or more people are not full-time students, the full bill applies with no student reduction.

A full-time course must last at least one calendar or academic year and involve at least 21 hours of study a week. For under-20s doing A-levels, the threshold is three months and 12 hours a week. Student households must register for council tax first and supply registration details before applying for the exemption; the exemption is not automatic.

What it means for you: a mixed house of three students and one working tenant leaves that one tenant legally liable for the whole bill, at 75% of the band charge. That is worth settling in writing before anyone signs a joint tenancy.

Other discounts, and the charges that go the other way

  • Single person discount of 25%, if you are the only adult in the property and it is your main home. The council’s own tables already show this as the “1 adult” column (single person discount).
  • Disabled band reduction. If a disabled person lives in the home and it has an extra room, an extra bathroom or kitchen, or space for wheelchair use, the bill drops to the band below. A Band A home is reduced by one ninth of Band D (disabled discounts).
  • Second homes and furnished empty properties carry a 100% premium from the day they become empty, applied from 1 April 2025 after full council approved it a year in advance.
  • Long-term empty homes carry a rising premium: 100% extra after one year, 200% after five, 300% after ten. The council also no longer gives a discount for uninhabitable properties or those undergoing works (council tax on empty properties).

Frequently asked questions

How much is council tax in Brighton for 2026/27?

Band A is £1,719.63, Band B £2,006.23, Band C £2,292.84, Band D £2,579.44, Band E £3,152.65, Band F £3,725.86, Band G £4,299.07 and Band H £5,158.88 for a household of two or more adults. Single adult households pay 75% of those figures.

What is Band D council tax in Brighton?

£2,579.44 for 2026/27, up from £2,455.79 the year before. Addresses in Hanover Crescent, Royal Crescent, Marine Square and Rottingdean Parish pay more because of an extra enclosure or parish charge.

Do students pay council tax in Brighton?

If every adult in the property is a full-time student, no council tax is due during the course dates. If one person is not a full-time student, they are liable for the whole bill but can claim a 25% discount. Households must register for council tax and provide student registration details before the exemption is applied.

How much of my Brighton council tax goes to the police and fire service?

At Band D, £281.91 goes to the Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner and £117.49 to East Sussex Fire Authority. The rest, £2,180.04, is the city council’s own charge.

How do I check or challenge my council tax band in Brighton?

Check it free on the GOV.UK band checker and challenge it through the Valuation Office Agency. The VOA sets bands, not the council, and a review can move your band either way.

What is the council tax premium on second homes in Brighton?

An extra 100% from the day the property becomes empty and furnished, a second home or a furnished let. Long-term empty homes pay 100% extra after a year, 200% after five years and 300% after ten.

Sources

Elsewhere on this site: Brighton bin collection days, parking in Brighton and Brighton planning applications.

Figures are those published by Brighton & Hove City Council, the Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner and East Sussex Fire Authority, checked on 4 August 2026.