Council Tax when someone dies

We need to know when an adult has died so we can update the Council Tax details for the property they lived in. What happens next depends on the circumstances.

Reporting a death to the Council Tax team

When to report a death to us

If you use the GOV.UK - Tell Us Once service to report the death, the information will be passed to us and you do not need to tell us as well.

If you are now the only adult over the age of 18 living in the property you should fill in the Single person discount claim form.

If the person who died was the only person living in the property, or there is still more than one adult over the age of 18 living in the property please complete the Report a death to the Council Tax team form.

We only need to know about the death of someone under 18 if you were getting a Council Tax reduction that was linked to their circumstances. In this situation, contact the Council Tax team.

How to report a death to the Council Tax team

When you contact us to report a death, you'll need to have the following information:

the person's details including full address and date of death
the names of any other adults who still live in the property
some personal details about the person who has died - if you do not think you can answer these questions, complete the GOV.UK Tell us once form instead

The online form asks for details about executors and solicitors. You can tell us these later if you do not know them yet.

If you are unable to use the online form, you can call us from Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm, on 0300 123 5013.

Report further details after you have reported a death

You can use our ‘Additional details following a death’ form to tell us about information that wasn’t available when you reported the death, or changes that have taken place since the person's death, such as:

executor's name and contact details
solicitor's name and contact details
date of probate
date of furniture removal from the property
new property owner's details
new property occupant's details

Council tax additional details following a death

What happens about Council Tax after someone dies

What happens about Council Tax when someone dies depends on the circumstances.

When a person lived alone, their home can get a 100% Council Tax reduction for up to 6 months after probate has been granted or Letters of Administration have been made (in cases where there was no will). If someone else jointly owned the property, the reduction will not apply.

The 100% reduction will stop if liability passes to someone else before the end of the 6 months. Liability passes to someone else when any of the following happen:

the person was a tenant and the tenancy agreement ends
someone else moves in
the property is sold
ownership is transferred to someone else

If the 6 months' period ends and liability has not passed to someone else, executors or administrators must pay the Council Tax due. Payment should come from the dead person's estate - executors aren't personally liable. If there's a problem with making the payment, we may be able to postpone the balance due until the property is sold.

The property may incur a Premium Charge if it remains unoccupied for more than 12 months after probate has been granted or Letters of Administration have been made. See Council tax for empty properties and second homes for more information.

Contact Council Tax

Council Tax enquiry form

If you're unable to use our forms or have any questions about your bill you can call the Council Tax Customer Service Team on 0300 123 5013 between 8:30am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays.