Posting for traffic. Council Tax

[LMW1990]

Please help a brain fried girl out!

I recently applied for student council tax reduction. I live with my partner so this would be 25%

We pay £136 per month at present and have a ten month plan.

Today I logged in after a new direct debit had been set up and we are £127 in credit.

How does this work?

If I go on the option to make a payment it says -£127 to pay. Usually this would say the entire amount outstanding or the option to input another amount.

Does this mean we keep paying until January (ten months). Will we be further in credit.

Or have we now paid everything and have a surplus.

Can we request the credit back?

There's probably another option I've not thought of but I'm confused!

I think it might vary depending how your council do it - best to contact them directly to ask if you can!

Thanks. I did think it might vary. They are only open m-f 9-5 and I'm at work during those times. Spent my lunch on hold!

Is there a help desk you can email?

The only response I've had so far is to call them. They don't deal with council tax enquires online... is helpful!

when did your course start op? If it was from this September then you'll have been paying the full whack based on up to March 31st and are now effectively getting a 25% reduction on 6 months of the year. So roughly it works out as a 12.5% reduction on the whole year. How much have you paid already?
If you want to work it out totally accurately, get your full annual charge and divide it by 365 to come up with the daily charge. Find a date calculator online and work out the number of days up to your course start which would at 100% charge. Then calculate the number of days since your student status starts up to 31.3.21 and multiply that by 75% of your daily ctax charge. If you add those 2 bits together that would be your correct annual charge with the student status. You can then compare that to what you have paid so far and see what is left to go.

Check their website when you started paying?
If you paid at the full 100% and if you were entitled to 25% off, fully backdated, for April to August, at £136 for 4 months times 25% discount for the same time, would mean you’d overpaid... £136.
You would need the actual specifics to see if it’s exactly £127...
You have overpaid though.
I don’t know if they will reduce the next payment for the full overpayment..

Can your partner call and sort it out? Or either of you call mid afternoon, it's usually quieter then, take a late lunch break if necessary, and possible of course.

Did you not get a revised bill once the reduction was applied? I work in business rates and whenever we apply any kind of relief a revised bill will always be issued out

The £127 will be to pay then you’ll get a new bill with reductions etc for new circumstances. They ‘close’ the account when you change circumstances

Just a guess, but I think they've credited you with £127 which is just under 10% - which would be 25% off 7 months. (sept, oct, nov, dec, jan, feb and mar)

Instead of spreading the credit equally over the payments, they've given you a free month or so.

From next month you'll probably pay the full £136 for the next 4 (oct, nov, dec and jan) payment dates.

if you are at work 9-5 M-F then presumably it is your DP who is the student? so they should be the one on the phone rather than you using up your lunch break. stop shouldering all the admin burden!

I used to work in council tax, I would await your new bill being issued, clearly it has been as the online account is showing that the 25% student reduction has been actioned.

I believe that credit will be eaten up by the October instalment and your November instalment will be slightly reduced then you are down to £102 (£136 - 25% student exemption) for December and January. Does that make sense?

They must be on an old system, the new one we implemented would not show a credit, just the new reduced amount divided over the remaining number of months. Easier to understand too.

As you are on direct debit, it will all be automatic. As you are part way through a year they will not refund the credit when there are still instalment payments to be made. Plus you could end your student exemption and a full charge would be applied again.

Every year when a council tax bill is produced it is done over a 10 month payment plan, or if you request weekly, 40 weeks. This gives time in Jan/Feb/Mar to collect in any monies owed for that council tax year. If people are struggling with the payment then it will hardly make things easy when they have double payments to make when the new bill comes in in April.

Thanks all. Resolved!

My course doesn't start until October so I will get a new bill first week of October.

@KihoBebiluPute

if you are at work 9-5 M-F then presumably it is your DP who is the student? so they should be the one on the phone rather than you using up your lunch break. stop shouldering all the admin burden!

I am the student. We both work these hours. I'm working full time until my course begins. Shouldering nothing we each do our fair share