In this section: Your area
Where your council tax goes in City of London
Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.
A Band D council tax bill in City of London is £1,329.56 for 2026-27, split between City of London £1,091.25, City of London: adult social care precept, this year's increase £21.13, Greater London Authority £176.38, Parish and town councils (average for the area) £40.80. Shared out in proportion to what each body spends, the largest single line is policing at City of London: £741.00 of the bill. Council tax pays for 2% 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
- £1,329.56Band D bill, 2026-27
- £1,091.25Goes to City of London itself (82%)
- £741.00Largest line: policing
- 1.9%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: £1,329.56
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City of London £1,091.25
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Greater London Authority £176.38
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Parish and town councils (average for the area) £40.80
City of London
£1,091.25 of your bill goes to City of London. It is shared out below in proportion to how City of London spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
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Policing £741.00
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Environment and regulation £53.23
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Planning and development £31.84
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Adult social care £25.66
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Housing (not council homes) £24.94
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Running the council £23.47
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Education £17.54
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Children's social care £15.71
Roads and transport brought in £3.2m more than it cost; Other services brought in £62k more than it cost in 2025-26, so they take no share of your bill.
Before sharing out your bill, the part of education paid for by the Dedicated Schools Grant (£4.2m) and public health paid for by the public health grant (£1.9m) is taken off, because council tax does not pay for it.
Which councils count as similar
Medians are across the 10 London boroughs closest in population: Kensington and Chelsea, Kingston Upon Thames, Hammersmith and Fulham, Richmond upon Thames, Westminster, Sutton, Camden, Merton, Islington, Barking and Dagenham. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Parks, leisure, libraries and culture
£157.86 of your bill goes to parks, leisure, libraries and culture at City of London. Here is how its £50.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Museums, arts, heritage and archives £123.18
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Libraries £20.41
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Parks and open spaces (including play areas) £8.39
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Tourism £4.28
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Sport and leisure £1.39
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Community centres and public halls £0.22
Environment and regulation
£53.23 of your bill goes to environment and regulation at City of London. Here is how its £17.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Street cleaning £22.71
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Environmental health, food safety, pest control and licensing £8.31
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Recycling and waste minimisation £4.79
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Waste collection £4.70
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Waste disposal £4.41
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Public toilets £3.40
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Cemeteries and crematoria £2.04
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Community safety and CCTV £1.56
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Trading standards £1.31
Planning and development
£31.84 of your bill goes to planning and development at City of London. Here is how its £10.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Economic development and business support £11.34
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Environmental initiatives £8.05
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Planning policy £6.39
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Planning applications (development management) £3.19
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Building control £2.87
Adult social care
£25.66 of your bill goes to adult social care at City of London. Here is how its £8.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Care assessment and safeguarding £8.56
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Physical support £6.32
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Mental health support £5.49
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Learning disability support £1.95
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Commissioning, strategy and administration £1.88
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Support with memory and cognition £1.03
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Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £0.30
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Assistive equipment and technology £0.12
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Sensory support £0.02
Physical support
£6.32 of your bill goes to physical support at City of London. Here is how its £2.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £5.21
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Aged 18 to 64 £1.11
Mental health support
£5.49 of your bill goes to mental health support at City of London. Here is how its £1.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £4.29
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Aged 65 and over £1.20
Housing (not council homes)
£24.94 of your bill goes to housing (not council homes) at City of London. Here is how its £8.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Homelessness and temporary accommodation £18.35
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Supporting People and welfare services £3.88
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Housing strategy, advice and enabling £2.41
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Housing benefit administration and discretionary payments £0.30
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. City of London's Housing Revenue Account took in £17.9m and spent £17.8m in 2025-26. What council tax does and doesn't pay for.
Running the council
£23.47 of your bill goes to running the council at City of London. Here is how its £7.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Corporate and democratic core £17.75
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Collecting council tax and business rates £1.84
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Emergency planning £1.80
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Elections and electoral registration £1.40
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Registering births, deaths and marriages £0.37
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Coroners' and other courts £0.31
Education
£17.54 of your bill goes to education at City of London. Here is how its £9.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Other education £7.33
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Primary schools £5.88
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Early years and nursery £4.04
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Secondary schools £0.29
Children's social care
£15.71 of your bill goes to children's social care at City of London. Here is how its £5.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Asylum-seeking children £5.19
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Services for young people £4.43
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Children looked after £3.35
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Safeguarding and social work £2.26
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Family support £0.47
City of London: adult social care precept, this year's increase
£21.13 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 City of London's adult social care spending of £8.2m 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.
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Care assessment and safeguarding £7.05
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Physical support £5.20
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Mental health support £4.52
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Learning disability support £1.60
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Commissioning, strategy and administration £1.55
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Support with memory and cognition £0.85
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Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £0.25
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Assistive equipment and technology £0.10
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Sensory support £0.01
Physical support
£5.20 of your bill goes to physical support at City of London. Here is how its £2.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 65 and over £4.29
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Aged 18 to 64 £0.91
Mental health support
£4.52 of your bill goes to mental health support at City of London. Here is how its £1.8m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Aged 18 to 64 £3.54
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Aged 65 and over £0.99
Greater London Authority
£176.38 of your bill goes to Greater London Authority. It is shared out below in proportion to how Greater London Authority spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
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Policing £99.11
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Roads and transport £41.33
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Education £12.83
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Fire and rescue £12.60
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Planning and development £3.30
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Running the council £1.63
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Children's social care £0.19
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Public health £0.11
No similar-council comparison: no comparison: no other body does the same mix of things.
Roads and transport
£41.33 of your bill goes to roads and transport at Greater London Authority. Here is how its £1.89bn of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Support for bus, rail and other public transport £37.99
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Transport planning and policy £0.44
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Street lighting (including energy) £0.24
Road and bridge maintenance
£2.66 of your bill goes to road and bridge maintenance at Greater London Authority. Here is how its £148.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) £1.90
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Environmental, safety and routine maintenance £0.76
Planning and development
£3.30 of your bill goes to planning and development at Greater London Authority. Here is how its £151.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Economic development and business support £1.87
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Environmental initiatives £0.53
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Community development £0.39
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Planning policy £0.29
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Planning applications (development management) £0.22
Environment and regulation
£2.57 of your bill goes to environment and regulation at Greater London Authority. Here is how its £117.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Community safety and CCTV £2.29
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Environmental health, food safety, pest control and licensing £0.29
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Flood defence, land drainage and coast protection £0.00
Housing (not council homes)
£2.04 of your bill goes to housing (not council homes) at Greater London Authority. Here is how its £93.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Housing strategy, advice and enabling £0.99
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Homelessness and temporary accommodation £0.53
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Supporting People and welfare services £0.53
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 London 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.
Running the council
£1.63 of your bill goes to running the council at Greater London Authority. Here is how its £74.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Corporate and democratic core £1.35
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Collecting council tax and business rates £0.28
Parks, leisure, libraries and culture
£0.67 of your bill goes to parks, leisure, libraries and culture at Greater London Authority. Here is how its £30.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
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Museums, arts, heritage and archives £0.45
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Sport and leisure £0.21
Parks, street cleaning and roads here
What City of London 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) | £2.7m | £172 | £20 | — | down 5.0% on 2024-25 |
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Street cleaningDetails for Street cleaning | £7.6m | £485 | £42 | £252,467 (similar: £52,165) | down 6.1% on 2024-25 |
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Road and bridge maintenanceDetails for Road and bridge maintenance | £5.5m | £352 | £16 | £183,433 (similar: £15,958) | down 18.2% on 2024-25 |
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Environmental, safety and routine maintenanceDetails for Environmental, safety and routine maintenance | £2.3m | £145 | £11 | £75,400 (similar: £13,707) | down 26.0% on 2024-25 |
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Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges)Details for Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) | £3.2m | £207 | £4.07 | £108,033 (similar: £5,460) | down 11.7% on 2024-25 |
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Street lighting (including energy)Details for Street lighting (including energy) | £943k | £60 | £4.60 | £31,433 (similar: £6,047) | down 15.6% on 2024-25 |
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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 |
|---|---|---|
PolicingDetails for Policing | £15,233 | £3.57 |
| ||
Parks, leisure, libraries and cultureDetails for Parks, leisure, libraries and culture | £3,245 | £39 |
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Environment and regulationDetails for Environment and regulation | £1,094 | £104 |
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Planning and developmentDetails for Planning and development | £655 | £23 |
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EducationDetails for Education | £628 | £990 |
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Adult social careDetails for Adult social care | £527 | £438 |
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Housing (not council homes)Details for Housing (not council homes) | £513 | £146 |
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Running the councilDetails for Running the council | £483 | £67 |
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Children's social careDetails for Children's social care | £323 | £291 |
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Public healthDetails for Public health | £99 | £82 |
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Other servicesDetails for Other services | £-3.97 | £17 |
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Roads and transportDetails for Roads and transport | £-204.59 | £1.75 |
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- City of London spent 46.0% of its gross service spending on its own staff in 2025-26 (median for London boroughs: 33.2%); 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 City of London and everything else about City of London.
Common questions
- What does council tax pay for in City of London?
- A Band D bill of £1,329.56 is split between City of London, City of London: adult social care precept, this year's increase, Greater London Authority, Parish and town councils (average for the area). In proportion to spending, the largest line is policing, £741.00.
- 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.