Guide to Camden’s Council Tax and Business Rates 2026/27

Important information about Council Tax and services

Like councils up and down the country, our financial outlook remains exceptionally challenging. Whilst the multi-year funding settlement we received from government is welcome, rising inflation together with unprecedented nationwide pressures felt in social care; providing temporary homes for people - including families - at risk of homelessness; and supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities, mean that we have to make difficult decisions to balance our budget. This includes raising council tax by 4.99%.

Since 2011 we have made savings of more than £240m, whilst continuing to provide the services people rely on and investing in new areas of support. At a time when more and more councils are having to rely on exceptional financial support from government, our robust approach sees us bucking the trend and providing financial stability for Camden. Our strong track record in managing our budget puts us in the best possible position to tackle the challenges we face. Our balanced budget for 2026/27 will see us continuing to make every pound count and delivering the best possible services for everyone who calls our borough home by:

Investing in safer streets

Introducing more CCTV cameras and deploying a new team of community safety officers to target crime and anti-social behaviour hotspots.

Investing in cost-of-living support for people who need it most

Continuing to prioritise support through our Council Tax Support Scheme, which ensures that around 16,000 households pay nothing and many more receive reduced bills – and our £2.1m Cost of Living Fund, which provides payments of up to £500 to help people pay for the essentials, like food and household bills.

Investing in council homes to reduce bills

Investing £29.9m to retrofit around 3,000 council homes – cutting energy bills for residents and reducing carbon emissions.

Investing in a cleaner borough

Taking further action to keep our borough clean by investing in new high-performance equipment to ensure our busiest high streets stay accessible, and are clean and welcoming for everyone.

Investing in outstanding services

Setting the standard nationally as the only council in the country to have received ‘outstanding’ ratings for our most recent Children’s, Adult Social Care and Youth Justice Service inspections. We know that there will be tough choices ahead, and we will approach them together. We will listen to our communities and shape our services to respond to today’s challenges head on. Together, we will create a borough that is safe, clean and thriving. A borough for everyone.

Councillor Richard Olszewski, Leader of Camden Council
Councillor Camron Aref-Adib, Cabinet Member for Finance and Cost of Living

In the next year we will spend over £1.1 billion on providing services. The money for this comes from funding from central government, our share of retained business rates, the Council Tax you pay and other sources of income such as rents and fees.

Your Council Tax also helps pay for the Greater London Authority (GLA). In 2026/27 people who will pay Council Tax in Camden will contribute £49.77 million towards the cost of GLA services. The GLA element of your bill is in additional amount charged as part of your annual Camden Council Tax bill. It does not factor in the maximum 4.99% amount central government states Councils can increase Council Tax by without a referendum. Councils have no control over the GLA precept amount we must collect from you as part of your bill.   

The table on this page shows how much Camden's Council Tax charge is for each band this year. On the front of your Council Tax bill it will tell you which band your property is in. The band is based on the value of your property on a historic date and not the current value of your house.

If you live in a garden square, you will pay slightly more to maintain the square.

If your property has been empty & unfurnished for 12 months or more you will also attract an additional charge to pay.

If you have a second home (unoccupied and furnished home) in Camden you will pay double the standard rate of Council Tax for your property from 1 April 2025 unless you meet the criteria for specific exemptions from this charge.  

For more information on empty property additional charges and exemptions from the charges please visit, empty property additional charges. 

Your bill will also tell you how much you must pay, the date each payment must be made by and how you can make your payments.

Our website has more information about Council Tax.

Some groups of people may be entitled to an exemption or discount from paying Council Tax, including Council Tax Support if you are in a low income household. Find out about discounts and exemptions that may apply to you and details on how to apply for them. 

Your Council Tax band

If you're not sure what your Council Tax band is, you can check your Council Tax band on GOV.UK.

Our guide to Camden's budget has more information about where Camden Council money comes from and where it's spent (PDF).

The services we provide

• 32% - Children, schools and families
• 26% - Vulnerable adults and older people
• 12% - Government benefit payments and services
• 12% - Streets, safety, leisure and open spaces
• 9% - Support services
• 6% - Other costs
• 3% - public health

How our services are funded

• 41% - Government funding
• 27% - Rents, fees and other income
• 15% - Residents' Council Tax
• 12% - Core revenue grants
• 5% - Retained business rates and revenue support grant

Each year, once we are aware of the amount of funding we will receive from the government, we set the level of Council Tax to meet the cost of providing council services in the borough.

This table tells you how much we plan to spend on services in the coming year and how much we spent on them last year. 

The table on this page shows how we work out the amount to be met by Council Tax.

Your total bill includes an amount to cover the cost of Greater London Authority (GLA) services.

Greater London Authority (GLA) and other organisations

Greater London Authority Information 2026/27 (PDF)

More information about Greater London Authority (GLA) services

Lee Valley Regional Park

Notice of Lee Valley Regional Park Authority levy 2026/27 (PDF)

Environment Agency

Environment Agency levy 2026/27 (PDF)

London Pension Fund Authority

LPFA levy for 2026/27 (PDF) 

The Secretary of State made an offer to adult social care authorities. (“Adult social care authorities” are local authorities which have functions under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014, namely county councils in England, district councils for an area in England for which there is no county council, London borough councils, the Common Council of the City of London and the Council of the Isles of Scilly.)

The offer was the option of an adult social care authority being able to charge an additional “precept” on its Council Tax without holding a referendum, to assist the authority in meeting its expenditure on adult social care from the financial year 2016-17. It was originally made in respect of the financial years up to and including 2019-20. This offer has been extended in the financial years since, up to and including 2026-27 where an additional 2% increase has been applied to Council Tax bills. 

Please note that for the 2025/26 financial year onwards, central government have mandated that your Council Tax bill must show the combined core Camden precept charge and adult social care precept charge as 1 combined figure in the breakdown of your charge on the back of your bill, rather than shown as separate figures as in previous years. 

How to pay your Council Tax

How to pay your Business Rates 

Support with paying Council Tax

If you’re worried about paying your Council Tax, please get in touch with us on 020 7974 4444.

If you earn less than £666.00 per week, you may be eligible for a discount through our Council Tax Support scheme.

Council Tax Support

We have a number of other discounts and exemptions for eligible households such as those living on their own (single persons discount), students, disabled persons who have had certain permanent adaptations to their home and residents certified by their GP as suffering from severe mental impairment and receiving qualifying benefits from central government.  For more information on assistance you may be eligible for to reduce your Council Tax bill visit: 

Council Tax discounts and exemptions

Support with paying Business Rates

If you’re worried about paying your business rates, please contact the Business Rates team.

We also have a number of reliefs and exemptions you may be eligible for depending on the type of business (such as mandatory relief for eligible charities which provides relief of up to 80% off your bill or an additional relief for eligible pubs and live music venues) or the rateable value of your property (such as small business rates relief).   

If you feel your rateable value (set by a central government body which determines your annual charge and eligibility for some reliefs) is too high, you can appeal directly to the Valuation Office Agency. 

Details of the discounts and exemptions available and further information on your rateable value and how you can appeal this directly with the Valuation Office Agency (a separate independent central government body from Camden Council who set the rateable values for all commercial properties nationally) is available at: 

Discounts and exemptions for Business Rates  

Further support available

If you’re worried about money or accessing food, or need housing advice or mental health support, we are here to help.

Support for Camden residents

We are aware our business community also face struggles in the current cost of living crisis too. The following page details support available both direct from Camden Council as well as other useful help, advice and support available from external partners and organisations.  

Cost of living support for Camden businesses