COUNCIL TAX INFORMATION
1) Council Tax Valuation Bands
Council Tax is payable on most dwellings, whether a house,
bungalow, flat, maisonette, mobile home, or houseboat,
and whether owned or rented. Each dwelling has been
allocated to one of eight valuation bands, as shown below,
according to its open market value at 1st April 1991.
Band A
Band C
Band E
Band G
up to £40,000
Band B
£52,001 - £68,000 Band D
£88,001 - £120,000 Band F
£160,001 - £320,000 Band H
£40,001- £52,000
£68,001 - £88,000
£120,001 - £160,000
over £320,000
2) The Liable Person
The Council Tax Payer, or the “liable person”, is
responsible for seeing that the Council Tax bill is paid, and
is the person who first fits one of the following descriptions,
starting with number 1 and working through in numerical
order:
1. Resident Freeholder (owner)
2. Resident Leaseholder
3. Resident Statutory or Secure Tenant
4. Resident with a licence to occupy
5. Resident aged 18 years or over
6. Owner – if the property is unoccupied
There can be more than one liable person for a property,
e.g. joint resident owners. In addition, married or common
law partners of liable persons are equally liable, even if they
are not owners or tenants themselves.
3) Discounts
The full Council Tax bill assumes there are two adults (aged
18 or over) living in the property. If only one adult lives in
the property as their main home, the bill is reduced by 25%.
The Council Tax bill for a property which is no-one’s main
home may also be reduced. Please contact us for more
information.
Some people will not be counted when looking at the
number of adults living in a property, provided they meet
certain conditions:a)
Full-time students, student nurses, apprentices & YTS
trainees;
b) Patients resident in a hospital, care home or nursing
home;
c) People who are severely mentally impaired;
d) Residents of certain hostels or night shelters;
e) Careworkers on a low income, and people providing
constant care for someone in need who is not their
spouse, partner or child aged under 18 years;
f) 18 & 19 year olds who are at, or who have just left
school;
g) Members of religious communities (i.e. monks and
nuns);
e) People in prison (except for non-payment of fines or
Council Tax);
f) Members of visiting forces & certain international
organisations.
If you have been awarded a discount, you must tell the
Council Tax Office within 21 days of any change of
circumstances which may affect your entitlement. If you
fail to do so, you may be liable to pay a penalty of £70.
4) People With Disabilities (Disablement Relief)
If a disabled person - child or adult - needs an extra room (not a W.C.) or
extra space in the dwelling to meet special needs arising from their
disability, the Council Tax may be reduced to that of a dwelling in the next
band down. This is designed to ensure that people do not pay more Council
Tax by virtue of the extra space needed for the disabled person. It only
applies to properties in bands B to H. If your home is in Band A the
reduction will be to a figure equivalent to five ninths of a Band D property.
5) Exempt Dwellings
Some dwellings may be exempt from Council Tax. The following is a
summary of the prescribed classes of exemption and is for guidance only:
A Unoccupied and unfurnished dwelling which requires, or is undergoing, or
has undergone major repair works to make it habitable or is undergoing or
has undergone structural alteration . (With effect from 1/4/13 the discount is 50%
for a maximum of 12 months)
B Unoccupied dwelling owned by a charity (exempt for up to 6 months from the
date on which the property was last occupied by, or on behalf of, the charity).
C Unoccupied and unfurnished dwelling (with effect from 1/4/14 the discount is
100% for 1 month from the date on which the property became both unoccupied
and unfurnished followed by a 100% charge).
D Dwelling left unoccupied by a person detained in custody.
E Dwelling left unoccupied by an owner or tenant who is now permanently
resident in a hospital or care home.
F Dwelling which has been unoccupied since the death of the person liable to pay
Council Tax (exempt for up to 6 months from the date of grant of probate or
letters of administration where the owner is deceased; different periods may
apply where the deceased was not the owner).
G Unoccupied dwelling where occupation is prohibited by law.
H Unoccupied dwelling held available for occupation by a minister of religion.
I Dwelling left unoccupied by a person receiving care at another dwelling (not a
hospital or care home – see Class E above) which is now their sole or main
residence.
J Dwelling left unoccupied by a person providing care at another dwelling which
is now their sole or main residence.
K Unoccupied dwelling owned and last occupied by a full-time student.
L Unoccupied dwelling which has been taken into possession by a mortgagee.
M Dwelling comprising a hall of residence provided predominantly for the
accommodation of students.
N Dwelling occupied by only one or more students.
O Dwelling owned by the Secretary of State for Defence for the purposes of
armed forces accommodation.
P Dwelling which comprises accommodation for visiting armed forces.
Q Unoccupied dwelling under the administration of a Trustee in Bankruptcy.
R A caravan pitch or boat mooring which is not occupied by a caravan or boat.
S Dwelling occupied only by a person(s) under 18 years of age.
T Unoccupied dwelling situated within the curtilage of another dwelling and
which cannot be let separately.
U Dwelling occupied only by a severely mentally impaired person who would
otherwise be liable for Council Tax.
V A dwelling which is the sole or main residence of a diplomat.
W An annex, or similar self-contained part of a dwelling, which is occupied by an
elderly or disabled relative of the residents living in the rest of the property.
6) Council Tax Reduction Scheme
Council Tax Reduction replaces Council Tax Benefit from 01/04/13.
People who have reached the qualifying age for Pension Credit
subject to their income may be entitled to a maximum discount of
100%. The amount of the discount will reduce where the person’s
income exceeds the living allowances for the household.
People who are working age subject to their income may be entitled
to a maximum discount of 90.0%. The amount of the reduction will
reduce where the person’s income exceeds the living allowance for
the household. Information and application forms are available
from:Wyre Forest Customer Service Centre, Kidderminster Town Hall,
Vicar St, Kidderminster DY10 1JX
This authority is under a duty to protect the public funds it administers and to this end may use the information you have provided on this form within
this authority for the prevention and detection of fraud. I t may also share this information with other bodies administering funds solely for these
purposes.
PO Box 5202
Kidderminster
Worcs. DY10 2TE
Telephone (01562) 732928
Fax
(01562) 732654
Email
ctax@wyreforestdc.gov.uk
Office use only
Property Reference :
Payer Reference
:
COUNCIL TAX NOTICE OF CHANGE OF CIRCUMSTANCES
This form can be used to report any change which may affect your Council Tax, for example if:
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There is a change of taxpayer at the property
Someone moves in, or leaves the property
A person living in the property attains the age of 18 years
You wish to claim a discount, or disablement relief
You wish to claim exemption from Council Tax
See notes overleaf for more information.
If someone is moving into the property, please state their name and their previous address.
If someone is moving from the property, please state their name and their new address.
Remember that when reporting any change, you must state the date the change occurred.
ADDRESS OF PROPERTY TO WHICH THIS INFORMATION RELATES :
Report change here, or answer question(s) detailed below
Declaration. “I declare that the information given on this form is true to the best of my knowledge and belief.”
SIGNED__________________________________________________________
DATE
:_________________
NAME IN BLOCK CAPITALS _______________________________________ CONTACT TEL. NO :_________________
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE ______________________________________________________________________