Council Tax

[bumblebee2235]

How much do you pay council tax?

I'm confused, we are just over benefit threshold (well we get nominal amount top up) we are essentially less money than when we were on benefits atm haha always the way!

But council tax has tripled by being over threshold.. we have to pay 190 a month...

Is this right? I didn't know it was so much. Since we have upped hours, all bills have gone up just due to no benefits.. we are now constantly in overdraft so are struggling more. I'm confused.. is there no help in these situations? How would you navigate this and optimise finances?

We are in private rent so that's quite pricey too 😬

It sounds like a pretty normal amount to be honest. Often council tax is spread over 10 months rather than 12 so if that’s the case you could ask them to spread it over the 12 months to bring the monthly amount down a little?

Ahh ok haha I just didn't know it was so much 😂 I was in houseshare before I settled down, then on benefits it was 30 a month.. so was like crikey!

Council Tax charges are a 'how long is a piece of string' question. The council sets a charge for Band D, the others are either a fraction or multiple of that.

The amount a £ on Band D raises varies massively depending on the spread of homes in its area across all the bands. A £ on D in Westminster raises far more money than the same £ in Teesside.

Band D in Westminster is £904. In Stockton £2061.

A further inconsistency is that, for working age people, each Council sets its own criteria for who gets a reduction based on low income. In a few it's still 100% if you're on UC. In others, NE Lincs take a bow here, the claimant still pays almost half - 55%.

It might as well be a lottery!!

@bumblebee2235 the "good" news is that because it is a 10 month charge (standard) you won't pay anything in February or March so you can bank that money and use it to pay something else like your TV license or road tax. Check your bill because the standard 10 months runs from 1st April but if due to a benefits change your bill is produced after that it may run the payment schedule into both February and March for this year.

Please be aware that after your rent/mortgage Council tax is the next priority. It is a government "tax" just collected locally so the powers that are granted for collecting it run into bailiffs and actually I think worse, an attachment of earnings ie straight from your salary at a set percentage and it is a lot. Have a google for your area and how much they will take. Also this doesn't work like other bills, if you miss a payment (ring them before you do and pay something rather than nothing) you will get a reminder, if you miss another payment later on you won't get a reminder you will get a final notice to pay the entire year bill. If you can't it goes to a magistrate's court and they will be granted a Liability Order that then gives them that power above to collect the debt.

These rules apart from a few tweaks are set down by government so as a person who used to work in council tax there is very little wiggle room on what we can do for you. If you struggle at all, ring them, honestly, they want to help you, they want to collect that money in and I and my colleagues were lovely to everyone.

I know the booklet they send with your bill is boring but read it and know where your council tax money goes.

Thank you :) I didn't get a booklet? Not got much info but the breakdown bill. I have set it as a direct debit so it's all automatically paid. That's good to know if I am stuck one month they might be able to help.. you see we get different income each month depending on overtime and work on.

I’m also confused by C/tax.
Are they notified about your income by tax credits? My reduction had been updated so I thought so. My income fluctuates a lot. Is it done by the month/year or what?
Also if I get a lodger who works then what income in used? Just mine?
TIA if you can answer any of that!