Council Tax Payments

bmouthboyo

Apologies if this is pretty obvious but as I have been living abroad for a while I am a little unsure how council tax works when buying a home.

I will be buying my first property which is due to complete hopefully by the end of november.

Am I right in thinking you pay 10 months council tax, and if so how this would work for me? Would I be exempt for the first 2 months?

Thanks :beer:

Edi81

Council tax year runs from April to March.

You will get a bill for the period (date you buy House) to 31 March.

Your local council will require this to be paid in either 3 or 4 instalments.

I think all councils now offer the facility to pay council tax over 12 months as it helps both their cash flow and payers to budget.

bmouthboyo

ah ok, not sure where I got this 10 month business from?

So for argument sake if the yearly bill was 1200 and I moved in the end of November I would have to pay 4 months (400)?

Thanks

Edi81

It used to be 10 months and then 5 or so years ago it changed so council tax payers can choose.

Yes, you would pay £400 - it’s calculated on a days basis.

Rambosmum

Our council still does it over 10 months if you want them to. So you pay a full years bill in 10 instalments, for us, they don't take payment in Feb and March.

bmouthboyo

Interesting, mine would be Hampshire. If the previous tenant did 10 installments would they be entitled to a rebate?

I assume this is 'reset' so to speak when a new owner takes up a property?

Comms69

It's simple, Council tax is yearly.


For example £1200 per year, council charge it in ten payments, so £120 x 10


If you vacate before the end of the tax year, you are due a refund.

elverson

It won't be Hampshire, it will be the local council within Hampshire.

aneary

I switched to monthly from 10 payments as it meant it was easier for me as I knew I would be moving and didn't want the hassle of getting it back.

chappers

Council tax comes as an annual bill. you can pay it all in one hit if you like.
Most councils split that bill into 10 instalments but some allow it to be split over 12 months. If you come in half way through the year you will be sent a pro rata bill for the remaining year and will be offered to split it into the remaining months up to and including January, some may even let you split it over the remaining two months (Feb and March too).

so if Council tax was say £1200 for the year instalments of £120 each, April-Jan incl. would be the norm. Some councils would let you split into 12 payments of £100 April-March incl.
If you moved in 1st September you would have a bill of £600 which would be split into 5 payments of £120 or possibly 7 payments though they may not allow extended instalments for part years.

00ec25

chappers wrote: »

Council tax comes as an annual bill.

council tax is a daily charge

bmouthboyo wrote: »

ah ok, not sure where I got this 10 month business from?

So for argument sake if the yearly bill was 1200 and I moved in the end of November I would have to pay 4 months (400)?

Thanks

the person liable to pay CT is rigidly set out in law under the "hierarchy of liability". In your case it looks to be the simple one of "owner & occupier"

you will be liable to pay CT from the day you become liable as owner & occupier.

The previous owner will be given a refund of any CT they have paid beyond the date they ceased to be liable. You will thus be billed at a daily rate from the date you became liable up to the end of the tax year (31 March).

as you will be moving in Nov, council tax law sets out the requirement that you must be offered the option to pay your CT by instalments over the remaining period to 31 March. (Had you moved in later, the law says you must pay it in a single lump sum and the council does not have to offer instalments)

once your liability rolls over to a new tax year the law says that collection of the tax must be offered as a 10 month instalment plan. However, following changes, the law also now allows councils to offer the option to pay over 12 instalments.
Obviously the tax payer can pay as a single lump sum if they wish.

all is set out in the law...
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1992/613/schedule/1/made
"PAYMENT OF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT: MONTHLY INSTALMENTS

1. This Part does not apply where, as regards the relevant year, instalments are payable in accordance with a Part II scheme.

2.—(1) This paragraph applies where the demand notice is issued on or before 31st December in the relevant year, but has effect subject to paragraph 3 below.

(2) The aggregate amount is to be payable in monthly instalments.

(3) The number of such instalments—

(a)where the notice is issued before the beginning of the relevant year or at any time in the period beginning on the first day of that year and ending on 31st May of that year, shall be 10;
(b)where the notice is issued on or after 1st June in the relevant year, shall be one less than the number of whole months remaining in the relevant year after the issue of the notice.
(4) The months in which the instalments are payable must be uninterrupted, but subject to that are to be such months in the relevant year as are specified in the notice; and the instalments are to be payable on such day in each month as is so specified."