# Council tax in Cardiff url: https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/council-tax/wales/cardiff/ updated: 29 September 2026 licence: Our words, analysis, charts and derived calculations: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), credit [Tekstak Ltd](https://tek-stak.co.uk). Figures: each source's own licence, listed under Sources. publisher: [Tekstak Ltd](https://tek-stak.co.uk) # Council tax in Cardiff Last updated 29 September 2026. Figures refresh every night. [How each figure is worked out](/methodology/). Council tax in **Cardiff** for 2026-27 is **£2,013 a year for a Band D home**, £1,342 for Band A and £4,697 for the top band. That is £313 below the Wales average of £2,326. It ranks 22 of 22 billing areas in Wales. Figures are the council's own set rates. Wales publishes Band D only, so the other bands here are worked out from the statutory ratios. Figures for the 2026–27 financial year. Source: [Welsh Government](https://www.gov.wales/council-tax-levels). ## Key figures - £2,013Band D a year, 2026-27 As of 6 April 2026 - £1,342Band A, the lowest As of 6 April 2026 - −£313Band D against the Wales average of £2,326 Below average As of 6 April 2026 - 22 of 22Rank in Wales, highest first As of 6 April 2026 Source: [Welsh Government](https://www.gov.wales/council-tax-levels). ## What is the bill for each band? £2,013 Band D, Cardiff, 2026-27 | Band | A year | A month | | --- | --- | --- | | Band ADetails | £1,342.12 | £111.84 | | A month£111.84 | | | | Band BDetails | £1,565.81 | £130.48 | | A month£130.48 | | | | Band CDetails | £1,789.49 | £149.12 | | A month£149.12 | | | | Band DDetails | £2,013.18 | £167.77 | | A month£167.77 | | | | Band EDetails | £2,460.55 | £205.05 | | A month£205.05 | | | | Band FDetails | £2,907.93 | £242.33 | | A month£242.33 | | | | Band GDetails | £3,355.30 | £279.61 | | A month£279.61 | | | | Band HDetails | £4,026.36 | £335.53 | | A month£335.53 | | | | Band IDetails | £4,697.42 | £391.45 | | A month£391.45 | | | ### What does this mean for you? Choose your band to see your bill in Cardiff for 2026-27. Your band is on your bill, or on the Valuation Office Agency’s search. Your band Band ABand BBand CBand DBand EBand FBand GBand HBand I Band D in Cardiff: **£2,013 a year**, or £201.32 a month over the usual ten instalments. Living alone as the only adult, it would be £1,510 after the 25% discount. The council’s set rates, before any council tax reduction or other discount. You can ask to pay over twelve months instead of ten. Figures for the 2026–27 financial year. Source: [Welsh Government](https://www.gov.wales/council-tax-levels). Wales publishes Band D only. The other bands are derived using the statutory ratios, which are fixed in law and the same for every Welsh authority, so these are exact rather than estimated. ## Who gets the money? 1604 405 4 County or county borough council 80%Police and crime commissioner 20%Community council 0% | Who receives it | Band D | Share | | --- | --- | --- | | County or county borough councilDetails | £1,604 | 80% | | Share80% | | | | Police and crime commissionerDetails | £405 | 20% | | Share20% | | | | Community councilDetails | £4 | 0% | | Share0% | | | Each body sets its own precept and the council simply collects them together. The council that sends the bill keeps only its own share. [Where your council tax goes: from your bill to each service](/council-tax/wales/cardiff/where-it-goes/) ## How does it compare? Band D here is **£313 below** the Wales average, 22 of 22 councils from the highest. It rose 5% on last year. **Cardiff among the Wales councils nearest it, Band D 2026-27** - 14. Rhondda Cynon Taf £2,289 - 15. Isle of Anglesey £2,261 - 16. Swansea £2,238 - 17. Vale of Glamorgan £2,232 - 18. Pembrokeshire £2,166 - 19. Torfaen £2,156 - 20. Newport £2,088 - 21. Caerphilly £2,083 - ◆22. Cardiff £2,013 Wales average: £2,326 ◆ Cardiff Ranked highest first. [Every council](/councils/) is in the full table. **Show as a table** | Name | Band D | | --- | --- | | 14. Rhondda Cynon Taf | £2,289 | | 15. Isle of Anglesey | £2,261 | | 16. Swansea | £2,238 | | 17. Vale of Glamorgan | £2,232 | | 18. Pembrokeshire | £2,166 | | 19. Torfaen | £2,156 | | 20. Newport | £2,088 | | 21. Caerphilly | £2,083 | | 22. Cardiff (Cardiff) | £2,013 | Figures for the 2026–27 financial year. Source: [Welsh Government](https://www.gov.wales/council-tax-levels). ## How does Cardiff compare? The report card Official figures on complaints, finances, audit, pay and services for Cardiff, each from the body that published it and set against the figure for Wales. See every council on the [council map](/councils/map/?council=W06000015). - Council tax rise this year4.5%Lower than the Wales figure of 5.2% - Council tax per head£826Lower than the Wales figure of £963 - Ombudsman interventions20% (37 of 183 closed)Higher than the Wales figure of 13% - Recycling rate64.0%Lower than the Wales figure of 68.4% - Planning decisions on time98.6%Higher than the Wales figure of 90.5% Each figure is set against the figure for Wales as a whole. They are plain comparisons, one measure at a time: there is no overall score and no ranking of councils. Higher is not always better or worse; what each measure does and does not show is on the [methodology page](/methodology/#council-report-cards). ### What do complaints to the ombudsman show? | Measure | Cardiff | For comparison | | --- | --- | --- | | Complaints closedDetails | 183 | — | | For comparison— | | | | Closed with the Ombudsman interveningDetails | 37 (20%) | 13% across Welsh councils | | For comparison13% across Welsh councils | | | The Ombudsman publishes one row per closed case; the counts here are this site’s own, from those rows, for the 2024-25 financial year. The Ombudsman’s annual letter to each council may count slightly differently. Source: [Public Services Ombudsman for Wales, Open data: complaints closed](https://www.ombudsman.wales/open-data-2/), 2024-25. ### How healthy are its finances? | Measure | Cardiff | For comparison | | --- | --- | --- | | Outstanding borrowing at 30 June 2026Details | £1.16bn | — | | For comparison— | | | The Welsh Government publishes council reserves as a PDF report only, so no figure is shown here. Much of any council’s reserves is set aside for particular purposes. Borrowing is total outstanding loans of every kind; councils borrow mainly to pay for buildings, roads and housing, and the figure does not show what the borrowing was for. Source: [Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Local authority borrowing and investment live table](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-local-government-finance), 30 June 2026. ### What have the auditors said? | Report | Title | Published | | --- | --- | --- | | Latest local report (Audit Wales) | [Cardiff Council – Recruitment and retention challenges – the right people at the right time?](https://www.audit.wales/publication/cardiff-council-recruitment-and-retention-challenges-right-people-right-time) | 1 September 2026 | | Latest Annual Audit Summary (Audit Wales) | [Cardiff Council – Annual Audit Summary 2024](https://www.audit.wales/publication/cardiff-council-annual-audit-summary-2024) | 21 March 2025 | Audit Wales publishes an Annual Audit Summary for each council, which states its opinion on the accounts, and reports on particular services. Follow each link for the findings in full. Source: [Audit Wales, Local reports and Annual Audit Summaries](https://www.audit.wales/publications), latest report. Checked 22 September 2026. ### What are senior staff and councillors paid? | Measure | 2025-26 | 2024-25 | | --- | --- | --- | | Employees paid £60,000 or moreDetails | 953 | 725 | | 2024-25725 | | | | Councillors’ allowancesDetails | £1,951,000 | £1,839,000 | | 2024-25£1,839,000 | | | The count is up 228 on the year before. Welsh threshold £60,000. Note 8.2: 'the number of employees, whose remuneration is over £60,000 per annum within bands of £5,000 ... including senior officers whose remuneration is disclosed in more detail in note 8.3. It excludes any staff paid via agency.' Includes some severance payments and Returning Officer fees; excludes employer's pension. Separately identifies individuals directly employed by school governing bodies. Non Schools and Teaching columns; totals Non Schools 240 / Teaching 713 (2025/26) and 181 / 544 (2024/25). Runs of all-zero bands collapsed here. The accounts describe the allowances figure as “The total amount of Members' Allowances (including basic and special responsibility) paid in 2025/26 was £1.951 million (£1.839 million in 2024/25).”. These are draft accounts and may change at audit. Thresholds are not adjusted for inflation, so more staff cross them each year as pay rises. Source: [Cardiff, Draft Statement of Accounts 2025/26](https://www.cardiff.gov.uk/media/1947/Draft-Statement-of-Accounts-2025-to-2026/pdf/lc2_Draft_Statement_of_Accounts_2025-26.pdf), PDF pages 63-64, Note 8.2. Checked 24 September 2026. ### How are its services rated? | Measure | Cardiff | For comparison | | --- | --- | --- | | Municipal waste reused, recycled or composted (the statutory target measure), 2024-25Details | 64.0% | 68.4% for Wales | | For comparison68.4% for Wales | | | | Planning decisions on time, January to March 2026Details | 98.6% | 90.5% for Wales | | For comparison90.5% for Wales | | | Inspections happen at different times, so a rating can be several years old; the date is shown with each. Planning figures are measured differently in each nation: share of planning applications determined within the statutory or an agreed time, in one quarter. Recycling rates are measured differently in England, Scotland and Wales, so compare within a nation. Source: [Welsh Government, Local authority municipal waste management](https://stats.gov.wales/en-GB/f9314a75-6c2b-4baf-b8ef-383a2bc06125), 2024-25; [Welsh Government, Development management quarterly survey](https://www.gov.wales/development-management-quarterly-surveys), January to March 2026. ### What has happened recently? Decisions and publications by official bodies about Cardiff, newest first. Each links to the body that made or published it. News reports are not included. - 1 September 2026 Audit [Audit Wales report: Recruitment and retention challenges – the right people at the right time?](https://www.audit.wales/publication/cardiff-council-recruitment-and-retention-challenges-right-people-right-time) Audit Wales - 1 April 2026 Council tax [Council tax for 2026-27: Band D £2,013, up 4.5% on the year before](https://www.gov.wales/council-tax-levels) Welsh Government - 21 March 2025 Audit [Annual Audit Summary 2024](https://www.audit.wales/publication/cardiff-council-annual-audit-summary-2024) Audit Wales - 5 May 2022 Election [Local election: 79 seats won](https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/elections/local.cardiff.2022-05-05/) Labour Party 55, Conservative and Unionist Party 11, Liberal Democrats 10, Plaid Cymru, Green Party, Common Ground 2, Propel 1 Democracy Club ### Does the council think something here is wrong? If you represent Cardiff and think a figure here is wrong, out of date or unfairly presented, email [hello@whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk](mailto:hello@whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk?subject=Right%20of%20reply%3A%20Cardiff%20report%20card) with this page’s address and the source you would point to. Every correction is logged, with its date, on the [corrections page](/corrections/). ## How much of the council's spending does this cover? Council tax funds **26%** of this authority's budget. The rest comes from central government grant, business rates and fees. That is why a grant cut can raise your bill even when the council has not changed what it does, and why cutting council tax would not shrink services by the same proportion. ## Where can I find out more? [What council tax is and why it works this way](/council-tax/), including why the bands are still based on 1991 property values in England and Scotland, and [how every area compares](/councils/), everything else on [Cardiff: parking, roads, your MP and local services](/your-area/cardiff/), and [Cardiff on the council map](/councils/map/?council=W06000015). ## Common questions How much is council tax in Cardiff? Band D is £2,013 a year for 2026-27. Band A is £1,342 and the top band £4,697.Is council tax in Cardiff higher than average? No. Band D here is £313 below the Wales average of £2,326. ## Sources for this page | Source | Publisher | Figures as of | Updated | Licence | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Council Tax levels](https://www.gov.wales/council-tax-levels) | Welsh Government | the 2026–27 financial year | annual | [Open Government Licence v3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/) | 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](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). ## Related pages - [Next in this section: Where your council tax goes in Cardiff](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/council-tax/wales/cardiff/where-it-goes/) - [Back to Cardiff: your area](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/your-area/cardiff/) - [How much is council tax and what does it pay for?](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/council-tax/) - [Who is my MP, and what does their office cost?](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/mps/) - [Where does my tax money actually go?](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/for-every-100-pounds-of-tax/) ## More from this publisher - [UK tax calculators](https://howlongisit.co.uk) Published by [Tekstak Ltd](https://tek-stak.co.uk). Our words, analysis, charts and derived calculations: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), credit [Tekstak Ltd](https://tek-stak.co.uk). The figures belong to the publishers listed under Sources and are used under their licences. Figures last updated 29 September 2026.