In this section: Your area
Where your council tax goes in Birmingham
Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.
A Band D council tax bill in Birmingham is £2,362.90 for 2026-27, split between Birmingham £1,984.93, Birmingham: adult social care precept, this year's increase £38.55, West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable £244.50, West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority £85.19, Parish and town councils (average for the area) £9.73. Shared out in proportion to what each body spends, the largest single line is adult social care at Birmingham: £620.78 of the bill. Council tax pays for 12% of the council's own spending; the rest is government grant, business rates and fees.
Figures for the 2026–27 financial year. Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Key figures
- £2,362.90Band D bill, 2026-27
- £1,984.93Goes to Birmingham itself (84%)
- £620.78Largest line: adult social care
- 12.3%Of the council's money that comes from council tax, 2025-26
Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Who gets your bill
Figures are for a Band D home. Bands A to H pay a fixed fraction of this, set in law.
Parish precepts differ from parish to parish; this is the average across the area, and a home outside any parish pays none.
And where does that bit go?
Choose any part of the bill to see how it divides, then keep going as far as the published returns allow. Every level has its own link you can share.
Your bill: £2,362.90
-
Birmingham £1,984.93
-
Parish and town councils (average for the area) £9.73
Birmingham
£1,984.93 of your bill goes to Birmingham. It is shared out below in proportion to how Birmingham spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
-
Adult social care £620.78
-
Children's social care £447.28
-
Education £365.04
-
Environment and regulation £136.68
-
Roads and transport £124.63
-
Housing (not council homes) £109.05
-
Running the council £49.85
-
Other services £28.92
-
Public health £15.41
Planning and development brought in £7.1m more than it cost in 2025-26, so it takes no share of your bill.
Before sharing out your bill, the part of education paid for by the Dedicated Schools Grant (£830.9m) and public health paid for by the public health grant (£109.5m) is taken off, because council tax does not pay for it.
Which councils count as similar
Medians are across the 10 metropolitan borough councils closest in population: Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, Sheffield, Bradford, Liverpool, Kirklees, Wakefield, Coventry, Sandwell. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Adult social care
£620.78 of your bill goes to adult social care at Birmingham. Here is how its £540.4m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Physical support £255.33
-
Learning disability support £168.23
-
Care assessment and safeguarding £71.84
-
Mental health support £58.91
-
Commissioning, strategy and administration £28.47
-
Information and early intervention £10.77
-
Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £7.63
-
Assistive equipment and technology £4.03
-
Sensory support £3.77
Named suppliers
In Birmingham's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-08 to 2026-07, payments our keyword matching links to adult social care came to £550.2m across 56,266 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust: £38.6m (43 payments)
- Change Grow Live Services Ltd: £29.1m (36 payments)
- Sevacare UK Ltd: £17.3m (725 payments)
- University Hospital Bham Nhs Trust: £15.4m (29 payments)
- Claremont Living Group Limited: £11.6m (994 payments)
Physical support
£255.33 of your bill goes to physical support at Birmingham. Here is how its £222.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £161.51
-
Aged 18 to 64 £93.82
Learning disability support
£168.23 of your bill goes to learning disability support at Birmingham. Here is how its £146.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £150.69
-
Aged 65 and over £17.55
Mental health support
£58.91 of your bill goes to mental health support at Birmingham. Here is how its £51.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £42.42
-
Aged 65 and over £16.49
Support with memory and cognition
£11.81 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at Birmingham. Here is how its £10.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £6.73
-
Aged 18 to 64 £5.08
Sensory support
£3.77 of your bill goes to sensory support at Birmingham. Here is how its £3.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £3.02
-
Aged 65 and over £0.75
Children's social care
£447.28 of your bill goes to children's social care at Birmingham. Here is how its £389.4m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Children looked after £230.30
-
Safeguarding and social work £123.19
-
Family support £39.07
-
Asylum-seeking children £23.96
-
Youth justice £15.09
-
Children's centres and early years £7.32
-
Services for young people £6.75
-
Other children's and families' services £1.58
Named suppliers
In Birmingham's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-08 to 2026-07, payments our keyword matching links to children's social care came to £202.3m across 4,534 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- Transform Schools Bham Ltd: £21.9m (76 payments)
- Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure Ltd: £21.2m (19 payments)
- Birmingham Schools Partnership Ltd: £18.6m (42 payments)
- Green Destinations Ltd: £15.2m (57 payments)
- Birmingham Schools Spc Phase 1A Ltd: £12.9m (35 payments)
Education
£365.04 of your bill goes to education at Birmingham. Here is how its £1.15bn of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Primary schools £179.72
-
Secondary schools £64.77
-
Special schools and alternative provision £56.50
-
Other education £43.43
-
Early years and nursery £16.87
-
Post-16 £3.75
Named suppliers
In Birmingham's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-08 to 2026-07, payments our keyword matching links to education came to £45k across 33 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- International Zoo Veterinary Group: £30k (15 payments)
- Initial Washroom Solutions: £4k (8 payments)
- Memsafe Limited: £4k (1 payment)
- Species360: £2k (1 payment)
- Ricoh UK Limited: £2k (3 payments)
Environment and regulation
£136.68 of your bill goes to environment and regulation at Birmingham. Here is how its £119.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Waste collection £49.80
-
Waste disposal £38.50
-
Street cleaning £24.42
-
Community safety and CCTV £13.35
-
Recycling and waste minimisation £7.09
-
Trading standards £2.37
-
Flood defence, land drainage and coast protection £0.73
-
Other environmental services £0.35
-
Public toilets £0.07
Named suppliers
In Birmingham's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-08 to 2026-07, payments our keyword matching links to environment and regulation came to £8.7m across 2,204 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- West Mercia Energy: £934k (190 payments)
- Acivico (Design, Construction and Facilities Management) Limited: £868k (235 payments)
- Waste Investigations Support & Enforcement Limited: £685k (24 payments)
- Haystoun Construction Ltd: £680k (77 payments)
- Wireless CCTV Ltd: £511k (4 payments)
Roads and transport
£124.63 of your bill goes to roads and transport at Birmingham. Here is how its £108.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Road and bridge maintenance £108.51
-
Street lighting (including energy) £12.15
-
Traffic management and road safety £2.41
-
Transport planning and policy £1.55
Named suppliers
In Birmingham's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-08 to 2026-07, payments our keyword matching links to roads and transport came to £174.5m across 16,296 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- Veolia Es Birmingham Ltd: £61.0m (88 payments)
- Volkerfitzpatrick Limited: £23.2m (16 payments)
- West Mercia Energy: £15.3m (336 payments)
- Tom White Waste Limited: £15.1m (75 payments)
- Extra Personnel Limited: £11.1m (11600 payments)
Road and bridge maintenance
£108.51 of your bill goes to road and bridge maintenance at Birmingham. Here is how its £112.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) £106.87
-
Environmental, safety and routine maintenance £1.64
Housing (not council homes)
£109.05 of your bill goes to housing (not council homes) at Birmingham. Here is how its £94.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Homelessness and temporary accommodation £66.92
-
Supporting People and welfare services £20.64
-
Private sector housing renewal £10.28
-
Housing benefit administration and discretionary payments £9.94
-
Housing strategy, advice and enabling £1.13
-
Other General Fund housing £0.15
Named suppliers
In Birmingham's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-08 to 2026-07, payments our keyword matching links to housing (not council homes) came to £432.5m across 8,881 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- Equans Regeneration Limited: £198.2m (71 payments)
- Fortem Solutions Ltd: £110.8m (23 payments)
- TravelPerk UK IRL Ltd: £16.3m (23 payments)
- Perk UK Ltd: £12.2m (16 payments)
- Acivico (Design, Construction and Facilities Management) Limited: £7.6m (875 payments)
Council homes are not in this. Council housing is paid for through the Housing Revenue Account, from tenants' rents, and the law keeps it separate from the General Fund that council tax goes into. Birmingham's Housing Revenue Account took in £343.3m and spent £351.8m in 2025-26. What council tax does and doesn't pay for.
Parks, leisure, libraries and culture
£87.29 of your bill goes to parks, leisure, libraries and culture at Birmingham. Here is how its £76.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Sport and leisure £26.90
-
Libraries £25.88
-
Parks and open spaces (including play areas) £24.33
-
Museums, arts, heritage and archives £10.18
Named suppliers
In Birmingham's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-08 to 2026-07, payments our keyword matching links to parks, leisure, libraries and culture came to £33.0m across 3,929 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- Galliford Try Construction Limited: £9.8m (13 payments)
- Acivico (Design, Construction and Facilities Management) Limited: £2.6m (609 payments)
- Haystoun Construction Ltd: £2.3m (119 payments)
- Birmingham Community Leisure Trust Limited: £2.0m (7 payments)
- Gristwood and Toms Limited: £1.7m (16 payments)
Running the council
£49.85 of your bill goes to running the council at Birmingham. Here is how its £43.4m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Non-distributed costs (past pensions, unused assets) £25.14
-
Corporate and democratic core £12.76
-
Coroners' and other courts £5.14
-
Collecting council tax and business rates £3.86
-
Elections and electoral registration £1.90
-
Registering births, deaths and marriages £1.04
Named suppliers
In Birmingham's own records of payments over £500 for 2025-08 to 2026-07, payments our keyword matching links to running the council came to £236.4m across 13,414 payments. Those records leave out salaries, so they are not the whole cost.
- Hays Specialist Recruitment Ltd: £116.7m (75 payments)
- Oracle Corporation UK Ltd: £8.9m (78 payments)
- Bevan Brittan LLP: £7.2m (61 payments)
- Royal Mail Group Limited: £7.1m (137 payments)
- Phoenix Software Limited: £6.4m (5 payments)
Public health
£15.41 of your bill goes to public health at Birmingham. Here is how its £122.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Health visiting and children's 0-5 services £4.75
-
Drug and alcohol services £3.86
-
Sexual health £2.20
-
Other public health £1.95
-
Children's 5-19 programmes £1.03
-
Obesity and physical activity £0.57
-
Stop smoking and tobacco control £0.46
-
Public mental health £0.32
-
NHS health checks and health protection £0.27
Birmingham: adult social care precept, this year's increase
£38.55 of your bill is this year's adult social care precept, which councils may raise on top of the usual limit for adult social care. It is shown against how Birmingham's adult social care spending of £540.4m divided in 2025-26. MHCLG publishes only this year's increase; the running total since 2016-17 printed on your bill is in the council part above.
-
Physical support £15.86
-
Learning disability support £10.45
-
Care assessment and safeguarding £4.46
-
Mental health support £3.66
-
Commissioning, strategy and administration £1.77
-
Information and early intervention £0.67
-
Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £0.47
-
Assistive equipment and technology £0.25
-
Sensory support £0.23
Physical support
£15.86 of your bill goes to physical support at Birmingham. Here is how its £222.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £10.03
-
Aged 18 to 64 £5.83
Learning disability support
£10.45 of your bill goes to learning disability support at Birmingham. Here is how its £146.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £9.36
-
Aged 65 and over £1.09
Mental health support
£3.66 of your bill goes to mental health support at Birmingham. Here is how its £51.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £2.63
-
Aged 65 and over £1.02
Support with memory and cognition
£0.73 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at Birmingham. Here is how its £10.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £0.42
-
Aged 18 to 64 £0.32
Sensory support
£0.23 of your bill goes to sensory support at Birmingham. Here is how its £3.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £0.19
-
Aged 65 and over £0.05
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable
£244.50 of your bill is this year's adult social care precept, which councils may raise on top of the usual limit for adult social care. It is shown against how West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable's adult social care spending of £937.6m divided in 2025-26. MHCLG publishes only this year's increase; the running total since 2016-17 printed on your bill is in the council part above.
West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority
£85.19 of your bill goes to West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority. It is shared out below in proportion to how West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
-
Fire and rescue £83.79
-
Running the council £1.40
Which councils count as similar
Medians are across the 10 fire and rescue authorities closest in population: West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Authority, Kent Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Essex Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Devon and Somerset Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Lancashire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Authority, South Wales Fire Authority, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Fire and rescue
£83.79 of your bill goes to fire and rescue at West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority. Here is how its £137.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Firefighting and rescue £73.15
-
Community fire safety £10.60
-
Fire emergency planning £0.04
Parks, street cleaning and roads here
What Birmingham spent, net of income, on the lines readers ask about most. Roads and street cleaning are also shown per mile of road the council looks after, where it is the highway authority. Gully cleaning and verge cutting are inside routine maintenance; no return splits them out.
| Line | Net spending | Per resident | Similar councils, per resident | Per mile of road | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Parks and open spaces (including play areas)Details for Parks and open spaces (including play areas) | £21.2m | £18 | £10 | — | up 4.7% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Street cleaningDetails for Street cleaning | £25.1m | £21 | £16 | £15,741 (similar: £7,821) | up 15.1% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Road and bridge maintenanceDetails for Road and bridge maintenance | £112.0m | £95 | £16 | £70,158 (similar: £8,663) | up 48.4% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Environmental, safety and routine maintenanceDetails for Environmental, safety and routine maintenance | £1.7m | £1.44 | £12 | £1,061 (similar: £6,112) | up 145.9% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges)Details for Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) | £110.3m | £94 | £1.10 | £69,096 (similar: £491) | up 47.5% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Street lighting (including energy)Details for Street lighting (including energy) | £12.5m | £11 | £13 | £7,857 (similar: £7,140) | down 5.9% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Miles of road: Department for Transport road lengths, 2025; locally managed major roads and all minor roads. More on what council tax does and doesn't pay for.
What it adds up to
| Service | Per resident | Median |
|---|---|---|
EducationDetails for Education | £976 | £869 |
| ||
Adult social careDetails for Adult social care | £459 | £482 |
| ||
Children's social careDetails for Children's social care | £331 | £340 |
| ||
Public healthDetails for Public health | £104 | £88 |
| ||
Environment and regulationDetails for Environment and regulation | £101 | £92 |
| ||
Roads and transportDetails for Roads and transport | £92 | £29 |
| ||
Housing (not council homes)Details for Housing (not council homes) | £81 | £39 |
| ||
Parks, leisure, libraries and cultureDetails for Parks, leisure, libraries and culture | £65 | £49 |
| ||
Running the councilDetails for Running the council | £37 | £60 |
| ||
Other servicesDetails for Other services | £21 | £0.34 |
| ||
Planning and developmentDetails for Planning and development | £-6.07 | £29 |
| ||
- Birmingham spent 26.4% of its gross service spending on its own staff in 2025-26 (median for metropolitan borough councils: 34.4%); the rest went on suppliers, contractors, grants, benefits and other running costs.
- Its published payments of £500 or more came to £1.88bn between 2025-08 and 2026-07. These include capital and council housing spending, so they are not a share of the figures above.
- Payments we classify as consultancy and agency staff came to 15.7% of its staff costs (median among the 3 other metropolitan borough councils whose £500 data is read: 8.6%). The two come from different sources and periods, so this is a guide to scale, not an exact share.
What this data does and doesn't show
- These are each body's own figures, as reported to government in its revenue outturn return. Net spending is after the fees, charges and grants a service brings in.
- Your bill is for 2026-27; it is shared out using the latest published return, which covers an earlier year. The mix of spending changes little from one year to the next, but it does change.
- Council tax is not ring-fenced: this shows your bill in proportion to spending, not what your money bought. Where a precept is set aside for adult social care, it is shown against adult social care.
- No council publishes spending at street or property level, so nothing here says what was spent near you.
- Sub-service lines are the ones the national returns itemise. Councils describe their own budgets differently; their budget books and statements of accounts have more detail.
Sources
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England: Table 10, local authority level data, published 25 March 2026. Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Local authority revenue expenditure and financing: Revenue Outturn multi-year data set, published 28 September 2026. Open Government Licence v3.0.
How the split is worked out, and how the three nations' returns are matched to one list of services, is on the methodology page. The dataset is on the data page. See also council tax in Birmingham and everything else about Birmingham.
Common questions
- What does council tax pay for in Birmingham?
- A Band D bill of £2,362.90 is split between Birmingham, Birmingham: adult social care precept, this year's increase, West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable, West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority, Parish and town councils (average for the area). In proportion to spending, the largest line is adult social care, £620.78.
- Is council tax ring-fenced for particular services?
- No. Council tax is pooled with grants, business rates and fees. The adult social care precept is the exception: councils raise it for adult social care.
Sources for this page
| Source | Publisher | Figures as of | Updated | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England | Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government | the 2026–27 financial year | annual | Open Government Licence v3.0 |
| Local authority revenue expenditure and financing: Revenue Outturn multi-year data set | Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government | 28 September 2026 | annual | Open Government Licence v3.0 |
Each source's figures are used under the licence shown. Our own words, analysis, charts and derived calculations are ours, under CC BY 4.0.