What is UK Council Tax (and why it’s important for expats)

As an expat living in the UK, I was not familiar with council tax when I first moved here – but it’s pretty important. Here’s what you need to know about this yearly tax.

What is council tax?

Council tax is basically local taxation collected by local authorities. This means you don’t pay council tax to your landlord or your letting agency, but directly to your local council. The money is used to pay for local services like garbage collection, roads, repairs and street lighting.

Homes are given a valuation band that indicates how much you need to pay. The intricacies of how that’s decided isn’t super important, but the main point is that you’ll need to pay this tax.

How much do I need to pay?

You can check your council tax band or you can find it on your council tax bill. Some countries within the UK operate a little bit differently such as Scotland who has their own website for checking council tax, but the general idea remains the same.

If a property is put into a different band for whatever reason, the Valuation Office Agency will write to the council tax payer, informing them of the change. The local council will then send a new council tax bill with all of the details and changes.

Who has to pay council tax?

Usually one person, called the “liable person” has to pay council tax. Nobody under the age of 18 can be a liable person.

Couples living together will both be “jointly and separately liable”. This means they are responsible as a couple but also individually.

No one is under an obligation to make a payment until they are issued with a bill in their name or, if they are jointly and severally liable, with a joint taxpayers’ notice.

Usually, the person living in a property will be the liable person, but sometimes it will be the owner of the property who will be liable to pay.

The owner will be liable if any of these are true:

• the property is in multiple occupation (ex: a house shared by a number of different households who all pay rent separately) For expats renting a room in London where there are multiple flatmates, this may be your situation
• the people who live in the property are all under the age of 18
• the property is accommodation for asylum seekers
• the people who are staying in the property are there temporarily and have their main homes somewhere else
• the property is a care home, hospital, hostel or women’s refuge

This hierarchy is important if the tax is not paid – the council needs to know who to pursue for payment (and even take legal action against if necessary).

Check if you can pay less council tax

You might be able to get a discount or reduction if for example you:

• have no income or a low income
• are disabled
• live alone (If you’re the only adult in your home, you’ll get a 25% discount on your council tax bill)

You can check if you can pay less council tax here.

How often do you pay council tax?

This tax is a yearly price, but most councils allow you to choose to spread your Council Tax payments over a variety of months: some allow 3, 6, 10 or 12 months. The default option is to spread it across 10 months. If you want to change the payment schedule, just make sure to ask your local council either through their online portal or by calling their offices.

Making the same payment every month might make it easier for you to budget.

How do you pay?

Most councils have an online portal that you can sign into for payment, checking your details or to make any changes.

My experience with council tax

As a Canadian living in the UK, I wasn’t familiar with council tax but overall it’s pretty straightforward. In all my properties, myself and my partner have paid council tax and it’s varied property to property – this flat is bigger and more expensive, our previous flat was smaller and cheaper.

Once you set up a direct debit, it’s pretty simple and you don’t have to worry about it. If you do have any questions, you can contact your council directly or Citizens Advice is a great service for help.