Kingston residents will pay 4.99% more council tax from April 2026. For a Band D household, the total annual bill — Kingston's element plus the Greater London Authority precept — is £2,608.12, up from £2,488.35 in 2025/26. That is roughly £50.16 a week, or £217 a month.
The 4.99% rise is the maximum a council can levy without triggering a local referendum (2.99% general + 2% adult social care precept). Kingston took it in full, as it has in each of the last several years.
Kingston's Medium Term Financial Strategy, published alongside the 2026/27 budget, projects an £18 million gap over the next four years. The council's general reserves stand at £14.2m per the 2026/27 budget papers — a working-capital cushion that would cover only a few weeks of core spending if drawn down.
In plain terms: even after this rise, the council's own forecasts show further savings or further rises will be required in the years ahead.
The 2026/27 budget is £205.7m. Adult social care is the single largest category, followed by children's services and highways and transport. Temporary accommodation for homeless households is flagged in the budget papers as a rising pressure, with emergency placement costs outpacing the council's housebuilding pipeline.
Adult social care costs have risen faster than the council tax cap in each of the last several years — a structural gap between what the service costs and what the tax rise is allowed to raise. Every London borough faces the same pressure; the response differs between them.
The 2026/27 budget was approved unanimously at the Council Tax Setting meeting on 26 February 2026. No councillor voted against it, and no recorded amendment was brought to the chamber.
For residents wanting to understand their own councillor's position, the record shows who was present and how each vote was cast. See how your councillor voted →
The 4.99% headline is structured as 2.99% general plus a 2% adult social care precept. The precept was introduced by central government in 2016 as an optional top-up ring-fenced for social care. Kingston has applied it every year since. On a Band D bill, the precept element in 2026/27 accounts for roughly £50 of the £119.77 year-on-year rise.
Council tax bills land in March. Residents on a low income may qualify for the council tax reduction scheme — details are on the council's website.
Kingston elects all 48 councillors on 7 May 2026. The people who set this year's budget are, in most wards, on the ballot. If you want to put a question to your councillor on the record, you can message them through Council Clarity — every reply, and every non-reply, becomes part of a public record.
Share this post
Want to have your say on this issue?
Contact your local councillor through Council Clarity. Your message becomes a public thread.
Message your councillor →