Urgent warning over ‘unexpected council tax charges’ in coming weeks as exemption comes to an end
AN urgent warning has been issued over “unexpected council tax charges” in the coming weeks as an exemption comes to an end.
Tax expert Andy Wood has warned students that they could be landed with an surprise council tax bill as soon as their studies end.
The tax lawyer said that if students stay in their digs after graduating, they risk being landed with a council tax bill.
Speaking to the Mirror he said : “Final-year students need to be aware that council tax exemption ends immediately after their course concludes, typically around early June.
“This can catch many off guard if their accommodation lease extends
beyond this period.”
He warned that a council tax bill would have a significant impact on a student’s finances.
Mr Wood advised students to get in touch with their local authority about how the rules might affect them.
He said the key area concerned the transition from exemption to liability.
He added: “Providing evidence of non-residency, such as vacating the property or proving student status elsewhere, may help students claim exemptions at the council’s discretion and prevent
debt and other potential consequences.”
Meanwhile Martin Lewis is encouraging households to “check and challenge” their council tax band.
He told viewers on Good Morning Britain that just shy of a half a million households are thought to be in the wrong council tax band.
“400,000 are likely in the wrong band. So people are simply paying the wrong amount and they [the government] make it far too difficult to challenge that,” said Mr Lewis.
He added that if you successfully prove you have been overcharged for the tax, you can get the money back.
Plus, if you have been overpaying for a number of years – or even decades – the council will be required to pay you a backdated payment, so you could be entitled to thousands.
“Many [successful applicants] have had thousands [of pounds] reinstated,” the expert shared.
How to check your council tax bill and whether it's gone up
MANY local authorities hiked council tax bills in April - here's how to check if you're now paying more.
You’ll first need to find out what council tax band your home is in to work out how much you have to pay.
This can be done on Gov.uk for homes in England an Wales, or on the Scottish Assessors website if you live in Scotland.
You’ll need to enter in your postcode and scroll through the listed addresses to find yours.
Local councils must contact you directly to let you know if your bill is going up or down, for example, via a letter or email.
If you still haven’t heard from your council, you should contact them directly.
The contact details of your local council can be found on the Gov.uk postcode checker.