Council Tax - 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. 

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. 

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.

Find out the Valuation Band for your property from the Valuation Office website.

Council Tax is made up of Council, Fire and Police charges. For a breakdown of charges for the current year view the Page turning version of Your Services 2012-13 booklet or alternatively download our Your Services 2012-13 booklet (PDF, 2.98MB).

Additional Payments - Parish Precepts

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.

To view the Parish charges for your area for 2012-13 determine your Annual Council Tax Charge (PDF, 95KB).

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 the 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:-

• Cheshire Police Authority  
• Cheshire Fire Authority 
• Council Tax Information from The Department for Communities and Local Government (responsible for Council Tax matters)
• Council Tax: Facts and Statistics for 2012-13

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 on the Council Tax Frequently Asked Questions Page - Council Tax Budget Queries Explained.

Your Council Tax Bill

The Bill will show you the following information:

1. The Annual Charge, based on the appropriate banding and relevant precepts
2. 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.