Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Money matters

Find financial and money-saving discussions including debt and pension chat on our Money forum. If you're looking for ways to make your money to go further, sign up to our Moneysaver emails here.

Original poster

Council tax lower than last year

26 replies

Charlottle · 29/03/2022 19:16

Hi all. Just looking for some clarification as I’m confused and know I’m probably missing something but can’t figure it out. We moved to our rental flat in August 2021, were sent out council tax bill and have been paying by direct debit since then. The other day we received our 2022-2023 council tax bill and it is showing the payments for the new year as being lower than than last year, despite showing the % increase for each section etc.

To cut a long story short, we’ve been paying £162 per month and it is now going to be £127 per month. The band is showing as the same and there has been no change in our circumstances. Can anyone shed any light and help me get my head around this please?

OP posts:
WingBingo · 29/03/2022 19:17

Isn’t it the £150 rebate the government promised?

Fordian · 29/03/2022 19:17

Rebate?

Original poster
Charlottle · 29/03/2022 19:25

The rebate is paid in one go so I don’t think it’s to do with that.

Looking at the charges for the bands for 2021-2022, £162 a month doesn’t match what we should have paid this year but £127 x 12 matches what we should pay for 2022-2023

OP posts:
Caterina99 · 29/03/2022 19:26

Do you pay over 10 months? We moved in October and so we actually had 6 months of council tax but we only paid in 3 months - Nov Dec and jan as we didn’t pay in Feb and mar and it took them til the Nov payment to get a bill to us.

WWRGD · 29/03/2022 19:29

Which council area do you live in? You should be able to look up their council tax resolution on their website.

Original poster
Charlottle · 29/03/2022 19:45

2021/22 bill shows us paying August to March. 2022/23 bill is over 12 months.

I’ve looked on every page on the local council’s council tax section and nothing is answering my question

OP posts:
mrsm43s · 29/03/2022 19:47

Did you end up paying the whole year's CT last year, monthly from August to January (or April if 12 monthly basis)? i.e. you ended up covering the period from April 21 to August 21, which you shouldn't have been liable for? If your tenancy agreement started in August, you can probably contact the council for a refund. The previous tenant (or the landlord if the property was unoccupied) would have been liable for the period from April 21 til the day your tenancy agreement started in August.

WWRGD · 29/03/2022 20:05

They are legally required to publish something, either as a printed leaflet that comes with your bill or put it online on their website.

Original poster
Charlottle · 29/03/2022 20:30

@mrsm43s

Did you end up paying the whole year's CT last year, monthly from August to January (or April if 12 monthly basis)? i.e. you ended up covering the period from April 21 to August 21, which you shouldn't have been liable for? If your tenancy agreement started in August, you can probably contact the council for a refund. The previous tenant (or the landlord if the property was unoccupied) would have been liable for the period from April 21 til the day your tenancy agreement started in August.
This is what I’m wondering. That we’ve paid for the whole of 2021 to 2022, despite only living in the area/flat from August … The numbers still don’t quite make sense but I can’t see what else it can be.

@WWRGD I’m sure they have something on their website but my covid brain can’t seem to find it. It’s Cannock Chase council. I can find a fair bit of information just nothing to really help with what I’m trying to work out. I think I’ll email them tomorrow

OP posts:
WWRGD · 29/03/2022 20:39

Have a look at this

If you open up the 2022/23 Council Tax Online Publication part you should see the leaflet for 22/23 and the one for 21/22.

In Cannock Chase your bill is made up of 4 to 5 elements - District, County, Fire, Police and possibly Parish. On average (before parish) the bills have gone up 3% compared to 21/22.

OnTheBenchOfDoom · 29/03/2022 20:40

Council Tax is paid over 10 months from April to Jan with no payments due in February or March. However, it can run into Feb/Mar if a person moves in half way through the year. Weekly payments are over 40 weeks as standard. Any deviation from these plans are not standard and have to be agreed with the council.

Depending on when you started paying the council tax for last year may mean that your payments were higher. Bills are processed after the date someone moves in (often we were told in advance) and depending on how long it takes to action the bill will determine how many payments are left before the next bill is issued.

The reason for the 10 months is it gave us 2 extra months to collect in any monies owed for that financial year. Contact the council and ask for a copy of last years bill. Council tax only ever goes up apart from this years rebate or if any discounts or exemptions are applied which does not seem to be the case here. It is a long time since I did that job in council tax and business rates but not much has changed as it is government legislation. It is a tax collected locally.

OnTheBenchOfDoom · 29/03/2022 20:41

The bill from last year will have the start date which should match the date you moved in.

Original poster
Charlottle · 29/03/2022 21:47

@WWRGD

Have a look at this

If you open up the 2022/23 Council Tax Online Publication part you should see the leaflet for 22/23 and the one for 21/22.

In Cannock Chase your bill is made up of 4 to 5 elements - District, County, Fire, Police and possibly Parish. On average (before parish) the bills have gone up 3% compared to 21/22.

Thank you for this :) I found similar information on a separate section, which states that the annual council tax for our band for 21/22 should be £1480.58, which matches with the publication in your link. And then 22/23 charge will be £1524.64.

We got our first bill in late August with instructions to pay £162 each month from October until March

OP posts:
BarbaraofSeville · 30/03/2022 06:52

That would be it. By paying £162 pm from October to March when you stated living there in August meant that a month was missed and the payments divided by a smaller number of months than the time you lived there.

@OnTheBenchOfDoom. Not all councils operate the strict '10 months' payment system. We were given a choice of how many months we wanted to pay over and what payment date we wanted.

We pay over 12 months on the 28th of each month as a matter of routine. Because it's easier for budgeting and I see no value in the 'free' months, which only means that you pay more per month the rest of the year.

girlmom21 · 30/03/2022 07:02

Yeah it makes sense if you're just paying it over more months for it to be reduced.

For those mentioning the £150 rebate. It's actually a rebate for energy, just being paid through the council tax departments of the local council because it's the easiest way to pay it - it's not actually linked to your council tax which is why they're paying the money out rather than reducing bills

girlmom21 · 30/03/2022 07:03

Council Tax is paid over 10 months from April to Jan with no payments due in February or March.

We pay ours over 12. You can choose.

Haus1234 · 30/03/2022 07:14

It sounds like you were liable for £1480 x 8 months (August to March) so £987 and you paid over 6 months (October to March) which would be £164 per month. If you moved in a few days into August this would explain the lower amount. I wouldn’t expect a rebate sorry OP!

notagaim · 30/03/2022 07:19

@Haus1234

It sounds like you were liable for £1480 x 8 months (August to March) so £987 and you paid over 6 months (October to March) which would be £164 per month. If you moved in a few days into August this would explain the lower amount. I wouldn’t expect a rebate sorry OP!
Yep - I just worked it out the same. If you've paid every month august to March you have over paid.
OnTheBenchOfDoom · 30/03/2022 07:49

@BarbaraofSeville and @girlmom21

www.gov.uk/council-tax/paying-your-bill

"The cost is usually split into 10 monthly payments. Contact your local council immediately if you’re having trouble paying - they can help you, for example by spreading your payments over 12 months instead of 10"

The usually split into 10 months is because if you move then it may be over less depending on when the bill was issued.

It is standard and legislated, it is a government tax collected locally as all areas are different and the needs are different so the amounts are different. This was my job. Yes more so these days councils can agree to spread the cost over 12 months however this should be accompanied by a letter stating that the legislation that stands on the 10 month agreement will be applied to the 12 months or 40 weeks (10 months equivalent) or 52 weeks. The government didn't even consider people may wish to pay weekly as they themselves are paid weekly. As most are aware this was rushed through after poll tax was abolished and replaced with council tax.

When I worked in council tax if you wanted to pay over 12 months we requested an income and expenditure form. The reach of the council for repayment is scary as they can take monies owed directly from your salary. This amount they can take is also legislated as a percentage of your wage. There is no wiggle room. For someone on a salary of £20k they can take 12% of your net salary. The percentages go up and get more scary the more you earn.

www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/council-tax/council-tax-attachment-earnings-orders

If people are struggling with council tax pay as much as you can and prioritise it above other debts and contact them. Always. I was lovely and very helpful to anyone as we wanted the money coming in. As were the rest of the team.

girlmom21 · 30/03/2022 07:53

@OnTheBenchOfDoom I didn't have to provide anything. I don't do it because I can't afford it. I do it because I like to know what outgoings I have every month consistently.

BarbaraofSeville · 30/03/2022 08:08

Same here. We've paid over 12 months for years, and it's not because we're short of money, we could pay in one lump now for the year if we wanted to.

When we moved house, the council said 'how would you like to pay and I picked 12 months on the last day of the month because, why not?

www.leeds.gov.uk/council-tax/how-to-pay-your-council-tax

'You can choose:

to split it into 10 monthly payments (April to January) or 12 monthly payments (April to March) and to make your payments on the 10th, 20th or last day of each month'

JurassicPerks · 30/03/2022 08:17

I agree with the council for last year.
You owed 8 months of CT, which is £987.
You paid over 6 months, which is £164 a month.

And you agree with the calculation from the year.

Enjoy the extra money - or spend it on petrol and heating!

Seymour5 · 30/03/2022 08:21

@BarbaraofSeville

Same here. We've paid over 12 months for years, and it's not because we're short of money, we could pay in one lump now for the year if we wanted to.

When we moved house, the council said 'how would you like to pay and I picked 12 months on the last day of the month because, why not?

www.leeds.gov.uk/council-tax/how-to-pay-your-council-tax

'You can choose:

to split it into 10 monthly payments (April to January) or 12 monthly payments (April to March) and to make your payments on the 10th, 20th or last day of each month'

We pay over 12 months too.
Original poster
Charlottle · 30/03/2022 08:42

Thanks everyone! It all makes sense now, I just couldn’t get my head around it at all yesterday (I blame covid) so needed it written out for me. Really appreciate all the help, advice and replies Smile

OP posts:
PrincessPaws · 30/03/2022 08:46

[quote OnTheBenchOfDoom]**@BarbaraofSeville* and @girlmom21*

www.gov.uk/council-tax/paying-your-bill

"The cost is usually split into 10 monthly payments. Contact your local council immediately if you’re having trouble paying - they can help you, for example by spreading your payments over 12 months instead of 10"

The usually split into 10 months is because if you move then it may be over less depending on when the bill was issued.

It is standard and legislated, it is a government tax collected locally as all areas are different and the needs are different so the amounts are different. This was my job. Yes more so these days councils can agree to spread the cost over 12 months however this should be accompanied by a letter stating that the legislation that stands on the 10 month agreement will be applied to the 12 months or 40 weeks (10 months equivalent) or 52 weeks. The government didn't even consider people may wish to pay weekly as they themselves are paid weekly. As most are aware this was rushed through after poll tax was abolished and replaced with council tax.

When I worked in council tax if you wanted to pay over 12 months we requested an income and expenditure form. The reach of the council for repayment is scary as they can take monies owed directly from your salary. This amount they can take is also legislated as a percentage of your wage. There is no wiggle room. For someone on a salary of £20k they can take 12% of your net salary. The percentages go up and get more scary the more you earn.

www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/council-tax/council-tax-attachment-earnings-orders

If people are struggling with council tax pay as much as you can and prioritise it above other debts and contact them. Always. I was lovely and very helpful to anyone as we wanted the money coming in. As were the rest of the team.[/quote]
That is not necessarily true everywhere. We automatically get given the option of 10 month or 12 months if you opt to pay by direct, so it is entirely personal choice