If you're struggling with your money, it's worth checking if you're entitled to any help paying your council tax bill.
Council tax is set to rise significantly in April and research by County Councils Network (CCN) found that 84 out of the 114 local authorities in England will increase their tax by the full 5%.
Croydon Council has been given special permission to raise council tax by 15% to help pay off £1.6billion of debt.
With the cost of living crisis forcing millions to tighten their financial belt, it is worth knowing whether you are entitled to help with your bill.
There are several ways you can reduce your council tax bill. It can be done through local authority discounts or by challenging your band.
Not all councils will offer the same discounts and people can find out exactly what support their local authority can provide by visiting their website.
Council tax discounts
There are several discounts which are offered in regard to council tax.
You may be entitled to a council tax discount ranging from 25% to 100% off your bill depending on your circumstances and where you live.
Here are some examples. Those who live alone can claim the single person discount which cuts 25% off your council tax bill.
Households which consist entirely of students do not need to pay council tax.
If you or someone you live with is disabled then you may be able to claim a reduction as the council will charge you the rate for the next lowest council tax band instead.
To get the disabled person’s reduction, your property must have been adapted to meet the needs of the disabled person.
People who are classed as having a "severe mental impairment" (SMI) and live alone, could get 100% of their council tax bill wiped off.
You may also be able to claim help through a Council Tax Reduction scheme, sometimes called Council Tax Support, if you're on a low income or on certain benefits.
Some areas can offer a full 100% discount on your council tax whilst others it's a lot less.
What you get depends on factors such as:
- your circumstances which include your income, number of children, benefits, and residency status
- your household income - this includes savings, pensions and your partner’s income
- if your children live with you
- if other adults live with you
You might be able to get another discount called a “second adult rebate” which is when an adult you live with has a low income or is getting certain benefits.
If every resident of a household is classed as “disregarded” then that household can receive a 50% reduction on their council tax bill.
“Disregarded people” are those who are not counted by the local authority when calculating council tax for a household.
A full list of who is considered "disregarded" can be found on GOV.UK.
Challenging your council tax band
If you think you're paying too much council tax, then you could possibly be in the wrong band - and you can challenge this.
If you're successful, then alongside lowering your bills going forward you may also be owed a refund on the year you overpaid.
However, you must be wary that challenging your council tax could cause the amount you pay to go up as well as down and your neighbours could be bumped up too.
According to Martin Lewis' MoneySavingExpert.com, around 100,000 houses are in the wrong band.
To successfully change your council tax band, you will need to do your research first.
Your first step should be to check with your neighbours to see what band they are placed in, you can either pop around and ask or you could check online for free.
You will need to make sure you check properties which are of similar size and value.
After this, you will need to know how much your property was worth in 1991 when council tax was first introduced.
Thanks to the Internet, this is as easy as making a few Google searches as there are several council tax calculations online.
You then need to compare the 1991 value against the initial council tax bands
Finally, armed with your ballpark 1991 valuation figure, you can now check to see where your property sits in the council tax band chart for 1991 property values.
Once you have completed both of these steps, you may then be able to put forward a case.
