Eastlife Spring 2021

CONSUMER
Martin
Lewis
Cut
Your
Council
Tax
Hidden ways to cut
£100s or £1,000s off
your council tax bill
Martin Lewis is
the Founder of
MoneySavingExpert.com.
To join the 13 million
people who get his free
Money Tips weekly
email, go to
www.moneysavingexpert.com/latesttip
Over half of all councils are expected to
increase council tax by the maximum 5%
this April. Councils have always offered
crucial public services, but during the
pandemic, they’ve been a lifeline to many.
Yet council tax bills – especially if they
increase – are a stretch for many, and
while it’s important that people pay
their dues, it’s equally worth checking
you’re not missing out on legitimate
discounts and reductions. So, let me
take you through my key council tax
need-to-knows…
1. Up to 400,000 homes in England
and Scotland are in the wrong band.
Council tax was first introduced in Great
Britain in 1993 (Northern Ireland has a
different system). It’s a payment based
on the value of your home – homes are
banded from band A the least expensive,
to band H, most expensive (Band I in
Wales).
Before the tax came in, a stop-gap ‘2ndgear’
valuation of all homes was done.
Literally people in cars with a clipboard
assessing a band. Yet in England and
Scotland that stop-gap has never been
updated and is still what dictates most
homes bands – meaning there’s been
estimated to be up to 400,000 homes in
the wrong band (Wales has more recently
been re-assessed). Some will be paying
too little, some too much, all the way back
to 1993, and could be backdated.
You can’t ask for your band to be lowered,
only evaluated, and to stop yours, or
worse your neighbour’s band increasing,
there are two checks you should make.
• The Neighbours check: Are you in a
higher band than neighbours in similar
or better identical homes (see your
and their bands at www.voa.gov.uk
in England and www.saa.gov.uk in
Scotland).
• The valuation check: Effectively back
calculating what your house was worth
in 1991 when bands were set. Don’t
worry to make this easy I’ve a free tool
to help at www.mse.me/counciltax
(which also includes far more help on
how to do this, and FAQs if you run into
problems).
Only if BOTH of these stack up then it’s
worth asking for them to check if you’re
in the right band (for how to do this see
the link above).
2. Live alone, with under-18s or fulltime
students? There’s a single-person
reduction of 25%. Those under aged 18
and full-time students are disregarded for
council tax purposes, so a single parent
would be entitled to this. All student
households pay nothing. Live-in carers in
some circumstances are exempt too.
3. Do you live with someone with a
‘severe mental impairment’? You
could be missing discount worth
£1,000s. If someone has a diagnosed
severe mental impairment, which includes
someone with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s,
strokes and more, and are eligible (not
necessarily claiming) for some benefits,
e.g disablement allowance or incapacity
benefit – they may be disregarded for
council tax purposes. Meaning they don’t
have to pay council tax if they live alone
and get 25% off if they live with one other
adult. Plus, some councils backdate it,
leading to £1,000s back.
This is wildly underpublicised, but I’ve
been trying to raise awareness, and
have had many successes. This can be
complicated so do read the full details at
www.mse.me/SMI.
4. Had your home adapted for a
disabled resident. Rather than a
discount you may be able to get your
council tax band lowered, speak to the
council.
5. On universal credit/benefits you
could get up to 100% off. Council tax
reductions are long standing discounts
of up to 100%, which you apply for
directly with your local council (details of
your council is at www.gov.uk/applycouncil-tax-reduction).
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