Question regards council tax - how much?

JustAnotherSaver

How do you find out the exact council tax charge you'd pay when you're house hunting?

Most of the houses we're looking at are band B, but the one that's ticking most of the boxes is up as band C.

I did some google searching & got a figure for band B. Split it by 12 & it came out with a figure just shy of £100.
I thought this pretty odd - as my mum's house is band B & she pays £118 per month. Hardly under £100!

So in short, how do you find out the exact figure?

Also, how are these things calculated? I read it's to do with the houses value in 1991, but what if the house was built after this? The house we're looking at is probably worth less than my mums - it's a 3bed semi with very small garden. My mums is a 2 bed detached with a really big garden & plenty of space for a sizeable extension, yet the house we're looking at is band C & my mum's is band B.

marty2be2000

Most council tax is paid over 10 months and not 12, only in exceptional circumstances will the payment period be 12 months.

For the actual council tax figure, you can usually look it up online from the local authority website.

JustAnotherSaver

Well that answers that one then. LoL. Numbers add up now. Cheers.

dtaylor84

marty2be2000 wrote: »

Most council tax is paid over 10 months and not 12, only in exceptional circumstances will the payment period be 12 months.

Where "exceptional circumstances" these days means "you asked to pay over 12 months", as you are now entitled to.

lincroft1710

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

Also, how are these things calculated? I read it's to do with the houses value in 1991, but what if the house was built after this? The house we're looking at is probably worth less than my mums - it's a 3bed semi with very small garden. My mums is a 2 bed detached with a really big garden & plenty of space for a sizeable extension, yet the house we're looking at is band C & my mum's is band B.

Dwellings built after 1991 are valued for CT by comparing them to other dwellings of a similar type and size in the neighbourhood.

Many factors influence a property's value, size, type location. The house you are looking at may have been overbanded or sales evidence could show it is correct or your mum's house could be underbanded. If you buy the house you have a right to appeal the CT band within 6 months of purchase.

JustAnotherSaver

IIRC my mums house was banded up as a C but my dad appealed. I remember my folks talking about some council tax appeal & they got the band changed.

For the band C that we're looking at - all of them in that area (which is about a half mile from us) are band C with the exception of 1.

John_Pierpoint

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2555965

There is a big thread on here somewhere featuring someone who bought a house; only to discover the hard way that the previous owner's installation of a second kitchen, for the use of grandmother, had made it two properties in the view of the council.

p00hsticks

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

How do you find out the exact council tax charge you'd pay when you're house hunting?

Most of the houses we're looking at are band B, but the one that's ticking most of the boxes is up as band C.

The answer to your question is - you can't (at least not without 100% ceertainty)

Yes, you can look on the local council website to find what the charge for each Band this year is.

Yes, you can look up the current band of the property you are interested in on the VOA wbsite (or ask the vendor). You can also use that site to look up neghbouring properties to get a feeling for whether ther is any scope to appeal for it to be moved down a band.

BUT the sale of the property potentially triggers a revaluation anyhow, and if the current occupants have made any major improvements, added extensions etc you could find that the council tax band is moved upwards after you have bought.