Council tax bands in Dorset
Dorset is a billing authority in South West England. Band-D Council Tax for 2026-27 is £2,765 per year — that's the headline rate the bands above and below scale from.
- Band-D charge: £2,765 per year (2026-27)
- Domestic properties: 185,740
- Most common band: Band C (23.1% of homes)
- Homes in bands A–C: 51.4%
- Local challenge success rate: 30.3%
Council tax by band in Dorset (2026-27)
Every band is a fixed proportion of the Band-D charge (£2,765), so here's the full ladder for Dorset — your exact bill can vary slightly with any parish or town precept.
| Band | Council tax (2026-27) |
|---|---|
| Band A | £1,843 per year |
| Band B | £2,151 per year |
| Band C (most common) | £2,458 per year |
| Band D | £2,765 per year |
| Band E | £3,379 per year |
| Band F | £3,994 per year |
| Band G | £4,608 per year |
| Band H | £5,530 per year |
Derived from the 2026-27 Band-D charge using the statutory band proportions (sixths-to-eighteenths of Band D). Source: gov.uk (MHCLG) (Open Government Licence v3.0).
Band distribution in Dorset
There are 185,740 domestic properties in Dorset , with Band C the most common (23.1% of homes).
Properties by council tax band
Source: VOA Council Tax Stock of Properties, March 2024 (Open Government Licence v3.0). Dashed markers show the England & Wales average for each band.
| Band | Properties | % in Dorset | England & Wales avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Band A | 20,730 | 11.2% | 23.3% |
| Band B | 31,700 | 17.1% | 19.6% |
| Band C (most common) | 42,920 | 23.1% | 21.9% |
| Band D | 36,980 | 19.9% | 15.7% |
| Band E | 28,510 | 15.3% | 10% |
| Band F | 16,030 | 8.6% | 5.4% |
| Band G | 8,130 | 4.4% | 3.5% |
| Band H | 740 | 0.4% | 0.6% |
How Dorset compares to the national average
The bands that diverge most from the England & Wales average:
Bars scaled to a 50% axis. National averages: VOA stock, March 2024.
Council tax challenges in Dorset
Valuation Office records show 200 successful band challenges in Dorset in 2023-24. At an estimated £307 saved per year for each home moved one band lower, that's roughly £61,400 a year taken off local bills — and a home still in too high a band keeps overpaying every year until it's fixed.
In Dorset, 660 band challenges were resolved in 2023-24 , 30.3% of them resulting in a band reduction. Separately, 270 homes in Dorset were moved to a lower band last year through all corrections (a different count to challenges — not directly comparable).
Challenging rarely backfires. Across England & Wales, of the band reviews the Valuation Office resolved in 2023-24, about 41% ended in a lower band and fewer than 1% went up — the route BandCheck uses.
Source: VOA Council Tax: Challenges and Changes, 2023-24 (Open Government Licence v3.0). £ figure is an estimate — successful reductions × the one-band-lower saving; the actual amount per home varies by band.
Thinking of appealing? See how to challenge your band in Dorset →
Check your specific band
How to challenge your band in Dorset
Run the free check above first — it tells you whether the evidence actually supports a challenge, at no cost. If it does, the optional £4.99 appeal pack assembles a pre-filled Band Review email body, an evidence appendix listing comparable properties with sale prices from HM Land Registry, and (if you've moved in within the last six months) a pre-filled Council Tax Proposal Form (VO 7455 in England / Wales) you sign and post / email yourself. It's fully refunded if the Valuation Office rejects your challenge — just send us their written decision within 60 days.