Where your money goes and what makes up your bill

Council tax helps fund local services like schools, social care, waste collection, street lighting, leisure & culture, emergency services and much more.

Council tax is charged on the household and is based on the value of the property.  The amount of council tax you pay depends on the property band that your house is in.  These bands are determined by the Valuation Office (VOA). 

The amount you pay also depends on whether you are entitled to any exemptions or discounts. 

See Council tax explanatory notes for more information.

How much do I have to pay?

To find out how much council tax you will pay, you will need to know the community council and council tax band that your property is in. You can then check this against our charge per band table.

Based on an average Band D property the total charge for 2023/24 is £1,959.94, compared with £1,847.25 in 2022/23.  This charge is broken down as follows:

	2022/23	2023/24	% Increase
Monmouthshire County Council	£1,476.79	£1,564.66	5.95
Police & Crime Commissioner	£303.80	£324.52	6.82
Community Council	£66.66	£70.76	6.15
TOTAL	£1,847.25	£1,959.94	6.10

Council Tax is made up of three elements:

Monmouthshire County Council’s budget for 2023/24 includes a council tax increase of 5.95%. 

The gross revenue budget for the Authority (including the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent and Community Council precepts) is £208,515,191.  This includes £3,509,050 planned use of revenue reserves.  The overall level of usable revenue reserves is currently forecast to be £15,634,717 at the end of the financial year.

The budget put into place includes a wide range of investment with for example:

• £2.5m more invested into our schools
• £3.6m more into children in the care system
• £1.9m to ensure nobody has to sleep outdoors
• an additional £1m into the care of older members of our community
• and a further £0.5m into the maintenance of roads, pavements and other highways infrastructure

For details of how this money is spent see here.

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent has increased the amount it needs from council taxpayers in 2023/24 by 6.82%.  For details of how this money is spent see here.

Community Councils the average Band D charge for 2023/24 has increased by 6.15%.  Charges will vary per community council and the amount charged will depend on where you live. 

To see the expected annual spend and the band D charge for the community council that you live in look at our charge per band table.  For details of how this money is spent you need to contact your community council.  Contact details can be found here Community Councils contact information