Paying your Council Tax

Ways to pay your Council Tax
Payment icon	Ways to pay Council Tax	Payment details
	Set up a Direct Debit online	To set up a Direct Debit or change your bank account details use our direct debit form below. Choose a monthly payment date; 1, 5, 10, 15, 22 or 27 of the month. You will need, your bank account number, sort code and Council Tax Account reference number. Allow at least 10 working days for your bank or building society to set up a new direct debit. Set up a Direct Debit or change your bank account details
	Internet banking Remember to quote your Council Tax account number	For internet banking: You need to make the payment a few days before the first of the month to make sure we get it in time. Our bank details: Bank account name: Cheshire East Council Sort code: 30-80-12 Account no: 26106368 You can set up a regular payment (standing order) so you don’t have to remember to pay every month, or you can make one-off payments each time. If you set up a regular payment, you need to change the amount every April when you get your bill and find out your payments for the year. We have changed our bank account from Barclays to Lloyds. As the Barclays account is now closed, payments made quoting the old bank details will not be successful and any attempted payments will either fail at the point of entry or be returned to the sender. Please make sure you use the bank details above.
	Credit/debit card	pay online
	Automated payment line	0300 123 5039 Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
	Pay at any UK Post Office or any shop that displays the PayPoint symbol	Post Offices will take debit card payments. You can use the Post Office Branch Finder to find your local Post Office. You will need to take your bill with you to make payment using the barcode on the back. PayPoint will only take cash payments, you can use the PayPoint finder to find your nearest PayPoint store.

Change the way you pay your instalments

Annual Council Tax bills are issued in March. You might get a new bill part way through the year if your circumstances change. If you pay over 10 months from April to January, you will not have instalments to pay in February and March. You can ask for your instalments to be spread over 12 months from April to March if you have not already arranged this or change your payment date.

Our default payment date is 1st of the month. Almost 90% of customers pay by Direct Debit. We now offer a choice of payment dates (1, 5, 10, 15, 22, 27) for all our payers.

Fill in our payment plan form

You can make a one off payment to pay your council tax bill in full however there is no reduction to pay in one go. If you choose to do this you’ll need to pay by 1 April.

Paying less

Depending on your circumstances, you might be able to get a reduction on your Council Tax bill or some help towards paying it. See Council Tax reductions for occupied properties and Council Tax and unoccupied properties. You must keep paying the amount on your current bill until we send you a new one.

Payment problems

If your payment did not go through successfully or you are struggling to pay your Council Tax we will do our best to help. Please note, if your direct debit payment did not go through, we will not reattempt to collect the payment.

You can make a one-off payment using the ways to pay above
To ask for an adjustment to your payment plan, use our online Council Tax - Payment Arrangement form (link opens in a new tab)
For all other enquiries, call us on 0300 123 5013

To find out how we use your information see our privacy notice.

Direct Debit Guarantee

This Guarantee is offered by all banks and building societies that accept instructions to pay Direct Debits.

If there are any changes to the amount, date or frequency of your Direct Debit, Cheshire East Council will tell you 10 working days in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed. If you ask us to collect a payment, we will confirm the amount and date at the time of the request.

If Cheshire East Council or your bank or building society make a mistake in taking a Direct Debit, you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society.

If you receive a refund you are not entitled to, you must pay it back when we ask you to.

You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by simply contacting your bank or building society. They might ask for confirmation in writing. If you do cancel a Direct Debit, please tell us.

Direct Debits cost far less to process than any other type of payments – so when you pay by Direct Debit, more of your Council Tax goes directly to providing services.

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 during normal office hours, 8.30am to 5pm Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays.

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Page last reviewed: 18 March 2025