Sadly, the majority of us in the UK have to pay council tax. If you are over 18 and rent or own a house, a flat or even a caravan, it is likely that this will also apply to you.
However, if you have a low income, or receive Income Support, you may qualify for a reduction. And if you are a full-time student, you don’t have to pay at all!
What it Pays For
Council tax is collected to pay for local services provided by the council (although most of us Brits spend a lot of time wondering what exactly we are getting for our money!). But really, this is to provide us with our local police, fire services, street-lighting, bin-emptying and all the other hidden costs we forget about. But somebody has to pay for them – and that’s us, the council tax payers.
Council tax is charged by your local council and is priced in different ‘bands’. Basically, it goes up according to how much your property is worth. So if you live in an area where the houses have a high value, you have to pay for it with higher council tax! Below are the bands as they are in England at the moment.
Council Tax Valuation Band
Ranges of values in England
A
Up to 40,000
B
over £40,000 and up to £52,000
C
over £52,000 and up to £68,000
D
over £68,000 and up to £88,000
E
over £88,000 and up to £120,000
F
over £120,000 and up to £160,000
G
over £160,000 and up to £320,000
H
H over £320,000
*The bands in Wales and Scotland are different
The tax is then charged at a flat rate for the house based on its band. If there is only you living in the property, you will get a single-occupier discount of 25%. If there are two or more people then the amount stays the same. So you can share the bill between all of the people in the house if you like.
As soon as you move into a property in the UK, you should contact your local council straight away to tell them your details and find out how much you have to pay per month.
Get in Touch
The amount of tax you pay in each band depends on the local council – some charge more than others. So to find out the exact amount, you have to get in touch with them. Check out Direct.gov.uk and type in your postcode to get details of your local council tax department. They will tell you exactly how much you owe, and how to pay. The council really does want your money, so they will help you pay your bill in lots of different ways:
You can pay the bill in one amount. However, most people choose to pay the amount split into 12 monthly payments. You can pay these in the following ways.
Direct Debit
The easiest way to do this is by direct debit. For this you just fill in a form with your bank details and the amount will promptly disappear out of your bank account each month.
Online
You can now make payments to your council tax account on the internet. Just visit the payment section after following the link above.
Post
You can pay by sending a cheque or postal order to the address on the back of the bill that the council send you once you have registered with them.
Phone
You can pay by calling the phone number on the bill and giving them your credit or debit card details.
Post Office or Paypoint
You can pay at your local post office or at a Paypoint – you can often find these at your local convenience store or newsagent. To do this, you need to call your council and request a plastic payment card.
By Matt Taylor
USEFUL WORDS
local services = facilities provided for people in an area e.g. rubbish collection, library, sports centre
occupier = a person who lives in or uses a building
income = the money that a person earns from work
flat rate = a price that is charged the same for everyone and in all situations
band = a range of numbers, ages, prices etc. within which people or things are counted or measured
direct debit = an instruction to your bank to allow somebody else to take an amount of money from your account on a particular date
ENGLISH GRAMMAR
The Passive
Passive forms are used for reasons of style and clarity as well as of meaning.
The passive is made in all tenses by using be in the appropriate tense plus the past participle of the main verb:
be + past participle (+ by + agent)
Passive: Local services are provided by the Council
Active: The Council provides local services
Passive: Council Tax bands are being reviewed (by the local authority)
Active: The local authority is reviewing Council Tax bands
Avoid using the passive of the perfect continuous tenses. Use the active form and an impersonal subject e.g. they/one:
By next June tax will have been being increased every month
By next June they will have been increasing tax every month
Avoid repeating the same passive auxiliary forms:
The contracts have been signed and have been dated in front of two witnesses
The contracts have been signed and dated in front of two witnesses
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