Council Tax Bands - Who Pays and How Much
Council Tax is a locally set tax that is payable on all domestic
properties. In most cases there will be one bill per property,
whether it is a house, bungalow, flat, maisonette, mobile home or
houseboat, and whether it is owned or rented. Some properties
will be exempt from Council Tax.
How Much Will You Pay?
Council Tax is related to the valuation of your property. Each
property has been valued and placed in one of eight Council Tax
Valuation Bands by the Valuation Office Agency.
The valuation band determines how much Council Tax you pay. The
bands are based on the property value on 1 April 1991.
Valuation Band for your Property
You can find out the Valuation
Band of a property from the Valuation Office website.
Council Tax Bands and Additional Payments (Parish
Precepts)
|
Band
|
Property Value
(1991 Valuation)
|
Total Council Tax Payable -
Excluding Parish Charge 2013-14
|
| A |
£40,000 or
less |
£958.20 |
| B |
£40,001 to
£52,000 |
£1,117.90 |
| C |
£52,001 to
£68,000 |
£1,277.60 |
| D |
£68,001 to
£88,000 |
£1,437.30 |
| E |
£88,001 to
£120,000 |
£1,756.70 |
| F |
£120,001 to
£160,000 |
£2,076.10 |
| G |
£160,001 to
£320,000 |
£2,395.50 |
| H |
£320,001 and
over |
£2,874.60 |
Council Tax is made up of Council, Fire and Police
charges. If you live in an area where there is a Parish
Council, they need money to provide additional services within the
parish. The Council collects this money on their behalf
through the Council Tax and the amount will be shown on your bill,
but the Parish Council decides how much it needs.
For Council Tax Bands and Parish charges for your area,
view Council Tax
Charges 2013-14 (PDF, 101KB)
Improvements to Your Property
When alterations or extensions are carried out to a property,
the Council will inform the Valuation Office Agency. These
details are kept on their records but are not taken into account
for the current valuation band until either a change of ownership
occurs for the property in question, or until the next revaluation
of all domestic properties.
How do we work out how much you Pay?
The elected representatives of Cheshire East Council, Cheshire
Police Authority, Cheshire Fire Service and Local Parishes will
work out how much they need to spend in the year to maintain the
services they are responsible for.
The Government will also calculate how much funding they will
provide from national taxation and from Non-Domestic
Rates (Business Rates). The difference between the spending
plans of the different local authorities and the amount
of central funding is the amount that we will collect locally.
For more information you can visit the following websites or
download the information leaflets:-
Officers at Cheshire East Council then work out how much will
need to be paid by each liable person and send you a Council Tax
bill.
Further information about how much you pay is available in the
Frequently Asked Questions
below.
Who Pays It?
The occupier of a property usually pays it. If nobody lives in a
property the owner will be responsible. The person responsible for
paying Council Tax is often referred to as the 'Liable
Person'. Liability to pay Council Tax is determined on a
daily basis.
Hierarchy of Liability
In order to establish who should be liable for the payment of
Council Tax, the Local Government Finance Act 1992 confirms a
hierarchy of liability in England:
- A resident of the dwelling with a freehold interest (e.g. owner
occupier)
- A resident and has a leasehold interest not inferior to any
other held by another resident (e.g. tenant)
- A resident who is a statutory or secure tenant
- A resident who has a contractual licence (not a tenant, but has
permission to stay there)
- A resident (e.g. squatter)
- The owner of the dwelling (this applies where the dwelling has
no residents)
Sole or Main Residence
A resident is an individual who has reached the age of 18 and
has their sole or main residence in the dwelling. General
principles to define a persons sole or main residence are:
- Residence implies a degree of permanence
- Temporary presence at any address does not make a person
resident there
- Temporary absence does not deprive a person of residence
Joint and Several Liability
Where there are several people liable to pay the Council Tax for
a property each person is responsible for the full amount. Any
arrangements about who pays what percentage of the bill are between
the payers themselves.
For example three joint tenants of a property may agree between
themselves that each will pay one third of the bill. If two tenants
make their payments but the third doesn't, the reminder will be
issued in the name of all three tenants and any further action can
be taken against all or any one of the three tenants.
A person is not under a duty to pay an amount of Council Tax for
which they are jointly and severally liable unless they have been
sent a bill. It is usual for the bill to be in joint names for
example Mr and Mrs X or Mr A, Mr B and Miss C.
Summonses and notice of Liability Orders are sent to each named
person on an account.
Your Council Tax Bill
The bill will show you the following information:
- The Annual Charge, based on the appropriate banding and
relevant precepts
- The proportion of the Annual Charge that you must pay, taking
into account the following:
- Eligible Discounts/Disregards/Exemptions/Disabled
Reductions
- Any Council Tax Benefits
- Any Balances or Credits brought forward from other Years
- The Method of Payment
- Your Instalment Amounts and Dates of Payment (as
appropriate)
The bill will usually show the Balance Outstanding to the end of
the financial year (31st March). The assumption being that the
circumstances described on the bill will not change.
To view your account information online and have access to PDF
copies of your bills sign up to our Citizen's
Account - eBilling service.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. I thought my Council Tax bill was frozen again this
year 2013/14 - why has there been a change to my bill compared
to the previous year?
A. The Council Tax paid by the majority of the residents
of Cheshire East is made up of four elements; an amount due to
Cheshire East Council, an amount due to the local Parish Council
and amounts due to the Police and Fire services. The Council
Tax ‘freeze’ applies to the element due to Cheshire East
Council. You will note from your Council Tax
bill that the amount required for Cheshire East remained the
same as last year. Parish Councils are still able to vary the
amount they wish to raise for their local needs. Any
additional amount shown on your bill relates to the
Fire, Police and Parish elements for your property.
Q. How is Council Tax set?
A. Local Authorities (including local parishes) and major
precepting authorities (Police and Crime Commissioner for
Cheshire and the Fire Service) are responsible for setting
Council Tax levels in consideration of their budget requirement for
the year.
The Council decides the total amount of Council Tax needed and
legislation dictates how that amount is divided proportionately
between individual properties, which are placed in one of eight
bands, from A to H, depending on their value as at 1st
April 1991. Liability will depend on which band your property
is in, subject to reductions for discounts/exemptions or Council
Tax Benefit.
Q. Why are there so many different elements on my
Council Tax bill?
A. The council acts as a collection agent for:
- Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire
- The Combined Fire Authority
- Local Parish Councils
These bodies set their own budgets and we bill and collect
Council Tax on their behalf in addition to the Council Tax for
services provided by Cheshire East Council.
Q. Where can I find out more about the Police and Crime
Commissioner for Cheshire's budget?
A. For more information, call 01244 614109 or visit
the Cheshire Police
Authority website.
Q. Where can I find out more about Cheshire Fire and
Rescue Authority's budget?
A. For more information, call 01606 868484 or visit the
Cheshire Fire &
Rescue website.
Q. How can I find out the Valuation Band of a
Property?
A. The Valuation Office Agency is responsible for valuing
and placing properties into one of the eight Council Tax valuation
bands, which are based on the open market value at 1st
April 1991. You can find out the Valuation
Band of a property from the Valuation Office website.
Q. How much Council Tax will I have to pay?
A. In order to determine how much you will pay you will
need to know what the Valuation Band of your property is, and
the Parish area of Cheshire East your property is in to
determine your Annual
Charge.
Q. What is the Parish Charge for?
A. Each Parish Council tells the Council how much to
collect to enable them to provide their services (such as
allotments, footpath lighting, local planning issues), and the
Council collects this on their behalf and forwards it to them.
Q. Why do I have to pay the full amount of Council Tax
when I don’t use half the services i.e. no street lights on my road
/ I live on a private road / I have no children / My children
aren’t of school age / I don’t use the library, etc?
A. Council services affect all our lives regardless of
where we live and what facilities are in our actual street.
For example:
- the road network that we drive along or walk on each day
- registering births, deaths and marriages
- public safety - making sure that food in shops and cafes is fit
to eat
- ensuring that local employers have good health and safety
systems in place
- working with partners to provide affordable housing
- checking the quality of the air we breathe and the water we
drink, making sure our buildings are safe
- collecting and disposing of your rubbish
- providing recycling facilities
- looking after vulnerable people
- helping the economy flourish
- dealing with civil emergencies and natural disasters
- keeping streets, beaches and parks clean
- animal health and welfare
- leisure and sports facilities
- licensing pubs, clubs, taxis and hundreds of other things
- providing a fire and rescue service
Council Tax is not a direct payment for services. Charges are
based on the size and value of your property, rather than your
individual circumstances. But you can claim reductions in certain
cases and these are explained on the Discounts and Exemptions page of our
website.
Q. How can I get help with my Council Tax
bill?
A. You may be entitled to
Council Tax Support or qualify for a status discount or an
exemption from Council Tax. For further information visit our
Discounts and Exemptions web pages.
Q. I was on Full Benefit so why have I have been
sent a bill this year?
A. Most
working age people who qualify for Council Tax Benefit will
have to pay more than they do now. With effect from the 1st
April 2013 there was a new Council Tax Support Scheme which
replaced Council Tax Benefit. For more information about the
Council Tax Support Scheme visit Council
Tax Support Scheme FAQ's.
Q. Why
have I been asked to pay a Council Tax premium for my
empty property?
A. Cheshire East
Council has made the decision to charge a maximum premium of 50%
following additional legislation changes to levy an Empty Homes
Premium. This will result in properties that have been unoccupied
and unfurnished for 2 years or more being subject to a 150% Council
Tax charge.
Q. I'm a pensioner on Full Council Tax
Support, so why have I been sent a
bill?
A. If you have been awarded
100% Council Tax Support, your bill will show a nil balance. The
bill is for your information only and the Council has a legal duty
to send it to you, even if you have nothing to pay. You have a
right to see how the Council Tax is being spent and how much it
is.
Q. If I install Solar Panels on my
property, will I need to pay Non-Domestic Rates (Business
Rates) for them?
A. Domestic scale solar photovoltaic installations
(capacity limit of 10kW) on domestic properties under the
paramount control of a third party provider will be treated as part
of those properties, and therefore not be liable to non-domestic
rates.
