In this section: Your area
Where your council tax goes in Reading
Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.
A Band D council tax bill in Reading is £2,612.77 for 2026-27, split between Reading £2,180.83, Reading: adult social care precept, this year's increase £42.35, Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable £298.28, Berkshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority £91.31. Shared out in proportion to what each body spends, the largest single line is adult social care at Reading: £670.97 of the bill. Council tax pays for 24% 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
- £2,612.77Band D bill, 2026-27
- £2,180.83Goes to Reading itself (83%)
- £670.97Largest line: adult social care
- 23.8%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.
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: £2,612.77
-
Reading £2,180.83
Reading
£2,180.83 of your bill goes to Reading. It is shared out below in proportion to how Reading spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
-
Adult social care £670.97
-
Children's social care £613.05
-
Education £383.15
-
Environment and regulation £189.91
-
Housing (not council homes) £103.02
-
Running the council £81.18
-
Roads and transport £52.61
-
Planning and development £20.93
-
Public health £10.42
Before sharing out your bill, the part of education paid for by the Dedicated Schools Grant (£117.8m) and public health paid for by the public health grant (£11.7m) is taken off, because council tax does not pay for it.
Which councils count as similar
Medians are across the 10 unitary councils in England closest in population: Southend-on-Sea, Thurrock, Wokingham, Herefordshire, Bedford, North Lincolnshire, Telford and the Wrekin, Bath and North East Somerset, Slough, West Berkshire. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Adult social care
£670.97 of your bill goes to adult social care at Reading. Here is how its £77.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Physical support £223.48
-
Learning disability support £220.21
-
Care assessment and safeguarding £95.25
-
Mental health support £79.63
-
Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £12.89
-
Assistive equipment and technology £6.53
-
Information and early intervention £6.02
-
Sensory support £2.33
Physical support
£223.48 of your bill goes to physical support at Reading. Here is how its £27.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £180.34
-
Aged 18 to 64 £43.15
Learning disability support
£220.21 of your bill goes to learning disability support at Reading. Here is how its £27.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £200.92
-
Aged 65 and over £19.29
Mental health support
£79.63 of your bill goes to mental health support at Reading. Here is how its £9.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £58.83
-
Aged 65 and over £20.80
Support with memory and cognition
£24.63 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at Reading. Here is how its £3.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £23.06
-
Aged 18 to 64 £1.56
Sensory support
£2.33 of your bill goes to sensory support at Reading. Here is how its £289k of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £1.41
-
Aged 65 and over £0.92
Children's social care
£613.05 of your bill goes to children's social care at Reading. Here is how its £71.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Children looked after £342.78
-
Safeguarding and social work £161.89
-
Family support £46.45
-
Children's centres and early years £23.68
-
Services for young people £12.76
-
Other children's and families' services £11.48
-
Youth justice £8.05
-
Asylum-seeking children £5.98
Education
£383.15 of your bill goes to education at Reading. Here is how its £162.2m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Primary schools £147.10
-
Special schools and alternative provision £98.10
-
Early years and nursery £75.25
-
Other education £32.91
-
Secondary schools £29.78
Environment and regulation
£189.91 of your bill goes to environment and regulation at Reading. Here is how its £22.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Waste disposal £78.44
-
Recycling and waste minimisation £45.49
-
Street cleaning £25.39
-
Waste collection £15.61
-
Environmental health, food safety, pest control and licensing £15.42
-
Trading standards £3.68
-
Community safety and CCTV £3.48
-
Trade waste £1.90
-
Public toilets £0.50
Housing (not council homes)
£103.02 of your bill goes to housing (not council homes) at Reading. Here is how its £12.0m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Homelessness and temporary accommodation £71.80
-
Supporting People and welfare services £14.77
-
Housing benefit administration and discretionary payments £10.77
-
Housing strategy, advice and enabling £5.08
-
Private sector housing renewal £0.60
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. Reading's Housing Revenue Account took in £53.1m and spent £62.9m in 2025-26. What council tax does and doesn't pay for.
Running the council
£81.18 of your bill goes to running the council at Reading. Here is how its £9.4m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Corporate and democratic core £29.78
-
Other central services £26.10
-
Collecting council tax and business rates £8.71
-
Coroners' and other courts £5.72
-
Elections and electoral registration £5.01
-
Non-distributed costs (past pensions, unused assets) £2.40
-
Emergency planning £1.88
-
Registering births, deaths and marriages £1.59
Parks, leisure, libraries and culture
£55.58 of your bill goes to parks, leisure, libraries and culture at Reading. Here is how its £6.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Museums, arts, heritage and archives £21.23
-
Parks and open spaces (including play areas) £16.68
-
Libraries £15.45
-
Community centres and public halls £2.23
Roads and transport
£52.61 of your bill goes to roads and transport at Reading. Here is how its £6.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Concessionary bus fares £26.23
-
Road and bridge maintenance £14.59
-
Transport planning and policy £7.61
-
Street lighting (including energy) £3.11
-
Winter service (gritting) £0.68
-
Support for bus, rail and other public transport £0.39
Road and bridge maintenance
£14.59 of your bill goes to road and bridge maintenance at Reading. Here is how its £3.5m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) £8.64
-
Environmental, safety and routine maintenance £5.95
Planning and development
£20.93 of your bill goes to planning and development at Reading. Here is how its £2.4m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Planning applications (development management) £13.80
-
Environmental initiatives £3.67
-
Building control £1.84
-
Community development £1.62
Public health
£10.42 of your bill goes to public health at Reading. Here is how its £12.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Drug and alcohol services £3.55
-
Health visiting and children's 0-5 services £2.75
-
Sexual health £1.68
-
Children's 5-19 programmes £1.45
-
Other public health £0.40
-
Stop smoking and tobacco control £0.25
-
Public mental health £0.14
-
NHS health checks and health protection £0.13
-
Obesity and physical activity £0.09
Reading: adult social care precept, this year's increase
£42.35 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 Reading's adult social care spending of £77.9m 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 £14.11
-
Learning disability support £13.90
-
Care assessment and safeguarding £6.01
-
Mental health support £5.03
-
Social support (carers, substance misuse, isolation, asylum) £0.81
-
Assistive equipment and technology £0.41
-
Information and early intervention £0.38
-
Sensory support £0.15
Physical support
£14.11 of your bill goes to physical support at Reading. Here is how its £27.7m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £11.38
-
Aged 18 to 64 £2.72
Learning disability support
£13.90 of your bill goes to learning disability support at Reading. Here is how its £27.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £12.68
-
Aged 65 and over £1.22
Mental health support
£5.03 of your bill goes to mental health support at Reading. Here is how its £9.9m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £3.71
-
Aged 65 and over £1.31
Support with memory and cognition
£1.55 of your bill goes to support with memory and cognition at Reading. Here is how its £3.1m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 65 and over £1.46
-
Aged 18 to 64 £0.10
Sensory support
£0.15 of your bill goes to sensory support at Reading. Here is how its £289k of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Aged 18 to 64 £0.09
-
Aged 65 and over £0.06
Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable
£298.28 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 Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable's adult social care spending of £715.9m 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.
Berkshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority
£91.31 of your bill goes to Berkshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority. It is shared out below in proportion to how Berkshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority spent its money in 2025-26, its latest published return.
-
Fire and rescue £88.45
-
Running the council £2.86
Which councils count as similar
Medians are across the 10 fire and rescue authorities closest in population: Humberside Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Cambridgeshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Mid and West Wales Fire Authority, Derbyshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Buckinghamshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Cheshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, North Yorkshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, East Sussex Combined Fire and Rescue Authority, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Authority, Leicestershire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority. Per-resident figures use ONS mid-year population estimates.
Fire and rescue
£88.45 of your bill goes to fire and rescue at Berkshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority. Here is how its £47.3m of net spending on it divides in the return.
-
Firefighting and rescue £58.21
-
Community fire safety £29.75
-
Fire emergency planning £0.49
Parks, street cleaning and roads here
What Reading 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) | £2.0m | £11 | £18 | — | down 1.5% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Street cleaningDetails for Street cleaning | £3.0m | £17 | £11 | £12,304 (similar: £3,963) | up 13.8% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Road and bridge maintenanceDetails for Road and bridge maintenance | £3.5m | £19 | £17 | £14,073 (similar: £3,782) | up 3.2% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Environmental, safety and routine maintenanceDetails for Environmental, safety and routine maintenance | £1.4m | £7.72 | £10 | £5,741 (similar: £2,131) | up 18.5% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges)Details for Structural maintenance (resurfacing, bridges) | £2.1m | £11 | £1.60 | £8,332 (similar: £420) | down 5.2% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Winter service (gritting)Details for Winter service (gritting) | £162k | £0.88 | £2.64 | £656 (similar: £608) | down 16.1% on 2024-25 |
| |||||
Street lighting (including energy)Details for Street lighting (including energy) | £740k | £4.03 | £5.63 | £2,996 (similar: £1,155) | down 22.3% 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 | £883 | £712 |
| ||
Adult social careDetails for Adult social care | £424 | £483 |
| ||
Children's social careDetails for Children's social care | £387 | £300 |
| ||
Environment and regulationDetails for Environment and regulation | £120 | £110 |
| ||
Public healthDetails for Public health | £70 | £64 |
| ||
Housing (not council homes)Details for Housing (not council homes) | £65 | £33 |
| ||
Running the councilDetails for Running the council | £51 | £51 |
| ||
Parks, leisure, libraries and cultureDetails for Parks, leisure, libraries and culture | £35 | £38 |
| ||
Roads and transportDetails for Roads and transport | £33 | £49 |
| ||
Planning and developmentDetails for Planning and development | £13 | £22 |
| ||
- Reading spent 35.3% of its gross service spending on its own staff in 2025-26 (median for unitary councils in England: 31.1%); 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 Reading and everything else about Reading.
Common questions
- What does council tax pay for in Reading?
- A Band D bill of £2,612.77 is split between Reading, Reading: adult social care precept, this year's increase, Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable, Berkshire Combined Fire and Rescue Authority. In proportion to spending, the largest line is adult social care, £670.97.
- 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.