This information applies to Wales
Council tax is a system of local taxation collected by local authorities. It is a tax on domestic property. Generally, the bigger the property is, the more tax will be charged. Some property will be exempt from council tax.
Each local authority keeps a list of all the domestic property in its area. This is called the valuation list. Each property is valued and put into a valuation band. A different amount of council tax is then charged on each band.
Before April 2005, all domestic property was valued at April 1991 prices and put into a valuation list known as the 1993 valuation list. From April 2005, all domestic properties have been revalued at April 2003 prices and put into new valuation bands on the 2005 valuation list.
Some domestic properties will have moved up by one or more bands as a result of revaluation, for example from band A in the 1993 valuation list, to band B in the 2005 valuation list.
Help will be given for up to three years from April 2005 for most people whose property has moved up by two or more bands. The help will be that you will not have to pay more than a single band increase in council tax for the year 2005/06, not more than a two band increase for the year 2006/07 and not more than a three band increase for the year 2007/08. To qualify for this help, you must have been liable for paying council tax on the property on both 31 March 2005 and on 1 April 2005, and the property must be your main or sole residence.
It is not necessary to apply for this help. It will be given automatically in your council tax bill.
The valuation bands are:-
| Valuation band | Range of values |
| A | Up to £30,000 |
| B | Over £30,000 and up to £39,000 |
| C | Over £39,000 and up to £51,000 |
| D | Over £51,000 and up to £66,000 |
| E | Over £66,000 and up to £90,000 |
| F | Over £90,000 and up to £120,000 |
| G | Over £120,000 and up to £240,000 |
| H | Over £240,000 |
| Valuation band | Range of values |
| A | Up to £44,000 |
| B | Over £44,000 and up to £65,000 |
| C | Over £65,000 and up to £91,000 |
| D | Over £91,000 and up to £123,000 |
| E | Over £123,000 and up to £162,000 |
| F | Over £162,000 and up to £223,000 |
| G | Over £223,000 and up to £324,000 |
| H | Over £324,000 and up to £424,000 |
| I | Over £424,000 |
To find out what band a domestic property is in you can:
A copy of the valuation list is kept at the local authority's main offices and is available for public inspection. Local authorities may also make the list available in other offices, including libraries. You can look at and make copies of the valuation list at the local authority's office or at the local valuation office. There may be a small charge.
If an alteration is made to the valuation list, including adding a new domestic property to the list, the listing officer will inform the liable person.
Some property is exempt from council tax altogether. It may be exempt for only a short period, for example, six months, or for a longer time.
Properties which may be exempt are:
If you think that your property should be exempt, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB.
Usually one person, called the liable person, is liable to pay council tax. Nobody under the age of 18 can be a liable person. A man and woman living together will both be liable, even if there is only one name on the bill.
Usually, the person living in a property will be the liable person, but sometimes it will be the owner of the property who will be liable to pay.
The owner will be liable if:-
If you think that the owner of the property should be paying the council tax, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB.
If only one person lives in a property they will be the liable person. If more than one person lives there, a system called the hierarchy of liability is used to work out who is the liable person. The person at the top, or nearest to the top, of the hierarchy is the liable person. Two people at the same point of the hierarchy will both be liable.
The hierarchy of liability is:
Each year, every local authority will set a rate of council tax for each valuation band. Not everyone will have to pay the full amount of council tax. There are three ways in which your council tax bill may be reduced. These are:-
If there is someone (adult or child) living in a household who has a disability the council tax bill for the property may be reduced. The reduction is made by charging council tax on a lower valuation band than the one the property is in. For example, if the property is in band D, the council tax bill will be worked out as if it were in band C. From 1 April 2000, this reduction also applies to properties in band A.
To claim a reduction you must show that a disabled person lives in the property, and also that the property meets that person’s needs.
An application for this reduction must be made in writing to the local authority. Many local authorities will have a special application form. Some will ask for supporting evidence, for example, a doctor’s letter.
If you think that you may be entitled to a reduction because someone in their household is disabled you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give in the household is disabled, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB.
If only one person lives in a property they will get a 25% discount on the council tax bill. When working out how many people live in a property, some people are not counted. These are called disregarded people. People are disregarded when they are:-
If everyone who lives in the property is disregarded, there will still be a council tax bill, but there will be a 50 per cent discount.
If you are staying at the property but it is not your main residence, you also count as disregarded. If you are the only person living there and your main property is somewhere else, this property will count as your second home and special rules may reduce the discount allowed.
A local authority may automatically send a council tax bill which includes a discount. The discount will be shown on the bill.
If you believe that you are entitled to a discount and your bill does not show that you have had one, you should apply to the local authority for a discount, as soon as possible.
If the bill shows that the local authority has applied a discount and you do not think that you should have one, you must tell the local authority within 21 days. If you do not do this the local authority may later impose a penalty.
Local authorities can give a 50 per cent or a 25 per cent discount, or no discount at all on holiday homes or second homes.
A person who is liable to pay council tax may be able to claim Council Tax Benefit. The amount of benefit they may get will depend on their income and capital.
If you have someone living with you who is not liable to pay the council tax on your property, you may be able to claim a benefit called a ‘second adult rebate’. You will not be able to claim a second adult rebate as well as Council Tax Benefit. If you are entitled to both, you will receive whichever is the higher.
You may also get extra help with your council tax if you are 65 or over.
For details of Council Tax Benefit and second adult rebate, see Help with your Council Tax – Council Tax benefit.
For information on extra help with Council Tax if you are over 65, see Benefits for people over sixty.
Council tax bills should be sent out in April. You have the right to pay by 10 instalments. Local authorities may accept weekly or fortnightly payments. Some may also offer a reduction in the total bill if it is paid all at once, at the beginning of the year.
If you do not pay an instalment of council tax within 28 days of the date it is due, and have been late with two instalments previously, you lose the right to pay by instalments and become liable to pay the full amount immediately. In practice, most local authorities will still accept payments by instalments.
When you have not paid an instalment of council tax within 28 days of the date it is due, the local authority may ask a magistrates court to issue a court summons for the arrears. If these are not paid by the date of the court summons, the local authority can ask the magistrates to issue a liability order.
A liability order allows a local authority to make arrangements for the arrears to be paid by deductions from a person's income support, jobseeker’s allowance or wages, or for bailiffs to seize a person’s goods to the value of the amount owed.
If you are in arrears of council tax, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB.
Appeals can be made about a range of issues about the council tax. An appeal must be made to either the valuation office or the local authority depending on what it is about.
Appeals can be made to the valuation office about:-
Appeals can be made to the local authority about:-
Appeals cannot be made about the level of council tax set or each valuation band for the area.
The following people can appeal against a decision of the valuation office:-
The following people can appeal against a decision of the local authority:-
Usually, people who wish to appeal must have moved into the property for less than six months, or be in a new property which has recently been added to the valuation list. Special rules apply to appeals regarding the valuation band a property has been put in – see below.
The valuation list may be altered to place a property in a different valuation band if:-
There are special rules about when a liable person can appeal regarding the valuation band a property has been put in – see below.
Different time limits have been set for appealing about a valuation banding of a domestic property in the 1993 valuation list and the 2005 valuation list.
An appeal to alter the valuation band of a property in the 1993 valuation list must be made not later than 31 December 2005. An appeal can only be made if:-
There are some special circumstances when the time limit of 31 December 2005 can be extended. If you want to know more about this, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
If a domestic property is in the 2005 valuation list on 1 April 2005, then an appeal can be made by the person liable to pay council tax on 1 April 2005 to alter the valuation band between 1 April 2005 and 30 September 2006.
If the liable person for a property changes, the new liable person(s) will have six months from the date they become liable to make a proposal to change the valuation band. So, for example, if you became the liable person on 1 May 2005 you would have six months from 1 May 2005 to make a proposal to change the list. This is provided that your grounds for the proposal have not already been considered and rejected by a valuation tribunal or the High Court.
If a property has been added to the valuation list since 1 April 2005, the liable person has six months from the date they become the liable person to make a proposal to change the list. In practice this means six months from the date the property goes onto the valuation list.
In order to appeal you must first make a proposal to the valuation office saying what you think should be changed and why. If the valuation office do not agree to the changes, the proposal automatically becomes an appeal and is heard by a valuation tribunal.
Properties can only be put in a different band under certain circumstances, for example, if something has happened to reduce the value of the property significantly.
The first stage of an appeal to the local authority involves making a written complaint about the problem to the local authority. If the local authority does not resolve the problem, an appeal can then be made to the valuation tribunal.
In all cases the valuation tribunal will consider all the information about the particular case and will decide what should happen. They may decide on the basis of written representations or may call everyone involved to a meeting to hear their evidence.
If you want to make an appeal either to a valuation office or a local authority you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB.
There are particular points to remember in the following circumstances:-
If you are in any of these groups and need further information you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB.
Ymwadiad, hawlfraint a pholisi preifatrwydd, Hawlfraint © Cyngor ar Bopeth. Cedwir pob hawl.
