What Council Tax is

Who needs to pay, how your bill is calculated, how it is spent.

Contents

Where your Council Tax payments go

We collect your Council Tax payments for services provided by:

  • us (Woking Borough Council)
  • Surrey County Council
  • Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner

Council Tax precept 

Organisations who get your Council Tax work out how much it will cost to deliver its services for their financial year, April through to March. This is called a 'precept'.

Council Tax precept increases for 2026 to 2027
Organisation Percentage increase
Woking Borough Council 3.0%
Surrey County Council 5.0%
Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner 4.4%
Total Council Tax increase 4.7%

Woking Borough Council charges

We take 12% of your Council Tax payments for our services, including:

  • social housing
  • community safety
  • planning and development
  • licensing and permits
  • elections and voting
  • rubbish and recycling collections

To find a summary of our spend on council services, go to how we spend your Council Tax.

Surrey County Council (SCC) charges

Surrey County Council takes 74% of your Council Tax payments for its services, including:

  • education
  • fire and rescue services
  • highways and transport
  • social care
  • strategic planning

Go to Surrey County Council to find out more on how it spends its Council Tax.  

Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner (SPCC) charges

SPCC takes 14% of your Council Tax payments for its services, including:

  • representing your views on police and crime matters
  • setting police and crime priorities plan
  • providing essential funding
  • overseeing key decisions

Go to Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner to find our more on how it spends its Council Tax.