Council tax bills land on doormats and residents pay them — but very few people know how Kingston upon Thames compares to its nearest neighbours. With Kingston's 2026/27 budget now confirmed, we have a reliable set of figures to work with. So how does Kingston stack up against Richmond upon Thames and Sutton, two boroughs that share borders, demographics, and many of the same residents' expectations?
Here is what we know, what we do not know, and what you should be asking.
The confirmed total Band D council tax bill for Kingston upon Thames in 2026/27 is £2,608.12 per year. That figure includes the GLA (Greater London Authority) precept — it is what a Band D household actually pays.
That is up from £2,488.35 in 2025/26, a rise of £119.77 over twelve months. The increase breaks down as a 2.99% general council tax rise plus a 2% adult social care precept — the maximum most councils are permitted to raise without triggering a local referendum.
To be clear: that is not small. £119.77 per year is nearly £10 extra per month, and for households already managing cost-of-living pressures, it is not trivial.
Comparing council tax between boroughs sounds simple. It is not.
Every London borough's Band D total includes the same GLA precept — so that element is equal across all boroughs and is not a measure of local council decisions. The meaningful comparison is between the Kingston-only element of the bill and its equivalents in Richmond and Sutton. However, we do not hold verified 2026/27 Band D totals for Richmond or Sutton at the time of publication, and Council Clarity will not quote unverified figures in inter-borough comparisons.
What we can say with confidence is this: all three boroughs raised council tax by the maximum permitted under government rules for 2026/27 — 2.99% general plus 2% adult social care. That is not a coincidence or a local choice. It reflects a nationwide squeeze on local government finances, where the vast majority of English councils have gone to the limit simply to avoid cutting services further.
If you want a like-for-like comparison once Richmond and Sutton figures are published, we will run it. Watch this space.
Kingston's 2026/27 budget papers make clear that the council is not raising taxes from a position of financial comfort. The Medium Term Financial Strategy 2026–2030 projects a £18 million budget gap over four years. Current reserves stand at £14.2 million.
Read that again: the projected shortfall is larger than the reserves available to plug it.
That is not necessarily a crisis — councils are not expected to use reserves as a permanent fix, and the £18M gap is intended to be addressed through savings, service redesign, and income generation. But it does raise legitimate questions about which services face cuts, and who bears the consequences.
By contrast, Richmond upon Thames has historically maintained a reputation for strong financial management and relatively low council debt. Sutton has faced its own pressures but has pursued shared-service arrangements to reduce costs. Kingston's position — reserves below its projected gap — is worth watching closely.
Council tax comparisons are meaningless without a service comparison. But this is also where the data gets thinner.
All three boroughs provide the same statutory services: waste collection, adult social care, children's services, planning, highways, and housing support. The question is quality, speed, and investment.
Waste and recycling: Kingston's recycling rates and collection frequency are publicly reported but have not been independently benchmarked against Richmond and Sutton in recent months. Richmond has historically outperformed on recycling. We will not claim otherwise without current data.
Adult social care: This is the single biggest cost pressure in every borough's budget. Kingston's decision to use the full 2% adult social care precept suggests the pressure is real and growing. The same is true across London.
Housing and homelessness: Kingston's temporary accommodation crisis has been covered in detail in a previous Council Clarity post. This is an area where Kingston faces significant demand — and significant cost.
Planning and local development: All three boroughs are under government pressure to increase housing delivery. Kingston's planning committee decisions have been contentious; so have Richmond's. Neither borough has a clean record of resident satisfaction here.
This is where Kingston deserves some credit — and some scrutiny in equal measure.
Kingston publishes its budget papers on council.gov.uk, and the Council Tax Setting 2026/27 resolution is accessible. The Medium Term Financial Strategy is publicly available. That is the baseline — it should be standard, but not every council makes it easy.
However, accessibility is not the same as transparency. Publishing a 200-page budget document is not the same as explaining, in plain English, which services are under threat, which reserves are ringfenced, and what the council will cut if the £18 million gap is not closed.
Richmond and Sutton face the same scrutiny challenge. Residents in all three boroughs deserve councils that do not just publish numbers, but explain them.
Kingston has 48 councillors across 19 wards. Full elections take place on 7 May 2026 — which means every single councillor on the council is up for election in a matter of months.
That matters. It means that the councillors who voted for a £119.77 tax rise, who approved a budget with reserves below the projected gap, and who will be making service decisions in the months ahead, are directly accountable to residents at the ballot box in 2026.
Richmond and Sutton are also London boroughs with full councillor accountability — but Kingston's full-council elections in May 2026 make the next twelve months particularly important for residents who want to ask questions and get answers before they vote.
Honestly? Quite a lot.
These are not hostile questions. They are the questions any resident paying £2,608.12 a year has every right to ask.
With full elections on 7 May 2026, your Kingston councillors need to hear from you before they campaign for your vote. Ask them directly: how will the £18 million gap be closed? Which services are at risk? And how does Kingston's budget compare to what Richmond and Sutton are offering their residents?
Message your Kingston councillors directly through Council Clarity — it takes two minutes, your message goes on the record, and councillors are required to respond. Don't wait for the election. Ask the questions now, while the decisions are still being made.
Share this post
Want to have your say on this issue?
Contact your local councillor through Council Clarity. Your message becomes a public thread.
Message your councillor →Traffic inside Kingston's LTNs fell — but boundary roads surged by up to 50%. We examine what the data shows and how the council weighs those trade-offs.
accountabilityKingston's Licensing Committee rejected a premises licence at Market House in January 2026. We ask what this means for the town centre's night-time future.
accountabilityKingston Council has admitted it is missing its own net zero target. We ask which wards bear the heaviest carbon burden — and who is actually benefiting from green spending.