Council Tax - have i overpaid?

[WhatsGoingOnEh]

I moved into my new house on October 24 last year. It's Band D, which for my ciuncil is a yearly charge of £1517.17.

I've been paying £165 a month, and they've taken payment for Feb and March this year. Is this right?

If you move into a house in October, are you liable for the whole year's worth of payments, squished into bigger instalments? That can't be right, can it... I just don't know why I'm paying £165/month for a yearly bill of £1517. Help?!

Sorry, my yearly bill should be £1513. So even less! Why am I paying so much?

It will depend on when you started paying. It will average out to £126 a month. So £756 for the 6 months of the financial year. Did you start paying in October? If not there's your answer.

I don't know how they calculate part months though.

Doing it weekly you will have to pay £698 so work out from there how many payments you have made. They will have taken feb and March so you don't have to pay £232 in November, dec and Jan.

Yes, I started paying in October. Or November at the very latest. Why is it £165? Why not £126 or £151? I can't get the figures to work out.

Oh... £698 divided by £165 is 4, so have they only took money in Nov.

Does this mean my bill will eventually go down, at some happy date in the future?

Check your bill to see when the payment started and if they are all £165.

Yes, it will be less on next years.

Are you in Scotland? If so, have you included the water charge too?

My council only collects 10 instalments and Feb/March are a payment holiday.

But really, just ring them tomorrow and ask.

I think every council has a payment holiday in March but as I mentioned up thread I expect they have done payments in feb and March to spread it out a bit so it isn't over £230 for 3 months.

Thank you. :) I will phone them!

So it'd get cheaper from the April payment? That'd be wonderful.

*should say feb and March.

You will be paying over a longer period so yes it should be a bit less but not much. If your council tax stays the same it will be £151 for 10 months.

I think I've asked them to spread it over 12 months, so it should be even cheaper. I'll dig out my bills from where I filed lost them.

Thank you so much, you've been really helpful. :)

I work in Council Tax. You are billed daily 1/365th of the year charge per day from the day you move in to the 31st March the following year. You have to be given a minimum of 3 weeks notice from date of registration, not date of move (although you will be charged from date of move) before the 1st instalment is due. So your first instalment would have been in December. Next financial year you will default to a ten month plan so a year charge spread over ten months. Your instalments for 2014/15 sound about right. When you move later in the year you can still be on a 10 month plan but paying to March it's just how the computer does the billing.