Your council tax bill will depend on what council tax band your property is placed in.
The information below shows how the bands are set, what you can do if you think your home is in the wrong band, and what happens if you’ve just built or moved into a newly built property.
Council tax bands
Council Tax bands and costs in Cornwall
Please use this link to see the Council tax bands 2023 for properties in Cornwall.
How Council Tax bands are set
We don’t decide which council tax band your home is in, as this is done by a government agency called the Valuation Office Agency.
Your property will be in one of eight valuation bands A-H, see table below. The valuation bands were set in 1991 and they reflect what a property would have sold for on the open market in 1991.
You can also use the Valuation Office Website's Property Search to find the valuation band for a property.
| Band | Property Valuation (1 April 1991) |
| Band A | Up to and including £40,000 |
| Band B | £40,001 - £52,000 |
| Band C | £52,001 - £68,000 |
| Band D | £68,001 - £88,000 |
| Band E | £88,001 - £120,000 |
| Band F | £120,001 - £160,000 |
| Band G | £160,001 - £320,000 |
|
Band H |
More than £320,000 |
Appealing your Council Tax band
You can ask the Valuation Office Agency to review your Council Tax band if you think it is wrong and:
- You have been the taxpayer for less than 6 months; or
- Your band has changed in the last months; or
- If this does not apply, you can still ask the Valuation Office Agency to review your Council Tax band. You will need to give them strong evidence to show why you think your property is in the wrong band.
Please read what to do if you think your home is in the wrong band.
Properties awaiting a council tax band
The Valuation Office Agency are responsible for setting the Council Tax bands. They are separate from the Council.
It can take up to 90 working days for the Valuation Office Agency to notify us of the banding of a property. We’re unable to tell you how much you will have to pay, whilst the property remains unbanded.
You are not required to make a payment whilst your property is unbanded.
Once the banding has been decided, your instalments could be considerably high. This is because, when we do issue your bill your council tax liability will be backdated.
The backdating may be to either the date you purchased the property, or the date you moved in.
To help spread the costs, we can arrange for a provisional amount to be paid by direct debit. This is before the Council Tax band has been applied.
Once the band has been confirmed, your remaining instalments will be recalculated. This will take into account any payments already made.
To discuss a provisional arrangement, please complete our online direct debit form. You can also telephone us on 0300 1234 171.
New properties and completion notices
Completion notices, which are sent by your local council set the date a new or altered property should appear in the Council Tax list.