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Council tax in Cardiff
Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.
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.
Key figures
- £2,013Band D a year, 2026-27
- £1,342Band A, the lowest
- −£313Band D against the Wales average of £2,326 Below average
- 22 of 22Rank in Wales, highest first
Source: Welsh Government.
What is the bill for each band?
| Band | A year | A month |
|---|---|---|
Band ADetails for Band A | £1,342.12 | £111.84 |
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Band BDetails for Band B | £1,565.81 | £130.48 |
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Band CDetails for Band C | £1,789.49 | £149.12 |
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Band DDetails for Band D | £2,013.18 | £167.77 |
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Band EDetails for Band E | £2,460.55 | £205.05 |
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Band FDetails for Band F | £2,907.93 | £242.33 |
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Band GDetails for Band G | £3,355.30 | £279.61 |
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Band HDetails for Band H | £4,026.36 | £335.53 |
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Band IDetails for Band I | £4,697.42 | £391.45 |
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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?
| Who receives it | Band D | Share |
|---|---|---|
County or county borough councilDetails for County or county borough council | £1,604 | 80% |
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Police and crime commissionerDetails for Police and crime commissioner | £405 | 20% |
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Community councilDetails for Community council | £4 | 0% |
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Each body sets its own precept and the council simply collects them together. The council that sends the bill keeps only its own share.
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.
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.
- 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.
What do complaints to the ombudsman show?
| Measure | Cardiff | For comparison |
|---|---|---|
Complaints closedDetails for Complaints closed | 183 | — |
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Closed with the Ombudsman interveningDetails for Closed with the Ombudsman intervening | 37 (20%) | 13% across Welsh councils |
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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, 2024-25.
How healthy are its finances?
| Measure | Cardiff | For comparison |
|---|---|---|
Outstanding borrowing at 30 June 2026Details for Outstanding borrowing at 30 June 2026 | £1.16bn | — |
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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, 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? | 1 September 2026 |
| Latest Annual Audit Summary (Audit Wales) | 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, latest report. Checked 22 September 2026.
What are senior staff and councillors paid?
| Measure | 2025-26 | 2024-25 |
|---|---|---|
Employees paid £60,000 or moreDetails for Employees paid £60,000 or more | 953 | 725 |
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Councillors’ allowancesDetails for Councillors’ allowances | £1,951,000 | £1,839,000 |
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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, 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 for Municipal waste reused, recycled or composted (the statutory target measure), 2024-25 | 64.0% | 68.4% for Wales |
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Planning decisions on time, January to March 2026Details for Planning decisions on time, January to March 2026 | 98.6% | 90.5% for Wales |
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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, 2024-25; Welsh Government, Development management quarterly survey, 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.
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Audit
Audit Wales
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Council tax
Welsh Government
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Audit
Audit Wales
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Election
Labour Party 55, Conservative and Unionist Party 11, Liberal Democrats 10, Plaid Cymru, Green Party, Common Ground 2, Propel 1Democracy 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 with this page’s address and the source you would point to. Every correction is logged, with its date, on the corrections page.
Where can I find out more?
What council tax is and why it works this way, including why the bands are still based on 1991 property values in England and Scotland, and how every area compares, everything else on Cardiff: parking, roads, your MP and local services, and Cardiff on the council map.
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 | Welsh Government | the 2026–27 financial year | 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.