A recent survey conducted by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (Cipfa) suggests that over 40% of council will be increasing their council tax this year.
The good news is that the expected council tax rises will, overall, increase less than 1% on average.
The 2013 council tax rises come despite continued government incentives to local council who freeze their existing tax rates.
The tax rises are being attributed to known economic pressures and challenges meeting local budget commitments. Local council tax rate increases are capped at 2% but some councils have sought legal advice to exploit legal loopholes to increase tax rates above 2% (increases to waste management and transport costs are not subject to the cap) whilst others have sat just under the cap at 1.99%.
Councils can increase tax rates above 2% but must this requires a local referendum and is never a popular process with costs circa £250k.
Regional variations include an average 1.2% rise across Yorkshire and Humber, and a 0.1% increase in London.
It's not all doom and gloom though, some councils have revisited their budgets and effectively managed their resources to delivers council tax cuts, unfortunately this is the exception rather than the norm.
How will this effect your spending power this year? Use our 2013/14 Salary Calculator to see how your household budget will hold up this year.