Cutting Your Council Tax

Have you ever wondered how much Council Tax your neighbours are paying? It's worth checking because you may be paying too much.

Have you ever compared how much you're paying in Council Tax with your neighbours? If not, it might just be worth doing so, in case they're paying less than you. If you think it's too nosy a question to ask, you can check it out on the Internet because the banding of residential properties is public information.

Go to the Council Tax Valuation List, enter your postcode and up will pop the details of the Council Tax bands that you and your neighbours are in.

If you're all living in similar houses then you should all be in the same Council Tax band and, therefore, paying the same amount to your local authority. But if you find that you're in a higher band than everyone else then you may have a case for appealing to your local valuation office. Success could mean paying less and getting a rebate on any overpayments.

Earlier articles we've written on the subject have produced good results for a number of Fools. One person even received a welcome cheque for more than £2,500 in overpaid Council Tax after her property band was lowered from Band E to Band D.

In theory, you can only appeal against your home's banding in certain circumstances:

• Within six months of becoming the new owner or taxpayer at a property;
• Within six months of your property being re-banded if you believe the banding is wrong;
• Within six months of a similar neighbouring property being re-banded and you believe your property should similarly be re-banded;
• Where your property has lost some value because there has been a change in physical state of the local area; there has been an adaptation to make the property suitable for someone with a physical disability, or part of the property has been demolished ie: reduced in size.

However, your local valuation office has a legal obligation to make sure the information on their list is correct, so if you think your banding is too high they will usually review it on request.

If your valuation office agrees that you should have been in a lower band, you'll be entitled to a refund of your overpayments dating back to 1993 which was when Council Tax was first introduced. However, note that previous occupiers will be entitled to a proportionate amount of the refund if you haven't lived in the property for the full period.

Check the Council Tax Valuation List for England & Wales, and these lists for Scotland and for N. Ireland.