In this section: Your area
Where your council tax goes in Bolton
Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.
A Band D council tax bill in Bolton is £2,399.74 for 2026-27, split between Bolton £1,915.88, Bolton: adult social care precept, this year's increase £37.20, Greater Manchester Police £285.30, Greater Manchester Combined Authority £153.95, Parish and town councils (average for the area) £7.41. Shared out in proportion to what each body spends, the largest single line is adult social care at Bolton: £654.91 of the bill. Council tax pays for 16% 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
- £2,399.74Band D bill, 2026-27
- £1,915.88Goes to Bolton itself (80%)
- £654.91Largest line: adult social care
- 15.8%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: £2,399.74
-
Bolton £1,915.88
-
Greater Manchester Police £285.30
-
Parish and town councils (average for the area) £7.41
Bolton
£1,915.88 of your bill goes to Bolton. It is shared out below in proportion to how Bolton spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
-
Adult social care £654.91
-
Children's social care £520.80
-
Education £230.54
-
Public health £104.01
-
Environment and regulation £87.56
-
Running the council £75.96
-
Housing (not council homes) £52.30
-
Other services £51.16
-
Planning and development £42.50
-
Roads and transport £33.67
Before sharing out your bill, the part of education paid for by the Dedicated Schools Grant (£261.7m) 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: Stockport, Newcastle, Salford, Doncaster, Walsall, Wirral, Sefton, Dudley, Sunderland, Wolverhampton. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Adult social care
£654.91 of your bill goes to adult social care at Bolton. Here is how its £137.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Physical support £201.87
-
Learning disability support £195.76
-
Mental health support £88.35
-
Care assessment and safeguarding £72.66
-
Commissioning, strategy and administration £25.99
-
Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £25.88
-
Assistive equipment and technology £3.50
-
Sensory support £3.24
-
Information and early intervention £0.38
Physical support
£201.87 of your bill goes to physical support at Bolton. Here is how its £42.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £155.18
-
Aged 18 to 64 £46.69
Learning disability support
£195.76 of your bill goes to learning disability support at Bolton. Here is how its £41.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £178.22
-
Aged 65 and over £17.54
Mental health support
£88.35 of your bill goes to mental health support at Bolton. Here is how its £18.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £58.57
-
Aged 65 and over £29.79
Support with memory and cognition
£37.29 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at Bolton. Here is how its £7.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £34.25
-
Aged 18 to 64 £3.03
Sensory support
£3.24 of your bill goes to sensory support at Bolton. Here is how its £679k of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £1.68
-
Aged 65 and over £1.56
Children's social care
£520.80 of your bill goes to children's social care at Bolton. Here is how its £109.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Children looked after £365.89
-
Family support £60.48
-
Safeguarding and social work £58.79
-
Children's centres and early years £21.14
-
Services for young people £7.77
-
Youth justice £6.65
-
Other children's and families' services £0.09
Education
£230.54 of your bill goes to education at Bolton. Here is how its £310.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Primary schools £104.58
-
Secondary schools £41.92
-
Early years and nursery £37.46
-
Special schools and alternative provision £29.24
-
Other education £10.67
-
Post-16 £6.66
Public health
£104.01 of your bill goes to public health at Bolton. Here is how its £21.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Drug and alcohol services £34.13
-
Health visiting and children's 0-5 services £23.44
-
Children's 5-19 programmes £12.10
-
Sexual health £11.06
-
Obesity and physical activity £6.91
-
NHS health checks and health protection £6.33
-
Stop smoking and tobacco control £4.54
-
Other public health £4.42
-
Public mental health £1.07
Environment and regulation
£87.56 of your bill goes to environment and regulation at Bolton. Here is how its £18.4m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Waste collection £48.57
-
Street cleaning £13.21
-
Community safety and CCTV £12.73
-
Environmental health, food safety, pest control and licensing £11.68
-
Trading standards £1.37
Running the council
£75.96 of your bill goes to running the council at Bolton. Here is how its £15.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Local welfare assistance £25.99
-
Corporate and democratic core £22.02
-
Collecting council tax and business rates £7.64
-
Other central services £6.01
-
Coroners' and other courts £4.72
-
Non-distributed costs (past pensions, unused assets) £4.48
-
Elections and electoral registration £3.40
-
Emergency planning £1.71
Parks, leisure, libraries and culture
£62.47 of your bill goes to parks, leisure, libraries and culture at Bolton. Here is how its £13.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Libraries £21.45
-
Parks and open spaces (including play areas) £17.87
-
Sport and leisure £11.99
-
Museums, arts, heritage and archives £10.92
-
Community centres and public halls £0.24
Housing (not council homes)
£52.30 of your bill goes to housing (not council homes) at Bolton. Here is how its £11.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Homelessness and temporary accommodation £28.87
-
Housing benefit administration and discretionary payments £9.82
-
Supporting People and welfare services £7.82
-
Housing strategy, advice and enabling £3.42
-
Other General Fund housing £2.36
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. Bolton reported no Housing Revenue Account for 2025-26: it has no council homes of its own, or they were transferred to a housing association. What council tax does and doesn't pay for.
Planning and development
£42.50 of your bill goes to planning and development at Bolton. Here is how its £8.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Economic development and business support £27.94
-
Community development £8.51
-
Planning policy £3.73
-
Planning applications (development management) £1.32
-
Building control £1.00
Roads and transport
£33.67 of your bill goes to roads and transport at Bolton. Here is how its £7.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Road and bridge maintenance £14.36
-
Street lighting (including energy) £12.59
-
Transport planning and policy £3.38
-
Winter service (gritting) £3.35
Road and bridge maintenance
£14.36 of your bill goes to road and bridge maintenance at Bolton. Here is how its £3.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) £7.18
-
Environmental, safety and routine maintenance £7.17
Bolton: adult social care precept, this year's increase
£37.20 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 Bolton's adult social care spending of £137.3m 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 £11.47
-
Learning disability support £11.12
-
Mental health support £5.02
-
Care assessment and safeguarding £4.13
-
Commissioning, strategy and administration £1.48
-
Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £1.47
-
Assistive equipment and technology £0.20
-
Sensory support £0.18
-
Information and early intervention £0.02
Physical support
£11.47 of your bill goes to physical support at Bolton. Here is how its £42.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £8.81
-
Aged 18 to 64 £2.65
Learning disability support
£11.12 of your bill goes to learning disability support at Bolton. Here is how its £41.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £10.12
-
Aged 65 and over £1.00
Mental health support
£5.02 of your bill goes to mental health support at Bolton. Here is how its £18.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £3.33
-
Aged 65 and over £1.69
Support with memory and cognition
£2.12 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at Bolton. Here is how its £7.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £1.95
-
Aged 18 to 64 £0.17
Sensory support
£0.18 of your bill goes to sensory support at Bolton. Here is how its £679k of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £0.10
-
Aged 65 and over £0.09
Greater Manchester Police
£285.30 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 Greater Manchester Police's adult social care spending of £974.0m 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.
Greater Manchester Combined Authority
£153.95 of your bill goes to Greater Manchester Combined Authority. It is shared out below in proportion to how Greater Manchester Combined Authority spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
-
Roads and transport £64.37
-
Planning and development £38.36
-
Fire and rescue £25.78
-
Environment and regulation £19.68
-
Running the council £2.74
-
Housing (not council homes) £2.17
-
Parks, leisure, libraries and culture £0.85
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. Greater Manchester Combined Authority reported no Housing Revenue Account for 2025-26: it has no council homes of its own, or they were transferred to a housing association. What council tax does and doesn't pay for.
No similar-council comparison: no comparison: no other body does the same mix of things.
Planning and development
£38.36 of your bill goes to planning and development at Greater Manchester Combined Authority. Here is how its £224.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Economic development and business support £37.64
-
Environmental initiatives £0.72
Parks, street cleaning and roads here
What Bolton 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) | £3.7m | £12 | £15 | — | up 33.4% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Street cleaningDetails for Street cleaning | £2.9m | £9.21 | £15 | £4,622 (similar: £7,702) | down 3.1% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Road and bridge maintenanceDetails for Road and bridge maintenance | £3.5m | £11 | £14 | £5,598 (similar: £7,077) | up 138.4% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Environmental, safety and routine maintenanceDetails for Environmental, safety and routine maintenance | £1.7m | £5.57 | £9.73 | £2,797 (similar: £4,553) | up 24.4% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges)Details for Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) | £1.7m | £5.58 | £4.86 | £2,801 (similar: £1,904) | up 2732.8% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Winter service (gritting)Details for Winter service (gritting) | £805k | £2.60 | £2.25 | £1,305 (similar: £1,208) | down 0.7% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Street lighting (including energy)Details for Street lighting (including energy) | £3.0m | £9.78 | £9.82 | £4,908 (similar: £4,908) | down 9.9% 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 | £1,001 | £869 |
| ||
Adult social careDetails for Adult social care | £443 | £482 |
| ||
Children's social careDetails for Children's social care | £352 | £337 |
| ||
Public healthDetails for Public health | £70 | £93 |
| ||
Environment and regulationDetails for Environment and regulation | £59 | £93 |
| ||
Running the councilDetails for Running the council | £51 | £60 |
| ||
Parks, leisure, libraries and cultureDetails for Parks, leisure, libraries and culture | £42 | £50 |
| ||
Housing (not council homes)Details for Housing (not council homes) | £35 | £39 |
| ||
Other servicesDetails for Other services | £35 | £0.34 |
| ||
Planning and developmentDetails for Planning and development | £29 | £28 |
| ||
Roads and transportDetails for Roads and transport | £23 | £29 |
| ||
- Bolton spent 36.7% of its gross service spending on its own staff in 2025-26 (median for metropolitan borough councils: 33.6%); the rest went on suppliers, contractors, grants, benefits and other running costs.
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 Bolton and everything else about Bolton.
Common questions
- What does council tax pay for in Bolton?
- A Band D bill of £2,399.74 is split between Bolton, Bolton: adult social care precept, this year's increase, Greater Manchester Police, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Parish and town councils (average for the area). In proportion to spending, the largest line is adult social care, £654.91.
- 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.