What is council tax?

This content applies to England only.

Housing laws vary between England and Scotland. Get advice relating to Scotland

Find out about council tax, who has to pay it, how much you have to pay and help that you can get if you are having difficulty paying it.

What is council tax?

Council tax is a tax on domestic property collected by your local council. The council use it to pay for local services such as schools, rubbish collection, roads and street lighting. It also includes a charge for water and sewerage.

Who has to pay council tax?

Usually you will have to pay council tax unless for example, you rent and the homeowner has said that they will be responsible for paying it.

There are special circumstances when you might not have to pay council tax, for example if your home is empty for a while, or if there are only students living there.

You may not have to pay council tax if:

you live in a hostel, nurses home or other accommodation where several individuals or households pay rent separately but share cooking or washing facilities
you live in a convent, monastery or other religious community
you live in a nursing home, care home or other accommodation where you receive a high level of care and support
you're an asylum seeker living in accommodation provided by the UK Border Agency
you're a minister of religion living in a vicarage
you're employed by the owner of the property as a domestic servant (for example, you're a housekeeper).

Joint responsibility for council tax

If you live with anyone else who is over 18 and liable to pay council tax, you have joint responsibility for paying the council tax. This means that one person can be asked to pay the whole amount if the other person does not pay. For example, if three people share a flat and one of the flatmates moves out without paying their share of the council tax, the two remaining flatmates will be responsible for paying it.

This does not apply if the person you are living with is exempt from paying council tax - find out about council tax exemptions

Council tax banding

The amount of council tax that you have to pay is worked out according to the valuation banding the council has put on your property. The valuation bandings were set using 1991 house prices and do not reflect current values.

To find out which banding you are in, you can look at your council tax bill or enter your postcode on the Directgov website. Most councils publish the council tax charge for each band on their website. Find your local council website here .

If you think your home has been valued incorrectly and is in the wrong band, you may be able to get it reassessed. You can find out how to do this at the Money Saving Expert website. If the local assessor decides that your property should be in a lower band, you may get a refund for council tax you've already paid.

Bear in mind that if you ask to have your home reassessed, the assessor may decide that it's worth more and should be in a higher band, meaning you'll have to pay more council tax, so make sure you have a case before you apply for a reassessment.

Council tax discounts and exemptions

If you live alone or live with someone who is exempt from paying council tax, you may be able to get a discount on your council tax bill.

If you or someone in your home is disabled, you may be able to get your council tax bills reduced.
If you are finding it difficult to pay your council tax, you may be entitled to council tax benefit.