Your Council Tax bill is the legal notice that details the amount you need to pay. An example bill is attached on the right hand side of this page, under related documents. The PDF attachment explains what the different parts of your bill mean.
Making payments
Council Tax is normally payable by 10 monthly instalments. Payments are due by the 1st of each month beginning in April and ending by 1st January the following year. If you pay by Direct Debit you can choose whether to pay on the 1st or 15th each month. Late payment may result in you having your instalment rights withdrawn and being charged additional costs.
The amount that you need to pay each month and your chosen method of payment will be shown at the bottom of your bill under the heading "Instalment Details".
If your bill is sent to you part way through the year, your instalments will start in the following month providing we can give you at least 14 days notice before your first payment is due. If we cannot give you 14 days notice then your first payment will not be due until the 2nd month after your bill is issued.
How to pay
We have two payment services that are available 24 hours a day. You will need your account number to hand to use these services:
- Online payments
- Automated telephone payments: 0845 1204 330 (charged at local rate)
Please note that it may take up to two working days for these payments to show on your account.
If you are making a payment in response to a Reminder notice or Court Summons, please pay the amount requested in full to avoid any further recovery action.
Please note that our automated payment system only holds details of your agreed instalments for the current financial year. The instalment amount automatically requested will not include any outstanding instalments or arrears from previous financial years. The amount due shown on your Reminder notice or Court Summons may include overdue instalments for the current year, previous years and any instalments that fall due within the next 7 days.
If you are not prompted to pay the amount due on your Reminder notice or Court Summons by the automated system you can choose to enter an alternative amount.
If you wish to confirm the amount you owe, or have any queries about a bill or payment, please contact the Council Tax team on 01225 47 77 77.
To find out about other payment options and setting up a Direct Debit, please see our payments information page.
Are you paying too much?
You may be eligible to claim a discount or exemption on your Council Tax bill for a variety of reasons. Visit the discounts and exemptions page for more information.
Council Tax and the Council's budget
Details of where the Council's money comes from and on which services this money is spent can be found on the Council Budgets & Spending pages.
More information is also available in the Council Tax Guide for 2012/13.