What exactly is Council Tax and how is it calculated?

Are you missing out on a single council tax discount?

You’ll usually have to pay Council Tax if you’re 18 or over and own or rent a home. A full Council Tax bill is based on at least 2 adults living in a home, but you’ll get 25% off your bill if you live on your own and non-one else in your home counts as an adult.

Council Tax is a mandatory annual payment, normally paid in 10 monthly installments paid to our local council. Each local Council sets its own level of Council Tax and the money raised is used to fund all sorts of local services from police, fire and education services and recreation projects through to transport and highway services. It doesn’t fund our health services though.

How Council Tax is calculated

In England, Scotland and Wales how much you pay will depend on how much your property is worth – the valuation band originally made in 1991 that the property your living in falls into.  England and Scotland have eight Council Tax valuation bands ranging from A (the cheapest) to H and Wales has nine bands – from 1 (the highest) to 9.

In Northern Ireland the valuation is based on the rental value of the property you live in.

How much you will pay will also depend on your personal circumstances, being a sole adult occupier i.e. a ‘single or one-person household’, is one of them.

There are specific circumstances where some people are not counted as a second resident, even if they live in the property. You can still get a single person’s discount for example if you share your home with a full-time student under the age of 20, a student nurse, an apprentice or a carer providing at least 35 hours care a week. You’ll find a full list of exceptions on the Gov.UK website.

How do single people get their Council Tax discount?  

If you are the sole occupant of a property you get a 25% discount off your council tax bill.  To get this discount you will need to apply for it. It’s not awarded automatically, – your local council won’t know you are eligible for it unless you tell them.

If you’ve been entitled to this discount and so effectively have been overpaying your Council Tax for years, you may be entitled to a substantial refund.  The good news is you don’t have to wait until the start of the ‘next’ tax year to claim your discount. You become eligible on the same day you become single.

Whilst this 25% reduction is very welcome and does go some way to offset the cost the response from a survey of Uswitch users was that they didn’t think it was a big enough discount, unsurprisingly 79% of single people and even 41% of couples didn’t think it was enough of a reduction. (And as we use less of most of the equivalent services per head than two or more adults living at the same property, nor do we).

Even after the discount, the average single person still pays £90 a month, compared with £63 each for two partners living in the same type of property and there’s no extra charge for any other adult children or other adults living in the same property.  And with the average council tax bill rising by 5.1% in 2018-9, i.e. in this financial year, this will affect single home occupiers even more.

NOT CLAIMED YOUR DISCOUNT YET?

APPLY FOR YOUR COUNCIL TAX DISCOUNT NOW

If you haven’t been given a discount and think you are eligible, contact your council when you receive a council tax bill or apply on line straight away. The council may ask you for supporting evidence. They have up to 2 months to advise of their decision and if you’re eligible for the 25% discount they’ll normally back date it.

Where to apply/find out more
Use the OFFICIAL FREE GOVERNMENT WEBSITE to contact your local  council and find out if you are eligible for the discount and  reduction in your Council Tax bill now

Why have I received a single person review letter?

If you’re already claiming the discount, the chances are that your Council will continue to check your eligibility. Torbay Council in Devon caused an outcry recently after issuing review letters to all single households and many other Councils have now followed suit by issuing regular letters. Its’ also been reported in the press that some local authorities are using private companies to track down people wrongly claiming single-person discount, although we’ve not heard of any cases

What happens if I ignore it?

A single person discount will remain on your account for the entire period that you are the single occupier. So as all single occupancies are now regularly reviewed, if you don’t reply to the letter and confirm you are still a single occupier the discount will be removed and a revised bill issued with no 25% discount, very quickly.

Cancelling a Single Person Discount

If you are receiving a single person discount on your Council Tax bill and another adult moves in with you, or someone in your household reaches the age of 18 or you rent a room out, you will no longer be entitled to a single person’s discount and you should let your local authority know straight away.