Pay Council Tax arrears

Contact your council as soon as possible if you鈥檙e struggling to pay your Council Tax or are behind with your payments.

You can choose to spread your payments over 12 months instead of the usual 10 to reduce the amount you鈥檙e asked to pay on each bill. Ask your council to set this up for you.

Your council may give you a one-off discount if you still can鈥檛 pay what you owe.

You should also check if you鈥檙e eligible for:

If you miss Council Tax payments

Your council will send you a reminder notice giving you 7 days to pay if you miss a payment. If you don鈥檛 pay within 7 days, you鈥檒l have to pay the whole year鈥檚 Council Tax instead.

You鈥檒l be sent a second reminder notice if you miss another Council Tax payment.

You鈥檒l only get a maximum of 2 reminder notices in a financial year - this runs from April 1 to March 31 of the next year.

Your council will send you a final notice saying you must pay the whole year鈥檚 Council Tax if you miss a payment for the third time.

If you don鈥檛 pay your whole year鈥檚 Council Tax within 7 days, the council may take legal action to get the Council Tax you owe.

Your council can ask a magistrate for a 鈥榣iability order鈥� if you owe them unpaid Council Tax. This is a legal demand for payment.聽

The council鈥檚 legal costs may be added to the money you owe - for example the cost of hiring a lawyer. You鈥檙e allowed to go to the court and give your reasons for not paying if you want to.

If you receive a liability order you should speak to your council or your local bureau about your options.

If you still don鈥檛 pay

Your council can get your employer to pay your unpaid Council Tax directly from your wages.

Your council can also apply to take money from the following benefits:

  • Employment and Support Allowance
  • Income Support
  • Jobseeker鈥檚 Allowance
  • Pension Credit
  • Universal Credit

If this means you don鈥檛 have enough money to pay other bills, you can ask your council if you can make smaller payments. Your council doesn鈥檛 have to agree but will usually try to make an arrangement with you.

Bailiffs

Your council can send bailiffs (鈥榚nforcement agents鈥�) to seize your property if there鈥檚 no other way to recover your debt. They鈥檒l tell you how much you owe before the bailiff visits you.

The bailiffs鈥� costs can be added to the total amount you owe the council.

Court

Your council can take you to court if you don鈥檛 pay the money you owe and the bailiffs can鈥檛 recover enough property to cover it.

The court will consider whether you:

  • can afford to pay the bill
  • have a valid reason to not pay

You can be sent to prison for up to 3 months if the court decides you don鈥檛 have a good reason to not pay your Council Tax and you refuse to do so.

If the court decides you have something to pay back you may be able to make an arrangement to pay your debt over time.

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