Council Tax in Cardiff 2026/27: Bands, Second-Home and Empty-Home Premiums

What council tax costs in Cardiff in 2026/27

Welsh Government publishes Band D only; the other bands here are computed from Band D using the statutory ratios (Band A = 6/9 of D … Band I = 21/9), so treat them as the standard relationship rather than a published figure. Band D is the reference charge for a home occupied by two adults; your band is on your bill.

How Cardiff compares in Wales

• 2025/26 to 2026/27: Band D moved from £1,926.18 to £2,013.18, up 4.5%; the average change across Wales’s 22 councils was 5.3%.
• Rank: 22 of 22 (1 = highest bill). The highest is Merthyr Tydfil at £2,593.60 and the lowest Cardiff at £2,013.18; the simple average is £2,326.14.

Second-home and empty-home premiums in Cardiff (2026/27)

Welsh councils may charge a premium of up to 300% on second homes and long-term empty homes; the rate is set by each council each year. The premium is a percentage added to the normal bill, so 100% means the bill doubles. Cardiff’s 2026/27 position, from its own return:

For landlords in Cardiff

• Empty between tenancies: with no tenant the bill is yours — about £167.77 a month at Band D before any discount the council gives; the long-term-empty premium is a separate, later step. Council tax paid in a void is an allowable expense: council tax in void periods.
• Holiday lets and furnished second homes: Cardiff charges a 100% second-homes premium, so a furnished let that is nobody’s main home pays £4,026.36 at Band D. The tax side is on the holiday-let calculator.
• Buying here: the purchase tax is Land Transaction Tax (higher rates for additional property), not SDLT — calculator.

Other councils in Wales

Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Conwy, Denbighshire — all 22 Wales councils ranked. England’s 296 councils are on the council tax rates 2026/27 table.

gov.wales Council Tax levels: April 2026 to March 2027 (Band D, published 24 March 2026) · gov.wales Council Tax dwellings: April 2026 to March 2027, Table 6 (premiums). Welsh Government publishes Band D only; the other bands here are computed from Band D using the statutory ratios (Band A = 6/9 of D … Band I = 21/9), so treat them as the standard relationship rather than a published figure. Premiums are the councils' own 2026/27 returns. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Averages and rankings are ours, across the 22 councils.