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Council Tax rates and bills for 2025-26

Council Tax for 2025-26

Valuation band Property value in 1991 Council Tax amount
A £40,000 or less £1609.72
B £40,001 to £52,000 £1877.99
C £52,001 to £68,000 £2146.28
D £68,001 to 88,000 £2414.58
E £88,001 to £120,000 £2951.15
F £120,001 to £160,000 £3487.72
G £160,001 to £320,000 £4024.30
H £320,001 or more £4829.16

Council Tax Bands

There are eight Council Tax bands for properties in Bury.

Council Tax bands are also known as valuation bands. Bands are set for each property by the Valuation Office Agency, based on the property sale value on 1st April 1991. The same valuation standard includes new properties and properties that have been converted for domestic use, by working out what the sale value would have been in 1991.

Visit GOV.UK to check your Council Tax band or to find out how Council Tax bands are assessed.

Empty Property Premium

An empty property premium means a higher rate of Council Tax for an empty property. An empty property is recognised as being empty and unfurnished for over two years.

Empty property premiums:

  • empty between 2 and 5 years is double the full Council Tax charge
  • empty between 5 and 10 years is three times the full Council Tax charge
  • empty for over 10 years is four times the full Council Tax charge.

Empty property premium charges are noted on your Council Tax bill as 100, 200 and 300 percent respectively. 

New empty property premiums will come into effect from 1 April 2025:

  • the threshold for the Council Tax Premium for empty and unfurnished properties will be reduced to one year. Double the full Council Tax rate will be charged for properties empty and unfurnished between one and five years. The Council Tax Premium rates for properties empty for more than 5 years will remain unchanged.
  • a Council Tax Premium (Second Homes) of 100% will be charged properties which are empty and furnished. This means the charge for these properties will be double the normal amount of Council Tax.
Council Tax for empty properties

Your Council Tax bill for 2025-26

Council Tax bills for 2025-26 will start to be issued on 4 March 2025.

Most of the Council Tax is used for the services provided by Bury Council. There are also two extra parts of the Council Tax called precepts. These are smaller amounts where the money collected is used for a specific purpose.

Bury Council general element

The general element of the Council Tax is noted as ‘Bury Council’ on your bill. It is used to pay for services we provide,

The Government sets a limit for how much the general element of Council Tax can increase each year. When a council wants to exceed the Government limit, a local referendum must be held before an increase to the general element can be introduced.

The decision to set our general element was made at a council meeting on 19 February 2025. The Bury Council general element increased by 4.99% from the previous year.

Mayoral Police and Crime Commissioner precept

The Mayor of Greater Manchester sets the Police and Crime Commissioner precept to financially support policing in the region. For 2025-26, the precept increased by 5.5 percent from the previous year.

Mayoral General Precept (including Fire Services)

The Mayor of Greater Manchester sets the Mayoral General Precept. The amount collected goes toward the regional Fire and Rescue service and a contribution to fund the Mayor and the functions he is responsible for. For 2025-26, the precept increased by 14.2 percent from the previous year.

Leaflets issued with this year's Council Tax bills