Council Tax Confusion

Bob_Unknown

Hi

I am looking at letting a property which falls into Band D ct in glasgow. The breakdown of the charge is as follows:

Council Tax Band Council Tax Water Charge Waste Water(Sewerage)charge Total
d £1,213.00 £184.77 £208.80 £1,606.57

I spoke to the current tennant who tells me that he pays £144 per month which includes the 25% discount but the figures don't add up. I am not sure if the discount is taken from the ct column or the total column but in anycase its seems more than it should be.

I am wrong... your advise is much appreciated.

Thanks in advance

dmg24

He could have arrears to pay. It is best to speak to the council directly, not rely on other peoples figures.

KimYeovil

The single person discount is only for the council tax. And it is paid over ten instalments, not twelve. Still doesn't add up, (I make it ten payments of £130,) but, as suggested, his payment probably include arrears.

Bob_Unknown

The £130 you mention is based on 10 Monthly payments over the year with jan and feb usually being ct free but what happens if you rent a property for 6 months starting from March. Do you have to claim a rebate after your tenancy is over.

Jowo_2

Bob_Unknown wrote: »

The £130 you mention is based on 10 Monthly payments over the year with jan and feb usually being ct free but what happens if you rent a property for 6 months starting from March. Do you have to claim a rebate after your tenancy is over.

Yes, if the council tax is weighted towards the front of the accounting year, forcing the account holder to slightly overpay each month because it compresses 12 months payment into 10, any credit is reimbursed when they leave.

I also don't know why you are involving yourself in the tenants CT affairs - they should be sorting out any issues they have with the CT dept directly and understanding the process themselves.

I once had tenants acuse me of stealing their rebate, because I got a credit when I moved out and they moved in. They said their CT was too high and demanded I refund them, accusing me of ripping them off.

I demonstrated to them that the bill they had been sent from the CT dept was correct as they were being billed exactly the right portion of the annual sum for the time since they took the tenancy over. I told them about how the bill is front loaded so they overpay from the moment they take on the account in order to earn the CT free months. I looked at their payment schedule and advised them it is higher than they expected because they hadn't set up the DD quickly enough and missed the first months CT on top of the scenario where there are 10 payments to cover 10 months.

And even then, they would not accept it. Worringly, one of them was a data analyst - you'd think they'd get the hang of being able to do simple sums.

So stay out of it if that's the issue you are having with your tenant - tell them if they don't understand how the CT people have arrived at the figute, they should contact the CT dept for a breakdown and explanation.

monstermoo

Ct is the banding set by the VOA-Your council will set the charge. The charge is then divided over the days at the property and any discount is taken off for the time it is claimed.

The tax yr is 1/4/9 to 31/3/10. The Ct is basically a daily charge

Hope that helps