Thousands of households slash council tax costs after challenging bills – how much could you save?
THOUSANDS of households have slashed council tax costs after challenging their band.
New Government statistics reveal 28% of people who tried to get a reduction to their band between 2022 to 2023 were successful.
Meanwhile, 66% resulted in no change at all and 6% were appealed.
Properties across the UK are put into bands A to H which impacts how much council tax you pay.
But the bands were created based on property values back in 1991, so many households find they should be in a different band based on today’s prices, which are much higher.
However, you can challenge your band if you think you’re paying too much and be put into a lower one.
Not only will you pay less council tax moving forward, you’ll also get a refund going back to the date you moved into the property.
One mum revealed how challenging her band saw her save hundreds on her council tax.
But bear in mind, you can challenge your band and actually end up moving up a bracket and paying more.
However, between 2022 and 2023, less than 1% of reviews led to an increase in council tax band. This was the same between 2021 and 2022.
The amount of money you can save moving down a council tax bracket varies depending on where you live.
This is because each local authority decides its own rates.
But, as an example, Nottingham City Council currently charges you £1,875.73 a year for council tax if you own a band B property.
If you challenged it and moved to a band A property, you would end up paying £1,607.76 – that’s nearly £270 less a year.
How to challenge your council tax
You’ll want to check what council tax band you’re in before challenging it.
You can do this on the Government’s website by entering your postcode or address, if you live in England or Wales.
For homes in Scotland you will need to use the Scottish Assessors website.
If you think it’s worth a challenge, you then have to collect evidence showing you’re paying more.
One way of doing this is collecting the addresses of similar properties near yours in a lower band.
You then need to contact the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) in England and Wales or the Scottish Assessors Association (SAA).
There’s further instructions on the Government’s website on how to do this.
If the VOA agrees that your property is in the wrong band, it will contact you letting you know, usually within a few days.
But it can take up to 28 days if they need to check there’s enough evidence to review your challenge.
Overall, it can take up to two months to review a challenge.
If you aren’t happy with the VOA’s decision, you can appeal your case – but only if you’ve been told that you can when you get the decision.
Bear in mind, any appeals have to be launched within three months of your decision – you can do this via the Valuation Tribunal Service.
If the Valuation Tribunal agrees with you, it will get the VOA to change your band – and your bill will change.
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