The immeasurable joy of COUNCIL TAX

Well, I finally received my Council Tax bill. The fact that it is approximately £894 per DAY was somewhat disconcerting, especially seeing as I live in a one bedroom rathole apartment in Marlow.

Okay, I'm exaggerating, but it is indeed considerably higher than I thought. Do you have any tips on potential ways to decrease the bill? Is it predicated on the number of people in the abode?

Best Regards,

THE SUN KING

Council tax is decided on the value of the abode.

Well, I finally received my Council Tax bill. The fact that it is approximately £894 per DAY was somewhat disconcerting, especially seeing as I live in a one bedroom rathole apartment in Marlow.

Okay, I'm exaggerating, but it is indeed considerably higher than I thought. Do you have any tips on potential ways to decrease the bill? Is it predicated on the number of people in the abode?

Best Regards,

THE SUN KING

Well, council tax is based on the value of your property in 1991.  I don't know why it's 1991, but I'm sure there's a good reason!   

People who are on benefits and the disabled usually get some sort of discount.  Singles also get a 25% discount, which means my husband's bill went up 25% just because I moved in.  Yay! 

So no, there's no way to decrease your bill.  If you're living alone, you have the 25% discount, so don't get married or get a roommate or anything!  Or, actually, DO get a roomie so  you can split the bill!   

Below are the three main ways your council tax bill can be reduced (I clipped all this info from my local authority's website:

1. If only one adult lives in your home, your bill will be reduced by a quarter (25%).

2. If you are a full time student (studying for 21 hours a week for 24 weeks a year or more) you would be classed as a full time student for Council Tax purposes. Depending on whether you live with anyone else and what their circumstances are, you may be entitled to a reduction.

3. Council Tax Benefit: This benefit is worked out on the income and savings that you and your partner have. If you have savings of more than £16,000 you cannot get Council Tax Benefit. If you're a taxpayer in receipt of Income Support or Job Seekers Allowance, you will normally have all of their bill met by Council Tax Benefit. If you don't know what Income Support etc are, then you're not receiving it

From the advice site,don't know if any of this applies.

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. If everyone who lives in the property is disregarded, there will still be a council tax bill, but there will be a 50% discount. People are disregarded when they are:-


aged 17 or under
living in the property temporarily and who have their home somewhere else
prisoners
in detention prior to deportation or under mental health legislation
defined as a severely mentally impaired person
full-time students on a qualifying course of education
a spouse or a dependant of a student and a non British Citizen who is not allowed under immigration rules, either to work in the UK or claim benefit
Student nurses/Project 2000 student nurses
young people on government training schemes, apprentices, or foreign language assistants
hospital patients who live in hospital
living in a residential care home, nursing home, or mental nursing home where they receive care or treatment
living in a hostel which provides care or treatment because of a person’s old age, physical or mental disability, past or present alcohol or drug dependence or past or present mental illness and in England and Wales a bail or probation hostel
carers
care workers
staying in a hostel or night shelter, for example, in a Salvation Army or Church Army hostel
school or college leavers still aged under 20 who have left school or college after 30 April. They will be disregarded until 1 November of the same year whether or not they take up employment
aged 18 and someone is entitled to child benefit for them. This includes a school or college leaver in remunerative work, or a person in local authority care
members of a religious community
members of visiting armed forces and their dependants.

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/life/tax/council_tax.htm

Dave

Alright guys, I think that I am officially confused?!?!?!?!?  What is this council tax that you speak of?    It  sounds like it is assessed off the value of the land, similar to property taxes here in the US.  Is that indeed what they are?  If we were to rent a flat/house in the UK does that mean that we would be liable for the council tax or would the owner of the property be, as such the case is in the US?  In general how much do they run?  Please take the time to explain this situation to a future expat.  Thank you!!!!

 

yep...council tax is the rough equivalent of US property tax.  It pays for council services...libraries, rubbish collection, etc.

If you rent a house/flat, YOU are responsible for the council tax, not the owner (though they'll pay when the property is vacant).  Council tax rates vary and are based on the value of your property in 1991.  Our council tax runs at about £112 a month...but it can be less, or more, of course.  Obviously the posher your area, the more your council tax will be.

I'm not sure if I totally understand Council Tax, but I thought it was sort of like my "city bill" that I get in the states (in addition to property taxes).  Basically, where I come from, we pay the city money every month for water, sewer and garbage...around $75 per month. 

I'm not sure if I totally understand Council Tax, but I thought it was sort of like my "city bill" that I get in the states (in addition to property taxes).  Basically, where I come from, we pay the city money every month for water, sewer and garbage...around $75 per month. 

Water is a separate bill here.  Council tax is just a catch-all, really.  Just think of all the council services and that's where your money is going.   

Alright, now touching on that topic.  How do utilities work?  Pretty much the same as in the US?

Hmm...utilities are pretty similar, except most are billed quarterly.  We pay gas, water, and electric every 3 months.  The customer service is WAY lacking though...at least in my experience.  Moving house was a nightmare.  We've been here 6 months and I'm not completely sure that all of the bills are coming to the house on-time and cover the correct periods, etc. 

Can anyone tell me how much Council Tax one should expect to pay on an average two bedroom flat?

Thanks everybody for being so helpful! Did you see my post about the money market account ("More money")? I just wanted to share the fruits of my research, especially since you always help me out!

Sounds like I need to ensure I get the 25% discount for being just one person in the rathole, and that's about all I can do.

Cheers,

THE SUN KING

Can anyone tell me how much Council Tax one should expect to pay on an average two bedroom flat?

It depends on where you live, really.  Keep in mind that the council tax is figured on the value of your property in 1991, so newly built developments will have an estimate based on what they would have cost back then.  But for example, the council tax on our first apartment here (2 br, 1 bath, brand new, in Middlesbrough) is the same as our current house (2 br, 1 bath, 1940s-1950s semi w/ front & back gardens in leafy suburb of Newcastle)....about 112 pounds a month. 

Here's a breakdown of the bands:

http://www.voa.gov.uk/council_tax/bands_england_wales.htm

Remember the prices you see are 1991 prices, so don't go comparing current house prices to the chart!

Monthly payments are approximately:

A: 87 pounds
B:  110 pounds
C:  120 pounds
D:  130 pounds
E:  159 pounds
F:  188 pounds
G:  217 pounds
H:  260 pounds

If you're going to be renting, it really pays to ask which band your flat/house is in...you don't want to be surprised by a 260 pound bill 10 months of the year!

Just an FYI for those who were interested in utilities and council tax.  They are not the same everywhere.  When we lived in a flat in Glasgow our council tax covered water and sewerage.  Now that we live in middle England they are billed seperately.