Band D in Leighton-Linslade is £2,548.30 for 2026/27, up 5.06 per cent. The full A to H table, and what the council, police, fire and town council each take.
A Band D home in Leighton Buzzard pays £2,548.30 in council tax this year. That is £122.64 more than last year, a rise of 5.06 per cent.
Four separate bodies are on that bill and each set its own increase. The council publishes the full table, but as 79 separate parish pages with no totals and no comparison, so almost nobody sees it. Here it is for Leighton-Linslade.
Leighton Buzzard council tax bands 2026/27
| Band | Value on 1 April 1991 | Charge for the year | Last year |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Up to £40,000 | £1,698.86 | £1,617.10 |
| B | £40,001 to £52,000 | £1,982.01 | £1,886.63 |
| C | £52,001 to £68,000 | £2,265.14 | £2,156.14 |
| D | £68,001 to £88,000 | £2,548.30 | £2,425.66 |
| E | £88,001 to £120,000 | £3,114.59 | £2,964.69 |
| F | £120,001 to £160,000 | £3,680.87 | £3,503.73 |
| G | £160,001 to £320,000 | £4,247.16 | £4,042.76 |
| H | More than £320,000 | £5,096.60 | £4,851.32 |
Source: Central Bedfordshire Council, Council Tax charges 2026-2027, Leighton-Linslade.
The 1991 values are not a misprint. Bands in England still rest on what a property was worth on 1 April 1991 and there has never been a revaluation. Central Bedfordshire has 135,177 banded homes, and more of them sit in Band C (36,969) than in any other band. Only 413 homes in the whole authority are in Band H.
Who takes what
| Who | Band D charge | Change on last year |
|---|---|---|
| Central Bedfordshire Council | £1,931.54 | +4.99% |
| Police and Crime Commissioner | £297.59 | +6.63% |
| Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service | £122.72 | +4.25% |
| Leighton-Linslade Town Council | £196.45 | +3.88% |
| Total | £2,548.30 | +5.06% |
Sources: Central Bedfordshire Council, Charge for each Council Tax band 2026-2027 and Precept requirements 2026-2027.
The police put their share up hardest. At 6.63 per cent, the Bedfordshire Police element rose faster than any other part of the bill, though it is only £297.59 of it.
Of the council’s own 4.99 per cent, 2 percentage points is the adult social care precept, a ring-fenced increase that government rules let councils apply without a referendum. The council states this on its how we work it out page.
The council says it did not want to charge this much
Central Bedfordshire agreed its 2026/27 budget on 6 March 2026 with a £17 million hole in it, which it blames on changes to government funding. The leader, Councillor Adam Zerny, put it bluntly:
We had planned to raise Council Tax by 3% but the government cuts forced the council into a position of needing to increase it by 5%.
The same budget carried £27 million of efficiency measures, cut more than 150 posts, and raised borrowing for road maintenance from £10 million to £14 million. Adult social care and children’s services costs alone were expected to rise by £9.6 million in the year.
Source: Central Bedfordshire Council, Council sets budget to manage £17 million funding shortfall, 6 March 2026.
The town council part, and how Leighton Buzzard compares
Leighton-Linslade Town Council is raising £3,105,167 this year, up from £2,944,974, a rise of 5.44 per cent. Yet the charge per Band D home rose only 3.88 per cent, because the town gained 233 Band D equivalent homes over the year, from 15,573 to 15,806.
Two facts about that number:
- Leighton-Linslade has more Band D equivalent homes than any other parish in Central Bedfordshire, ahead of Dunstable on 13,596 and Biggleswade on 8,054
- despite that, its precept is only the second largest. Dunstable raises £3,611,546 from a smaller tax base
At £196.45, Leighton-Linslade’s town council charge ranks 8th of the 79 town and parish councils in Central Bedfordshire. The dearest is Stotfold at £281.20, then Dunstable at £265.63, Ampthill at £248.67, Biggleswade at £239.71, Houghton Regis at £234.45, Flitwick at £210.68 and Potton at £197.79. The average across the area is £164.31.
Because the council, police and fire elements are identical everywhere in Central Bedfordshire, the parish charge is the only thing that moves a Band D total. So a Band D home pays £2,617.48 in Dunstable, £2,591.56 in Biggleswade and £2,548.30 in Leighton Buzzard.
Five parishes charge nothing at all: Astwick, Battlesden, Edworth, Eyeworth and Potsgrove. A Band D home in any of them pays £2,351.85, which is £196.45 less than the same house in Leighton Buzzard.
How to check your band, and how to challenge it
Your band is set by the Valuation Office Agency, not the council, and the council cannot change it.
- look yours up on the VOA’s council tax band search
- to challenge it, contact the VOA on 03000 501 501 or use challenge your council tax band on GOV.UK
A band can also change if you get a disabled person’s band reduction, or if you move into a property that has been improved since it was last banded. Adding an annexe can get it banded separately, which means two bills unless the annexe qualifies for a discount.
Discounts, and the premiums that double the bill
The standard bill assumes two adults living in the property as their main home.
- single person discount: 25 per cent off if you are the only adult
- students, apprentices, people with a severe mental impairment, live-in carers, people in hospital, residential care or detention are all disregarded, which can mean a discount or a nil bill
- a disabled person’s band reduction moves the property down a band
Empty and second homes go the other way:
- unoccupied and unfurnished for more than 12 months: a long-term empty premium starting at an extra 100 per cent, rising the longer it stands empty
- unoccupied but furnished: a second home premium of an extra 100 per cent, applied as soon as it becomes empty
Discounts and exemptions can be applied for online or on 0300 300 8000.
Council Tax Support was cut in April, and the poorest lost the most
If you are on a low income, Central Bedfordshire’s Local Council Tax Support scheme reduces the bill. It changed on 1 April 2026, and the council still publishes both years’ tables on the same page, so the size of the cut is easy to read off.
| Band | To 31 March 2026 | From 1 April 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Band 1, the lowest incomes | 100% | 75% |
| Band 2 | 75% | 55% |
| Band 3 | 50% | 40% |
| Band 4 | 25% | 25% |
The households on the lowest incomes used to pay nothing. They now pay a quarter of the bill. In Leighton Buzzard that is £424.72 a year on a Band A home and £637.08 on a Band D, money that was not being asked for last year.
Which band you land in depends on weekly income and household size. A single person with no children gets the full 75 per cent up to £126.48 a week and nothing at all above £310.02. A couple with two children keeps 25 per cent up to £533.24 a week.
Full Council approved the change on 27 February 2026 after a six-week consultation that drew more than 800 responses. Councillors did soften one part of it: Band 4 was to have dropped to 15 per cent, and was kept at 25. The change frees up £2.9 million a year. The scheme as a whole is worth about £14 million a year to working age residents.
Sources: Central Bedfordshire Council, Council Tax Support and Council approves changes to Local Council Tax Support scheme, 3 March 2026.
Paying it
The default is 10 instalments, due on the 5th of the month from April to January. Direct Debit is the council’s preferred method, and you can ask to spread the bill over 12 months instead, which lowers each payment.
If you are struggling, difficulty paying your council tax is the page to use before a reminder turns into a summons.
More Leighton Buzzard local information: bin collection days, parking and car park charges, house prices and roadworks and travel.
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