Council Tax Discount

Former_MSE_James_F

Millions of households in England will get £150 off their council tax bills, the Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced. The move is designed to help support households as energy bills are set to rocket by a massive £693 a year for millions as a new price cap is confirmed. 

Read the full story here:
'Households to get £150 off council tax bills as part of a nationwide energy crisis support package - here's what's happening'

Click reply below to discuss. If you haven’t already, join the forum to reply.

deebwil

I currently get the single person 25% discount. Will the Council Tax discount be applied to the gross or net Council Tax bill in April? It's possible single people will receive only £112.50 extra discount rather than £150

emmajones1976

No the suggestion is its a flat £150 for everyone, even those who currently get a myriad of discounts anyway.

fallen121

So people who live in Scotland where the weather is generally colder and the energy bills higher (as well as income tax) will get shafted again as Nicola seems to consider anyone on over £20k per year as “well off” 🙄

Silentwings

Why has the chancellor only covered A-D ?  we live in an expensive part of the country and are in band E but we don't live in a mansion

Grumpy_chap

Silentwings said:

Why has the chancellor only covered A-D ?  we live in an expensive part of the country and are in band E but we don't live in a mansion

The Council tax bands are not really related to the price of property in the area but the proportional positioning of the property in the area.

MercatCross

emmajones1976 said:

No the suggestion is its a flat £150 for everyone, even those who currently get a myriad of discounts anyway.

What if the 'myriad of discounts' totals 100%, as with the poorest members of society, who receive the maximum Council Tax Reduction?  "If you're on a low income, you may eligible for a council tax reduction of up to 100%, which will be paid to you as a rebate."  Surely those who will be most affected by the energy price increase and on the very lowest incomes therefore won't receive the £150 Council Tax Rebate because their Council Tax account is already zero, or am I missing something?  Even if they did receive the £150, how would it benefit them if they can't gain access to this money unless they can somehow withdraw it from their Council Tax account which would be £150 in credit?

Elisheba

MercatCross said:

What if the 'myriad of discounts' totals 100%, as with the poorest members of society, who receive the maximum Council Tax Reduction?  "If you're on a low income, you may eligible for a council tax reduction of up to 100%, which will be paid to you as a rebate."  Surely those who will be most affected by the energy price increase and on the very lowest incomes therefore won't receive the £150 Council Tax Rebate because their Council Tax account is already zero, or am I missing something?  Even if they did receive the £150, how would it benefit them if they can't gain access to this money unless they can somehow withdraw it from their Council Tax account which would be £150 in credit?

I think that will be covered by the extra money the Governement is giving Local authorities - which is at their discretion as to how it is distributed and intended to cover the likes of those not paying council tax.

Notaclue1

Is the £150 council tax rebate going directly to the household or will the council take it off the council bill.
Call me a cynic, but my council is in deep financial trouble. What's to stop the council adding £150 to the coucil bill as a hidden cost or percentage increase, only to give the supposed £150 as a rebate. So they keep the money.

Elisheba

Notaclue1 said:

Is the £150 council tax rebate going directly to the household or will the council take it off the council bill.
Call me a cynic, but my council is in deep financial trouble. What's to stop the council adding £150 to the coucil bill as a hidden cost or percentage increase, only to give the supposed £150 as a rebate. So they keep the money.

Good point.  Council tax can only be increased by 2% a year without a local referendum, but I suspect that £150 will only end up covering the council tax increase.  

MercatCross

I've just spotted this in the Daily Telegraph "Those exempt from paying council tax, including students and retirees on pension credit, will still be able to receive the grant. Those living by themselves and receiving the single person discount, which reduces their council tax bill by 25pc, will also be entitled to the full £150 rebate."  However, my question regarding those exempt from paying Council Tax (students, retirees on Pension Credit etc) still remains i.e. how would these people access the £150 grant to benefit from it?