April price hike calculator - see how much your bills will be going up by next month
See how much your council tax, car tax, TV licence, water rates and energy bills will be increasing with our personalised household bill calculator
April is going to be an expensive month for households across the UK as a number of bills are set to rise.
Water, gas and electricity are all going to cost more, while council tax rates are also being hiked next month. On top of that there’s also increases to car tax and the cost of a TV licence.
Energy bills are set to rise by 6.4 per cent when Ofgem increases its price cap for a third consecutive quarter, while water bills are increasing by an average of £123 per year.
Most councils in England are planning to raise council tax bills by 4.99 per cent – the maximum amount permitted, and the cost of a TV licence and the standard rate of car tax are both going up by £5.
The average household is already spending £2,062 on essentials each month, according to analysts, but they say the latest increases could add another £49.45 to the figure.
Alice Haine, personal finance analyst at Bestinvest by Evelyn Partners, said a "mixed bag of miserable macro-economic news" in recent months means households are still facing rising costs, despite the easing of inflation and lower interest rates.
"British households now face a barrage of bill hikes in April that will take a swipe at their living standards by eating away at their disposable income," she said. "Anyone lucky enough to receive a pay rise in recent months will be dismayed to see most of that swallowed up by sharp hikes in household bills, whether that is council tax, water or energy, among other costs and taxes."
She added: "Going back to budgeting basics will be key for households to ensure they don’t stray into overdrafts or find themselves forced to pay bills on credit cards because they cannot make ends meet."
To find out how much more you face paying from next month, you can use our handy budget calculator.
You can enter your postcode to see how much Band D council tax rates are going up, select your water company from the dropdown list to see how much their average bill is increasing and enter your gas and electricity spend to see how energy bills are rising.
Water rates
Water bills will go up in all but one small corner of the UK on April 1, many by over £100.
Southern Water customers will be seeing the largest rise in their bills in April, with the average bill in the area going up by £224 a year, according to figures from Water UK - an increase of 47 per cent.
Regulator Ofwat said it will allow companies to raise water bills for the average household by £157 over the next five years - an average of £31 a year - to help finance a £104 billion upgrade for the sector.
But people will be hit hard this year by an above-average hike of £86 - a 20 per cent front-loaded increase in the first of the five years.
The increase represents a 36 per cent rise before inflation - a significantly higher amount than the 21 per cent, or £19 a year, rise per household, outlined in the regulator’s draft proposals back in July.
One company, however, is dropping the cost of the average bill. Customers of Sutton and East Surrey Water will see the average bill fall by £5 a year.
Energy prices
Energy bills are set to rise by an average of £9.25 a month from April, after Ofgem announced their plans in February to raise the Energy Price Cap.
The cap, which two-thirds of homes in England, Scotland & Wales are on, is rising by 6.4 per cent from April 1. This means the average annual household energy bill is likely to grow by £111 to £1,849.
This represents an average increase of 6.4 per cent per household compared to the cap for between January and March. It works out at an extra £111 a year on average.
Council tax
Council Tax is set to rise in April, with the average Band D council tax household facing an above-inflation increase of more than £100 next year.
Almost every council in England will be increasing the amount it charges for council tax from April.
The biggest rise, according to data collated by the Mirror, will be at Bradford. Band D bills there will increase by 9.99 per cent compared to a year earlier - but that’s not including any charges for police, fire or regional mayors.
Newham in London and Windsor & Maidenhead in Berkshire will both be increasing their Band D charges by 8.99%. Trafford, Birmingham and Somerset, meanwhile, are increasing bills by 7.49% each.
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Car tax
The amount you pay every year for car tax is set to rise, but the amount depends on what kind of car you own.
Cars registered before April 1, 2017, will see their car tax rise to £195 a year - for petrol and diesel cars this is a rise of £5. This is a new charge for electric cars though, which were exempt from car tax until now.Cars registered before April 2017 but after March 2001 will see their car tax increase depending on how much CO2 they produce, ranging from a £5 to a £25 increase each year. Brand new cars will pay £20 tax if they’re electric, otherwise existing rates will double.
TV Licence
The BBC TV licence fee will rise by £5 to £174.50 from April - a rise of 42p extra a month - in line with the annual consumer price index (CPI) inflation rate.
The licence fee currently stands at £169.50 after prices were increased by £10.50 in April 2024.
To help households struggling with financial pressures, the government will also expand the Simple Payment Plan to allow an additional 9,000 unlicensed households to split up the annual payment into more manageable fortnightly and monthly instalments.