The 2026/27 charge for every Reigate council tax band A to H, how the bill splits between Surrey, the police and the borough, and how to pay less.
The Reigate council tax bands for 2026/27 run from £1,703.91 at band A to £5,111.72 at band H for most of the borough, and your band is decided by what your home would have been worth in 1991, not what it is worth now. Reigate & Banstead Borough Council collects the bill but keeps only about ten pence in every pound of it. This guide gives the full charge for every band, shows exactly where the money goes, explains what happens when the borough is abolished in 2027, and sets out how to check, challenge or reduce what you pay. Every figure is linked to the source.
The quick answer
For 2026/27, a band D home in most of Reigate & Banstead pays £2,555.86 a year. If you live in the Horley Town Council area you pay £2,613.17, and in Salfords and Sidlow you pay £2,590.69, because those two areas add their own precept. Everywhere else in the borough, including Reigate itself, Redhill and Banstead, pays the “rest of borough” figure. The borough council froze its own share this year.
Reigate council tax by band, 2026/27
The council publishes three columns because only two parts of the borough have a town or parish council.
| Band | Rest of borough | Horley Town Council | Salfords and Sidlow |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | £1,703.91 | £1,742.12 | £1,727.13 |
| B | £1,987.89 | £2,032.46 | £2,014.98 |
| C | £2,271.88 | £2,322.82 | £2,302.84 |
| D | £2,555.86 | £2,613.17 | £2,590.69 |
| E | £3,123.83 | £3,193.87 | £3,166.40 |
| F | £3,691.80 | £3,774.58 | £3,742.11 |
| G | £4,259.77 | £4,355.29 | £4,317.82 |
| H | £5,111.72 | £5,226.34 | £5,181.38 |
Source: Council Tax Charges 2026 to 2027, Reigate & Banstead Borough Council.
The gaps are not even, and that is deliberate. The ratios between bands are fixed in law and identical everywhere in England: band A pays six ninths of band D, band H pays eighteen ninths, which is double. So a band H home pays exactly three times a band A home, no matter which council you live under.
What the bands actually mean
Your band is based on what your property would have sold for on the open market on 1 April 1991. That date has never moved since council tax began in 1993, which is why the band can feel disconnected from what your street is worth today.
| Band | 1991 property value |
|---|---|
| A | Up to and including £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 |
Source: valuations and banding, Reigate & Banstead Borough Council.
There is one bill per dwelling, whether it is a house, a flat, a maisonette, a mobile home or a houseboat, and whether you own it or rent it.
Where your money actually goes
This is the part most residents get wrong. The borough council sends the bill, so it takes the blame for it, but it keeps roughly ten pence in every pound. Here is the split at band D for the rest of the borough.
| Who gets it | Band D charge | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Surrey County Council | £1,938.42 | about 76% |
| Surrey Police | £352.57 | about 14% |
| Reigate & Banstead Borough Council | £264.87 | about 10% |
| Total | £2,555.86 | 100% |
Surrey County Council takes about three quarters of the bill, and unlike some counties there is no separate fire precept: Surrey Fire and Rescue Service is funded within the county council’s share. Surrey’s band D charge is made up of a core precept of £1,614.91 plus an adult social care precept of £323.51, a total of £1,938.42, up from £1,846.35 the previous year. The county sets out that calculation on its own council tax page. One change worth noting: for 2026/27 there is no longer any requirement to show the adult social care precept as a separate line on your bill, so it appears as a single figure.
Surrey Police takes £352.57 at band D, a rise of 4.4% across all bands. Police and Crime Commissioner Lisa Townsend consulted on the increase in December 2025, 56.5% of respondents supported it, and the county’s Police and Crime Panel approved it in February 2026, per the Surrey PCC council tax leaflet.
Reigate & Banstead Borough Council takes £264.87, and froze its share for 2026/27. In its own council tax leaflet the council puts that at about £5 a week for a band D household, covering more than 50 services for over 159,000 residents and 11,500 businesses. This is the part that pays for bin collections, parking, planning, parks and leisure. The council also notes it has received no core government funding for its services since 2017.
If you live in Horley or Salfords and Sidlow, a fourth line is added: Horley Town Council charges £57.31 at band D, up £2.10 or 3.80%, and Salfords and Sidlow Parish Council charges £34.83, up £1.77 or 5.35%.
The borough is being abolished in 2027
The council that sets and collects this bill will not exist much longer. Reigate & Banstead Borough Council will be replaced by a new unitary East Surrey Council on 1 April 2027, merging it with Elmbridge, Epsom and Ewell, Mole Valley and Tandridge. The 2026/27 budget is described by the council’s leader, Cllr Richard Biggs, as its last before the change.
The transition is already under way. An East Surrey Shadow Authority was elected in May 2026 and met for the first time on 20 May, appointing Cllr Steve Wotton as its leader and agreeing the constitution and implementation plan for the new council, as the council reported.
What this means for your bill is not yet settled. The five merging councils currently charge different amounts for their district element, and reorganisations elsewhere have brought those into line over several years. Nothing published so far sets out how that will work here. Until 1 April 2027 the charges on this page stand exactly as they are.
How to check or challenge your band
Banding is set by the Valuation Office Agency, not the council. A band challenge goes to the VOA; a billing question goes to Reigate & Banstead.
To check your band, search your postcode on the council’s Where I Live tool or the GOV.UK band checker, which also shows your neighbours’ bands. If similar homes on your street sit in a lower band, that is the strongest evidence you have.
To challenge your band, use the VOA challenge service. You never need to pay a company to do this. Be aware a review can go either way, including upwards.
The grounds for a formal banding appeal are narrower than most people expect, and the council lists them: a material increase or reduction in the dwelling’s value, starting or stopping business use of part of it, the Listing Officer altering the list without a proposal, or becoming the taxpayer for the first time, in which case you have six months to appeal. Making an appeal does not let you stop paying in the meantime, and you are refunded if you win.
Discounts, and the premiums that go the other way
Plenty of households pay more than they need to. The main reductions are listed on the council’s exemptions and discounts pages, and include the 25% single person discount if you are the only adult in the property, disregards for students, apprentices and carers, exemptions for some dwellings entirely, and Council Tax Reduction if you are on a low income or certain benefits.
The charges that run the other way are steeper than most residents realise, and are set out on the council’s unoccupied properties page:
- Empty and unfurnished homes get no discount at all since 1 April 2024. There is no longer even the 28 day grace period that used to apply.
- Empty more than one year attracts a 100% premium, doubling the bill. That threshold was tightened from two years to one in April 2024.
- Empty more than five years attracts a 200% premium, and more than ten years a 300% premium.
- Second homes and furnished properties that are nobody’s main residence attract a 100% premium once they have been in that category for more than a year, applied from 1 April 2025.
- Employment-related accommodation, where a contract requires you to live on site, keeps a 50% discount.
What it means for you: if you live alone and have never claimed the single person discount, that is roughly £639 a year back at band D. And if you are sitting on an empty property in the borough, the cost of leaving it empty now rises sharply every year you do.
Frequently asked questions
What is the council tax on a band D property in Reigate?
£2,555.86 for 2026/27 in most of the borough, including Reigate, Redhill and Banstead. In the Horley Town Council area it is £2,613.17, and in Salfords and Sidlow £2,590.69.
How much is council tax in Reigate for each band?
For the rest of the borough in 2026/27: band A £1,703.91, band B £1,987.89, band C £2,271.88, band D £2,555.86, band E £3,123.83, band F £3,691.80, band G £4,259.77 and band H £5,111.72.
Where does Reigate council tax money go?
About 76% to Surrey County Council, which also funds Surrey Fire and Rescue, about 14% to Surrey Police, and about 10% to Reigate & Banstead Borough Council. At band D that is £1,938.42, £352.57 and £264.87. Horley and Salfords and Sidlow residents also pay a town or parish precept.
Did council tax go up in Reigate this year?
The borough council froze its own share for 2026/27. The overall bill still rose, because Surrey County Council increased its precept to £1,938.42 at band D and Surrey Police increased theirs by 4.4% to £352.57.
How do I check my council tax band in Reigate?
Search your postcode on the council’s Where I Live tool or the GOV.UK band checker, which is free and also shows neighbouring properties’ bands.
What happens to my council tax when Reigate & Banstead is abolished?
The borough is replaced by the new unitary East Surrey Council on 1 April 2027, alongside Elmbridge, Epsom and Ewell, Mole Valley and Tandridge. Nothing has yet been published about how the five councils’ differing charges will be brought into line. The 2026/27 figures on this page are unaffected.
Sources
- Reigate & Banstead Borough Council, Council Tax Charges 2026 to 2027 and the council tax leaflet 2026-2027
- Reigate & Banstead Borough Council, valuations and banding
- Reigate & Banstead Borough Council, exemptions and discounts and unoccupied properties, discounts and premium charges
- Surrey County Council, council tax and Adult Social Care precept 2026 to 2027
- Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner, council tax leaflet 2026/27 and council tax 2026/27
- Reigate & Banstead Borough Council, first meeting of East Surrey Shadow Authority
- GOV.UK, check your council tax band and challenge your council tax band
Figures checked against Reigate & Banstead Borough Council, Surrey County Council and the Surrey PCC on 4 August 2026. Charges are set annually in February and take effect each April.
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