The 2026/27 charge for every one of the Lewisham council tax bands A to H, how the bill splits with the GLA precept, and how to check, challenge or cut it.
The Lewisham council tax bands for 2026/27 run from £1,491.56 a year at Band A to £4,474.67 at Band H, with the standard Band D home paying £2,237.33. Those figures are not all Lewisham’s money: a little under a quarter of your bill is collected on behalf of the Mayor of London and passed straight on. This guide gives the charge for every band, shows exactly how the bill splits between the council and the Greater London Authority, and covers how to check your band, challenge it, and claim the discounts a lot of households never claim. Every figure comes from Lewisham Council’s own 2026/27 council tax booklet.
Lewisham council tax by band, 2026/27
| Band | Property value on 1 April 1991 | Annual charge | Ratio to Band D |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Up to £40,000 | £1,491.56 | 6/9 |
| B | £40,001 to £52,000 | £1,740.14 | 7/9 |
| C | £52,001 to £68,000 | £1,988.74 | 8/9 |
| D | £68,001 to £88,000 | £2,237.33 | 9/9 |
| E | £88,001 to £120,000 | £2,734.52 | 11/9 |
| F | £120,001 to £160,000 | £3,231.70 | 13/9 |
| G | £160,001 to £320,000 | £3,728.89 | 15/9 |
| H | Over £320,000 | £4,474.67 | 18/9 |
Source: Lewisham Council, council tax bands and the 2026/27 council tax booklet.
Unlike shire districts, Lewisham has no parish precepts, so there is only one set of figures for the whole borough. Whether you live in Deptford, Sydenham, Brockley or Grove Park, your band decides your bill exactly.
What it means for you: council tax is normally paid in 10 instalments from April to January, so a Band D household is paying about £224 a month for ten months and nothing in February or March. A Band C household pays about £199, a Band F household about £323.
What the bands actually mean
Your band is not based on what your home is worth now. It reflects what the property would have sold for on 1 April 1991, and that date has never moved since council tax began in 1993. The Valuation Office Agency, not the council, sets the band.
Every other band is a fixed fraction of Band D, set in law and identical across England. Band A pays six ninths of Band D and Band H pays eighteen ninths, so the whole scale spans exactly three to one from A to H however expensive the borough is. That is also why one band up is never a small step: moving from Band C to Band D in Lewisham costs another £248.59 a year.
How your bill splits: Lewisham and the Mayor
The council collects one figure but keeps only part of it. For 2026/27, a Band D bill divides like this.
| Element | 2025/26 | 2026/27 | Share of bill |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lewisham Council services | £1,644.75 | £1,726.82 | about 77% |
| Greater London Authority | £490.38 | £510.51 | about 23% |
| Total council tax | £2,135.13 | £2,237.33 | 100% |
Source: Lewisham Council tax booklet 2026/27, council tax for band D homes.
The council’s own element rose by £82.07, which is 4.99%. That number is not a coincidence. As the council’s explanatory notes put it, “All councils can raise bills by 4.99% without having a local referendum. On the bill this appears as 5%.” Lewisham took the maximum, and the booklet spells out how it is built: “this year’s council tax increase of 4.99% includes the maximum 2.99% uplift in the general council tax element and a further 2% rise for the ring-fenced adult social care precept.”
The GLA element rose by £20.13, which the Mayor’s section of the booklet describes as the equivalent of £1.68 a month. Taken together the whole Band D bill went up £102.20, or 4.79%.
Where the Mayor’s £510.51 goes
The GLA precept is not one thing. It funds four bodies, and only two of them put their charge up this year.
| Body | 2025/26 | Change | 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MOPAC (Metropolitan Police) | £319.13 | +£15.00 | £334.13 |
| LFC (London Fire Brigade) | £71.72 | +£5.13 | £76.85 |
| Transport for London | £77.09 | no change | £77.09 |
| GLA itself | £22.44 | no change | £22.44 |
| Total GLA precept | £490.38 | +£20.13 | £510.51 |
The whole of the Mayor’s increase went to policing and the fire brigade. The booklet says the extra police money is aimed at “a major crack down on phone theft, with targeted action to dismantle phone theft gangs on London’s streets”, while the fire increase is to meet inflationary pressures.
What it means for you: on a Band D bill, roughly £1,727 pays for Lewisham’s own services, £334 for the Metropolitan Police, £77 for Transport for London, £77 for the fire brigade and £22 for the GLA. If you want to argue about the policing share of your bill, that is a matter for City Hall rather than Catford.
The small print: levy bodies
Inside the council’s own element sit three levies it has to pay out. For 2026/27 they are the London Pensions Fund Authority at £1,262,746.00, Lee Valley Regional Park at £247,122.24 and the Environment Agency at £225,917.31, £1,735,785.55 in total across the borough. They are a rounding error next to the main precepts, but they are the reason a small slice of a Lewisham bill ends up funding a regional park in the Lea Valley.
How to check your council tax band
Checking is free and takes a minute. Use the VOA’s check your council tax band service, which shows your band and your neighbours’ bands.
That neighbour comparison is the point. If similar properties in your street sit a band lower than yours, you have the beginnings of a case. If they all match, you almost certainly do not.
How to challenge your band
Lewisham cannot change your band, and neither can it help you much: banding belongs entirely to the Valuation Office Agency. The council booklet draws a distinction that matters, because it decides which route you get.
A proposal is the formal challenge. You can only make one “in certain circumstances, such as if you’ve been paying Council Tax on your property for less than six months”, and when you make one, “by law the VOA must review your band.”
A band review is the informal route, open to anyone who has been paying for more than six months. The catch is that “the same legal rights don’t apply. The VOA will only look at your case if you provide strong evidence which suggests your band is wrong.”
The council’s disputes, appeals and refunds page says a valuation appeal goes to the Listing Officer, Council Tax South, Valuation Office Agency, 1 Ruskin Square, Dingwall Road, Croydon CR0 2WF, and that you have six months from becoming liable. Whichever route you take, “you must continue to pay the council tax charge based on your current banding until the outcome of the appeal”. Stopping payment while you argue simply adds recovery action to your problems.
If your dispute is about liability, a discount or an exemption rather than the band itself, write to Lewisham Council, Council Tax, PO Box 58993, London SE6 9GZ first. That is a different appeal with a different destination.
Discounts and exemptions worth claiming
Lewisham’s reductions and exemptions pages list a dozen routes to a smaller bill. The ones most often missed:
- Single person discount, 25%. If you are the only adult in the property. On a Band D bill that is worth £559 a year, and on a Band F bill £808.
- Disregarded people. If someone in the home is not counted for council tax, the discount can be 25%, 50% or 100%. The list is long: full-time students and student nurses, apprentices, anyone 18 or 19 still at school or in full-time further education, anyone under 25 previously looked after by a council, people with a severe mental illness, carers, prisoners, people in a care home, members of religious communities, and more.
- Disabled relief. If the home has been adapted or has special facilities for a physically disabled resident, “you may qualify to be charged at a lower valuation band”, which is a whole band off the bill.
- Apprentice discount, 25%, where the apprenticeship meets the criteria.
- Care leavers’ discount, a reduction until you are 25.
- The low income scheme. A reduction on the bill itself rather than a discount on the property. Note the council’s own warning that working-age residents “can no longer get all your council tax paid by council tax reduction, regardless of your circumstances”.
Exemptions go further and remove the bill entirely: homes occupied only by full-time students, homes left empty because the resident has moved permanently into hospital or a care home, homes empty after a death pending probate, and around twenty other classes.
What it means for you: the single person discount is the one to check first, because it is worth several hundred pounds and nobody applies it for you. If a student, apprentice or carer lives with you, work through the disregard list before assuming you owe the full amount.
The premiums that go the other way
Empty and second homes cost more, not less. A property left empty and substantially unfurnished for a year or more carries a 100% long-term empty premium, rising to 200% after five years and 300% after ten. The premium attaches to the property, not the owner, so buying a long-empty house means inheriting its premium from the date of purchase.
Since 1 April 2025 an additional 100% premium applies to second homes, defined as dwellings “which are substantially furnished and have no resident”, which catches short-term lets. Exceptions exist for homes actively marketed for sale or let, for up to 12 months, for annexes, for job-related armed forces accommodation and for properties recently through probate.
Frequently asked questions
How much is council tax in Lewisham for 2026/27?
Band A £1,491.56, Band B £1,740.14, Band C £1,988.74, Band D £2,237.33, Band E £2,734.52, Band F £3,231.70, Band G £3,728.89 and Band H £4,474.67. There are no parish precepts in Lewisham, so these apply across the whole borough.
What is Band D council tax in Lewisham?
£2,237.33 for 2026/27, made up of £1,726.82 for Lewisham Council services and £510.51 for the Greater London Authority. That is £102.20 more than the £2,135.13 charged in 2025/26, an increase of 4.79%.
How much did Lewisham council tax go up in 2026?
The council’s own element rose 4.99%, the maximum allowed without a referendum, made up of a 2.99% general increase and a 2% adult social care precept. The GLA element rose £20.13. The combined bill rose 4.79%.
How do I check my council tax band in Lewisham?
Search your address on the VOA’s check your council tax band service. It is free, and it also shows your neighbours’ bands, which is the evidence you need if you think yours is wrong.
Can I get a discount on my Lewisham council tax?
Yes. A 25% single person discount if you live alone, plus discounts or exemptions for students, apprentices, carers, care leavers, people with a severe mental illness, disabled residents in adapted homes, and households on a low income. They are listed on the council’s reductions and exemptions pages.
Does Lewisham charge extra for empty properties?
Yes. A 100% premium on homes empty and unfurnished for a year, 200% after five years and 300% after ten. Second homes have carried an extra 100% premium since 1 April 2025.
Sources
- Lewisham Council, how much is my council tax
- Lewisham Council, council tax 2026/27 booklet, for the band table, the Band D split, the GLA precept breakdown and the levy bodies
- Lewisham Council, council tax bill explanatory notes, for the 4.99% referendum limit, discounts, disregards, exemption classes and empty property premiums
- Lewisham Council, council tax reductions and exemptions and empty properties
- Lewisham Council, disputes, appeals and refunds
- Valuation Office Agency, check your council tax band
Figures are those published by Lewisham Council for the financial year April 2026 to March 2027 and were checked in August 2026. See also our guides to Lewisham bin collection days and parking in Lewisham.
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