Cold weather payments triggered - can you get £25 towards your energy bills? You then have three months in which to consider this and to apply to the valuation tribunal if you are not satisfied. This guide gives information and advice about: all aspects of Housing Benefit overpayment; all aspects of excess Council Tax Benefit; the legal requirements on local authorities. I lived with someone else – who would the council have contacted? But in the grand scheme of things you're more likely to know your closed account was in credit. You can request a refund if your council tax account is in credit. So to help, we've tried to narrow down who's most likely to be able to claim, so you can weigh up whether to try it. If you have received a Council Tax bill with a credit on it, either through changing address or an overpayment of a discount or exemption, we will need to issue a refund to the account holder. As we explain above, we believe those who paid by direct debit are less likely to be owed, because many councils issue refunds to those paying by direct debit automatically. Editor-in-Chief, Marcus Herbert, With many households struggling due to coronavirus, saving money has become crucial – so it's…, A major MoneySavingExpert.com investigation in 2019 found there was at least £230 million in…, Tens of thousands of 'severely mentally impaired' people who are entitled to a council tax…. Councillor Rebecca Rennison, responsible for finance and housing needs at Hackney Council, said: "We try to automatically refund credit where possible and will always send a credit statement letting residents know that there is credit on their account. The refund will go into your bank account when you tell us you’ve moved. Some councils that issue automatic refunds to those who paid by direct debit told us they wouldn't be able to do this where there are multiple billpayers on an account, and would instead first have to establish who actually paid the council tax. We will try to process the refund via the method the original payment was made, such as to the Debit/Credit Card the original payment was made by, or to the bank account the original Direct Debit payments came from. We use cookies to allow us and selected partners to improve your experience and our advertising. Normally, this isn't a problem – in fact, as council tax is usually paid in advance you'll often be in credit. . Pension lump sum withdrawal tax calculator. Generally, the overpayment results from the last tax paid since there is no overpayment in tax or penalty until the full liability therefor has been paid. Please note – If you have any other Council Tax accounts that are in arrears, we will transfer any credit to these accounts to offset these debts before we consider processing your refund. See MCL 211.154 (3) and (4) regarding the applicability of penalty and interest. Financial Services Limited. Here's what you need to know, Coronavirus Self-Employed & Small Limited Company Help, Martin Lewis: What happened to my pledge to give £10m to charity – 2021 update, Martin Lewis: Working from home due to coronavirus, even for a day? I then received a letter from them informing me that, if I wanted a refund, I had to fill out a paper form and return this to them by post. MSE Will also had a nice surprise, when he found he was owed money by Manchester City Council after a new tenant successfully lowered the council tax band. Only six of the authorities to respond told us they had less than £10,000 in closed and dormant accounts. Use these calculators to estimate how much tax you’ll be paying this year. Can I get a refund on overpaid council tax? If you move out of North Somerset and you’ve overpaid your Council Tax by direct debit, we will make a refund by BACS. Its stance of putting consumers first is protected and enshrined in the legally binding MSE Editorial Code. The regulator's other help schemes are also likely to be extended too, including car finance and payday loans, yet should you do it? MoneySavingExpert.com Limited is an appointed representative of MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited. This could happen if you have: overpaid. Money Compare content is hosted by Which? What do the councils holding the most credit say? We aim to look at all available products. Short answer: yes. This means: if you already receive a Council Tax Reduction but still have part of the bill to pay, you will now get a bigger reduction. Overpayments may be due to: Vacating a property; Discount or exemption awards; Pensioner reductions; Band reductions; Disabled relief; Once we have validated your request we will aim to issue your refund within 7 to 10 days. We will only refund you if you do not owe any further amounts of council tax to us. If you have moved out of the borough a refund can be made. I thought this was ridiculous given the ease of simply returning the credit to the bank account that it came from. A spokesperson for the City of Edinburgh Council told us: "As a capital city, Edinburgh has a fairly transient population where residents move regularly from one property to the next. An overpayment can happen if you: get a Council Tax discount, exemption or other support; move out of your home; change your Council Tax band; If you make an overpayment, your account will be in credit. I was paying by direct debit for five years from the same account with no arrears [before I moved out]. Many councils let you claim back as far as 1993, when council tax was first established but it depends on the council. . ) Reasons for overpayment: A couple of minutes of your time today will make managing your online services quicker and easier. That means we all need to take responsibility for ourselves. The valuation is wrong due to a legal decision on another property. In basic terms, a council tax account will be in credit if you've paid more than you owe at any point. Yet strictly speaking, councils can apply the statute of limitations to reclaims as long as they have previously tried to notify you of the credit, so in England and Wales they can stop you reclaiming six years after the account was closed, and in Scotland, five years. If you feel you’re entitled to a Council Tax refund, please use our online form to tell us why. Some also didn't include accounts owing less than a certain amount – usually £5 – when giving us figures. Repayments will be backdated to 1993 at most, as this is when council tax payments were first introduced. If you’re shopping online for gifts, the deadline for ordering to get ’em in time for Christmas may be sooner than you think. Council Tax refunds If there is an overpayment showing on your account, we will allocate it to any other outstanding Council Tax accounts you may have. Finally, you may be able to appeal if your home should be an exempt dwelling – ie. What happens next. How do I check if my old home has been rebanded? If the email address you registered with your old council is one you no longer frequently use, it may be worth checking if it's contacted you on that address. Which? If that's you, you'll need to weigh up whether it's worth contacting your council anyway. If you are the executor of someone's estate, you should be able to claim for their council tax credit, but it's possible the council won't have your details. If the band has been lowered since you lived there, you could be owed. To challenge your tax band, follow the process set out above for challenging your council tax bill. Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, said: "Councils are sitting on a staggering amount of money, at least £230 million spread across 1.7 million accounts – which works out at an average of well over £100 sitting in each closed account. Always remember anyone can post on the MSE forums, so it can be very different from our opinion. A good initial check would be to ask your former housemates etc if they have been refunded. When completing any e-forms in the future, simply log in and your personal details will already be completed for you. (See how much your council owes below – in Northern Ireland, where you pay rates not council tax, it works differently.). A major MoneySavingExpert.com investigation in 2019 found there was at least £230 million in overpaid tax sitting in council coffers – and if you've moved home since 1993, you could be owed £100+ of it. Alternatively, you can also appeal if you are being sent bills but are not the person liable to pay council tax – for example, if you are a landlord and your tenants should be paying council tax. Martin Lewis explains how to check Council Tax bill for overpayments and possible refunds The money-saving expert shares two simple checks you can do quickly to see if … Financial Services Limited is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Which? If you have been paying your Council Tax by Direct Debit, we will refund your money back into the bank account that the money was sent from. It's worth noting this means the third party used may be named on any credit agreements. Many people aren't aware they pay council tax a month (or sometimes a year) ahead. We pay refunds into the bank account of the person named on the Council Tax bill. "And while councils do make efforts to track down those who are owed, many don't do it well enough, especially when people have moved out of their area and are no longer their responsibility. By law, the council has to try to let you know you're in credit if your account's closed. If it isn't possible to get an affiliate link for the top deal, it is still included in exactly the same way, just with a non-paying link. Group and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN527029). Money Compare is a trading name of Which? This is called a set-off. You receive the difference as a tax refund. Choose how to pay your Council Tax Choose to pay your Council Tax bill by Direct Debit, online, by telephone, post or via your bank or building society. A valid set-off is not subject to avoidance even if it happens in the 90 days before filing a bankruptcy. The registered office address of both MoneySupermarket.com Group PLC and MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited (registered in England No. You can check other properties' bands on the VOA's website. 'I'm self-employed but confused about whether I can claim the third grant' – Unsure? If so, you are entitled to this money back – but often you need to claim it, and many don't. Many told us they preferred people to fill in online forms, and that way you won't be jamming up the phone lines. Council Tax refund for overpayment. The date of a change made by the VOA is wrong. If you don't pay your council tax by Direct Debit we'll send you a cheque to your new address. In the event that this isn't possible, please provide details of where the refund should be issued. Eight out of 10 councils told us they try to refund credit wherever possible, and if your council has your direct debit details, this should have been straightforward. He said: I claimed back £103. If you go through it, it can sometimes result in a payment or benefit to the site. He said: Three years after I moved out of my flat, I got an email to my old email address telling me the property was rebanded and I was owed £400. The property details are wrong or incomplete. In the event that this isn't possible, please provide details of where the refund should be issued. While much is written about whether those with savings should overpay the current English Plan 2 student loans, there's little out there about Plan 1. Which? If not, check with the council. If you have received a Council Tax bill with a credit on it, either through changing address or an overpayment of a discount or exemption, we will need to issue a refund to the account holder. Find out how much income you keep and how much the taxman takes. If there is an overpayment showing on your account, we will allocate it to any other outstanding Council Tax accounts you may have. 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