Chancellor John Healey is dishing out £100 to households in council tax bands A to D in England which will land straight into their bank accounts to help with energy bills this winter.
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which → dish → bills
Some people in England living in homes above council tax band D may get a payment towards their energy bills as well, but only if they are deemed to be 'acutely impacted' by higher energy bills.
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they → live → bills
Similar funding for other nations will also be provided, meaning some households in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales can benefit from the payments too.
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households → provide → payments
After Healey made this announcement, the Government's free online council tax band checker tool temporarily crashed.
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tool → make → announcement
Healey said 20million households in England will benefit from the £2.6billion Household Energy Payment scheme this winter.
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households → say → scheme
To help fund the £100 payments to millions of households, the tax surcharge on banks' profits will be temporarily increased from 3 per cent to 6 per cent from January 1, 2027 until March 31, 2028.
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surcharge → help → March
In light of Healey's £100 payment announcement, it is important to know how to figure out what council tax band you are in and what to do if you think you are in the wrong council tax band.
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you → know → band
Apart from limited exceptions, only households in council tax bands A to D will get the £100 help with energy bills
How do council tax bands work?
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bands → limit → bills
Each residential property in England, Scotland and Wales is assigned a council tax band.
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property → assign → band
The council tax band you are in determines how much council tax you pay each month.
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you → determine → tax
Precisely how much council tax you pay will depend on where you live, as local councils decide the amount of council tax charged within each band.
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councils → pay → band
How do you find out which council tax band you are in?
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you → find → band
The Government has a free online tool which shows you what council tax band you are in.
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you → have → band
You need to type in your postcode in the online tool to be able to find out what council tax band you are in.
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you → need → band
The online tool will also show you what council tax band your neighbours are in.
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neighbours → show → band
In Scotland, households can go to the Scottish Assessors Association website to check what council tax band they are in.
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they → go → band
You can also just check your council tax bills to see what band your home is in – especially if the Government website continues to crash through a surge of interest.
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website → check → interest
This is because council tax bands were based on rushed property valuations completed in 1991.
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bands → base → 1991
The bands have not been reviewed since 1991, except in Scotland where they were all reviewed and updated in 2005.
In April, Scott Dixon, of The Complaints Resolver, said: 'An estimated 400,000 households in the UK may be in the wrong council tax band.'
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households → review → band
Many people will be paying too much council tax, while others might be missing out on discounts for single occupation or exemptions for disability or student status.
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others → pay → status
In some cases, well-to-do homeowners in areas that have been transformed by gentrification since 1991 are paying far less proportionally than those in far smaller homes in less glamorous neighbourhoods elsewhere.
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that → transform → neighbourhoods
The Government's free online council tax band checker faltered this afternoon
How to challenge your council tax band
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checker → falter → band
The key tell-tale sign is if your council tax band is out of kilter with other properties of a similar size near where you live.
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you → live → size
You should start by finding out what council tax band your neighbours’ homes are in to check if yours seems correct.
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yours → start → band
You will want to make sure the homes you are comparing yours with sit on a similar amount of land, have a similar floor area and roughly the same number of bedrooms and bathrooms.
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you → want → bedrooms
You can start a formal review if you have been paying council tax on your home for less than six months, or if the Government's Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has altered your band in the last six months and you disagree with it.
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you → start → it
In these cases, the VOA is legally obliged to review your band.
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VOA → oblige → band
You may not be able to launch a formal appeal if you have lived in the home for too long.
Most people lodge an informal review, which means you will need strong supporting evidence to show that your council tax band is wrong.
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band → launch → evidence
If you fail to provide adequate evidence, the VOA will reject the request.
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VOA → fail → request
If you decide to challenge your current council tax band, there is a chance you could be moved up a council tax band and have to pay even more council tax.
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you → decide → tax
This only happens in a small number of cases.
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This → happen → cases
Also avoid challenging your council tax band if you think you could be affected by Labour's upcoming 'mansion tax', affecting homes valued at £2million or more from April 2028.
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you → avoid → April
The Government is looking at properties in the three highest bands of F, G and H to see if they are valued above £2million.
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they → look → 2million
Is the decision to restrict the £100 payment to four council tax bands fair?
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decision → restrict → bands
The Chancellor's decision to restrict the £100 Household Energy Payment to homes in council tax bands A to D has not been universally applauded.
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decision → restrict → D
Some view it as a blunt instrument which could leave vulnerable people out in the cold.
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which → view → cold
Someone living in a council tax band F home who is terminally ill, on a low income and needing to use their heating more will, unless their local council decides otherwise, not get the £100 payment.
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council → live → payment
Nouran Moustafa, practice principal at Roxton Wealth, told This is Money via Newspage: 'Since when did your council tax band become a reliable measure of how much money you have?
'
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you → tell → money
Someone living in a Band E property could be a pensioner on a modest income, while someone in Band D could be earning six figures.
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someone → live → figures
I understand why the Government wants a simple way to distribute £100 energy payments, but simple doesn't automatically mean fair.
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simple → understand → payments
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
