Plymouth Council Tax Calculator, Bands & Rates: 2026/27

Plymouth Council Tax 2026/27: Naval City, Rural Funding Penalty, and the 200% Second Home Premium

Plymouth City Council approved its 2026/27 budget at Full Council on 23 February 2026, setting a 4.99% increase in its own element (2.99% general + 2% Adult Social Care). The rise adds £1.85 per week to a Band D bill and £1.24 per week at Band A. The total Band D figure of £2,441.85 is confirmed from Plymouth City Council's official charges page, and is made up of Plymouth's own element (~£2,030.58), the Devon & Cornwall Police precept (~£303.46, +£15 at Band D), and the Devon & Somerset Fire precept (~£107.81).

Two issues define Plymouth's council tax landscape in 2026/27 beyond the standard rise. First, the Devon & Cornwall Police funding formula: the force relies on council tax for 43% of its budget — one of the highest proportions nationally — because it receives one of England's lowest government policing settlements. Commissioner Alison Hernandez described this as leaving the force "punished for doing exactly what government asked" after successfully increasing officer numbers to their highest level ever. Second, the 200% second home premium, operating for the second consecutive year across the entire Devon, Cornwall, and Isles of Scilly area — the region most significantly affected by second home ownership of any area in England.

All eight bands are fixed fractions of the Band D rate, set nationally in ninths. Your band reflects your property's estimated market value on 1 April 1991. Plymouth is a unitary authority — your bill has three components only.

The Devon and Cornwall Police funding story is one of the sharpest examples in England of a force being structurally disadvantaged by the police funding formula. The formula allocates government grant money to forces using population-based metrics, but does not adequately weight the complexity of policing Devon and Cornwall — a combined area of approximately 6,700 square kilometres (the largest policing area in England outside of the Metropolitan Police and Thames Valley), with a scattered rural population, extensive coastline, major tourism flows (tens of millions of visitor days per year), and significant seasonal demand volatility.

The consequence: 43% of Devon and Cornwall Police's budget comes directly from council tax, compared to a national average closer to 30–35% for most forces. Commissioner Alison Hernandez stated to the Plymouth Police and Crime Panel on 30 January 2026 that the government's provisional settlement was "among the lowest in the country and does not reflect the complexity, scale or rurality of our policing area." Even charging the maximum permitted £15 increase at Band D still left a £3 million budget shortfall for 2026/27.

For Plymouth council tax payers, this has a direct and permanent effect: a larger share of policing costs falls on local households than in most comparable English cities. A Plymouth Band D household pays approximately £303.46 for policing — compared with £285.30 in Greater Manchester (where the GM Mayor's scale allows more efficient grant leverage) or £308.60 in Derby (where Derbyshire Police's settlement is more generous). Second home revenues do offset part of this — the 200% second home premium raised approximately £6 million for D&C Police in 2025/26, with a similar amount expected in 2026/27.

For the second consecutive year, all collecting authorities across Devon, Cornwall, and the Isles of Scilly are charging a 200% council tax premium on second homes — double the standard rate, or triple what an owner-occupied principal home would pay in the same band. Plymouth applies this premium from the first day a property is defined as a second home (furnished but not occupied as a main residence).

Devon and Cornwall are described in Devon and Cornwall PCC's own budget report as "one of the most significantly impacted" areas in England by second home ownership — driven by the region's appeal as a coastal and rural retreat, proximity to National Parks (Dartmoor, Exmoor), and the ongoing "move to the country" trend accelerated by remote working post-2020. The density of second homes in parts of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly particularly inflates this effect, but Plymouth — as the major urban centre of the area — both benefits from the revenue (which flows to D&C Police precept, the fire authority, and the city council) and faces housing affordability pressures that second home ownership contributes to.

At Band D, the second home premium bill is approximately £4,883.70 — the equivalent of the Band H rate. At Band C (typical for many Plymouth second homes in residential suburbs), the premium bill is approximately £4,341.06 (2 × £2,170.53).

Plymouth became a unitary authority in 1998, separating it from Devon County Council. This means Plymouth residents pay no separate Devon County Council precept — unlike residents in South Hams, Teignbridge, and other parts of Devon, whose bills include a Devon County Council element of £1,891.17 at Band D for 2026/27 (confirmed from Devon County Council, +4.99%).

Plymouth City Council's own element (~£2,030.58 at Band D) funds the full range of services that a county council would provide elsewhere — adult social care (£160m+ of Plymouth's budget), children's services, highways, and waste — plus the city-level services (leisure, planning, economic development) that a district council would normally cover. The practical consequence is that Plymouth's own element looks large compared with a city like Norwich (which keeps only 12p in every £1), but the comparison is misleading — Plymouth's element includes county-level functions that Norfolk County Council handles separately in Norwich's case.

Plymouth's maritime identity — home to Devonport Naval Base, the largest naval base in Western Europe, and the city from which the Mayflower sailed in 1620 — shapes both its housing stock and its resident population in ways relevant to council tax. The large naval population brings significant numbers of service families who may be exempt from council tax while living in MOD accommodation, and a relatively transient population that affects the council's tax base calculations. The city's regeneration — including the Royal William Yard conversion (from former Royal Navy victualling yard to a mixed-use development), The Box museum, and ongoing Waterfront investment — is partly reflected in the capital programme.

Plymouth operates an income-banded working-age Council Tax Support scheme. The key Plymouth-specific rule: those on passported benefits (Income Support, income-based JSA or ESA, or Universal Credit with no earned income) receive a maximum 80% reduction — meaning they still pay 20% of their council tax bill even at the highest award level. This is lower than the 100% available in some other councils and in Scotland.

Pension-age claimants on Pension Credit Guarantee receive up to 100% reduction. War pension and war disablement benefit recipients are treated the same as passported benefit claimants (maximum 80%).

If you believe your Plymouth property is in the wrong band, you can challenge it through the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). The standard circumstances for a challenge are:

• You have moved into a property and believe the band is wrong compared with similar properties
• There has been a change to the property (demolition of part, adaptation for disability) that should reduce the band
• There has been a change in the local area affecting the property's value

Challenge your band free of charge at gov.uk/challenge-council-tax-band, or call the VOA on 03000 501501. You must continue paying council tax at your current band while the appeal is considered — if successful, you receive a refund of any overpayment.

Plymouth's diverse housing stock — from Band A terraces in Devonport to Band G Victorian villas in Mannamead and Hartley — means that properties on the boundaries between bands are common. In particular, the post-war social housing estates of Ernesettle, Whitleigh, and Southway may contain Band B–C properties whose 1991 valuations are less consistent than more uniform suburban streets.

Plymouth City Council's capital budget for 2026/27 is £113.9 million, part of a five-year programme of £319.7 million. Key investments confirmed in the budget news release include:

• New children's and adult social care facilities — addressing growing demand for specialist accommodation and day services
• Transport schemes to reduce congestion — building on the Transforming Plymouth's Roads programme and cycling/walking infrastructure
• Parks and green spaces improvements — Plymouth has significant natural assets including Central Park and Plymouth Hoe
• Environmental and flood relief schemes — Plymouth's waterfront location and the River Plym create ongoing flood risk requiring active investment
• Economic development projects — including the Waterfront and Royal William Yard corridor, Millbay regeneration, and the City Centre masterplan