Council tax to hit £2000 in April: How to get reductions on your bills | Personal Finance | Finance
Council tax bills could rise to £2,000 a year from April with the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) detailing that the total amount raised in council tax to be a third higher in 2026/27 than it was in 2019/20. Research conducted by the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) estimates that households should prepare for a 2.8 percent hike on their council tax bill for the 2022/23 tax year.
if this 2.8 percent increase was to go ahead as forecast, the average council tax bill for this year would hit a staggering £1,951.
While many Britons may struggle with raised tax costs, those who are on limited incomes may be able to reduce their bill.
Council tax reductions can be granted to people under a range of circumstances.
This includes people who are in receipt of benefits, tax credits, pensions or are carers.
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To check on this, people will need to contact their local council directly as each authority will have differing rules.
Millions could be eligible for a state benefit called Council Tax Reduction (sometimes called Council Tax Support). This replaced Council Tax Benefit in April 2013.
In some instances, council tax may be reduced by up to 100 percent.
This support can be claimed by those who own their home, rent, are unemployed or working.
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This means they are not counted when the local authority works out the number of people living there.
Furthermore, some people are eligible for a 25 percent discount if they either live on their own or everyone else in their household is considered disregarded by the state.
Even if someone is disregarded, they will need to apply directly to their local authority to claim a council tax reduction.
When filling out the exemption or discount application form, claimants will need to list all of the occupants who reside in their household.
If anyone has been awarded a council tax exemption or discount by mistake, they must report the error to their local authority to get it rectified.
