Reading Borough Council is expected to make hundreds of thousands of pounds more this year due to an increase in the number of properties in the town.
At the start of each year, councils across the country begin setting budgets for the upcoming financial year, running from April 2025 to April 2026.
For the upcoming year, Reading Borough Council is expected to make approximately £408,000 due to an increase in properties.
A financial report by Stuart Donnelly, the council’s financial planning and strategy manager states that the tax base for 2025/26 is calculated at 59,566.99 band D equivalent properties – an increase of 1.06 per cent on the 2024/25 Tax Base of 58,944.73.
That is an additional 622.26 band D homes.
It is projected that the council will collect £478,000 more than the current financial year.
Of that, £408,000 will go to the council itself, with £54,000 extra going to Thames Valley Police and £16,000 going to the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service.
That is because the police and the fire service are called ‘precepting bodies’ which also collect council tax.
The amount of tax collected can be affected by reductions such as council tax support and discounts.
A single person discount of 25 per cent may be awarded if only one adult over the age of 18 is living in a property.
Discounts are also available for disabled people and care leavers under the age of 25.
Eligible people can apply for a discount on the council’s website.
Meanwhile, the council will charge double, 200 per cent and 300 per cent premiums on long-term empty properties and second homes.
Councillors noted the council tax base for 2025/26 at a meeting on January 28.
