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Martin Lewis is urging Brits to check if they are “overpaying” on their council tax, with many homes entitled to thousands of pounds in back pay. According to the finance expert, hundreds of thousands of homes across England and Scotland are thought to be in the wrong council tax band.
This could have been going on for decades, he warned, with pay-outs worth thousands of pounds “commonplace”.
Council tax is a tax set by your local authority to to pay for certain services such as bin collections, street repairs and libraries. A chunk also goes to local police and fire and rescue services.
Therefore, the amount you pay will depend on where in the country you live. However, your bill will also vary depending on what type of property you live in, with property types being placed into different bands.
It is this that you need to pay attention to, Martin said. In a guide written for his Money Saving Expert website, he warned that homes in England and Scotland could be in the wrong bands, thus paying the wrong amount of council tax.
He said: “Hundreds of thousands of homes across England and Scotland are thought to be in the wrong council tax band. This means it’s important to check your property’s in the right band – something our tried-and-tested system can help you do. Some people have been overpaying for many years (even decades) and the issue is only compounded by annual hikes to council tax rates, so pay-outs worth £1,000s are commonplace.”
He explained that “many” homes have been in the wrong council tax bands since 1991. A new council tax system was launched that year but without the proper resources many homes were evaluated with “just a glance”, by people literally driving past in cars.
Luckily for those living in Wales, the Government reassessed all homes, meaning residents there will be paying the correct amount. But this is not the case in England and Scotland.
“So the flawed old valuation still dictates much of the kingdom’s banding, which is why you could be paying more than your neighbour even though you live in exactly the same size property,” Martin said.
There are several ways to check if you are paying the wrong amount for your council tax. You can:
- Find out if your band is higher than neighbours in similar or identical properties – you can either ask them or search on the gov.uk website
- Estimate what your property was worth in 1991 – the easiest way to do this is to search on websites such as Nethouseprices, Zoopla and Rightmove.
If you believe your home is in the wrong band you should then challenge it, Martin said. He advised: “If you’re in England, the Gov.uk website helps explain how to go about challenging your council tax band. You can either contact the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) directly, at which point you’ll be told how your band was decided, and have the opportunity to explain why you believe it is wrong and how it should be altered.
“Alternatively, you can check your band by entering your postcode and selecting your address from a list. Then you can click on the link asking if you think your council tax banding is wrong and you’ll be given the option to fill out a checklist which suggests reasons you could challenge.”
In Scotland, the Scottish Assessors’ Association (SAA) deals with council tax bands. Enter your postcode in the Council Tax Bands search box on the SAA homepage.
Martin continued: “Select your property from the list. If you want to challenge the banding, click on ‘Make a proposal’. You can then fill in an online form which will be sent to your local assessor, who will contact you.”
For more information visit moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/council-tax-bands-change.