Six ways to slash the cost of your council tax bills

THE coronavirus-driven financial cataclysm is leaving millions struggling to meet bills. One of the biggest of those is council tax, yet many assume there’s no way to reduce it. Here’s how you can:

1. Check if you can get a payment holiday.

If you’re struggling to meet your council tax payments due to coronavirus, ask your council for help. There’s no one-sizefits-all rule here. My team asked 20 councils, of which 19 said they would offer a deferral on a case-by-case basis, and only one said it wouldn’t.

2. On universal credit/ benefits/low income you could get up to 100% off.

Council tax reductions are long-standing discounts of up to 100%. You apply directly with your local council (details at gov.uk/apply-council-taxreduction).

Clearly more people are now eligible, as so many more are claiming universal credit.

The reduction amount depends on your council and circumstances, and some councils may let you back date the reduction, but you’ll need to check.

Plus, in England, some could get £150 off the bill backed by a £500m Covid-19 hardship fund. If eligible, the discount will be applied automatically.

All those on the guaranteed element of pension credit are due a reduction too, and some on the savings element are too.

3. Check you’re not one of up to 400,000 homes in the wrong band.

In 1991 houses were valued by people driving by and it’s never been done since (Wales has more recently been re-assessed).

First step is to check whether you’re in a higher band than your neighbours, at voa.gov.uk in England.

If it shows you’re in a higher band, remember it could mean their band is too low. So next you need to do a valuation check, effectively back calculating what your house was worth in 1991 when bands were set. I’ve a free tool to help at mse.me/counciltax. If BOTH of these stack up then it’s worth asking the council to check if you’re in the right band.

4. Do you live with someone with a ‘severe mental impairment’?

If someone has a diagnosed severe mental impairment, which includes some with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, strokes and more, then they may be disregarded for council tax purposes. Meaning they don’t have to pay council tax if they live alone, and get 25% off if they live with one other adult.

5. Living alone or with under-18s.

If living alone you’re entitled to a 25% single person’s discount. Plus, anyone under aged 18 and full-time students are disregarded for council tax purposes, so live only with an under-18 and you pay the single persons discounted rate.

Live-in carers are also exempt if they look after someone with a disability who isn’t their partner, spouse or child under 18, for an average of at least 35 hours/week.

6. Had your home adapted for a disabled resident.

Rather than a discount you may be able to get your council tax band lowered.

■ Martin Lewis is the founder and chair of MoneySavingExpert.com. Get his free Money Tips weekly email at moneysavingexpert.com/latesttip