Council tax will be ‘free’ for most people in February and March. (Image: Getty)
Every household in England will get their council tax bill reduced to £0 in February – unless they’ve opted to pay.
It’s fair to say that nobody loves paying council tax. The beefy monthly bill funds schooling, bin collections, road repairs and other local services, but it’s always a big chunk of your monthly income.
And with many local authorities across England and Wales set to request the maximum legal increase to bills in April of 4.99% – and some asking special permission to increase bills even more – it’s an outgoing that is set to keep on going up and up.
But there is good news for most payees this February and March.
What a lot of people forget is that for most people, is, by default, paid in 10 monthly instalments, not 12.
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As a result, a majority of people who pay are set to get two ‘free’ months in February and March, where the regular monthly payments are not collected and you have no bill to pay; £0.
The only households who will pay anything are those who have asked to change their bills to 12 months instead of 10, which gives slightly lower monthly payments spread across the whole year, or those who are in arrears and are being made to pay extra months to catch up.
As Hyndburn Borough Council explains: “A standard council tax bill is payable over 10 months from April to January, usually on the first of each month (other dates are available by Direct Debit include the 10th, 20th and 28th).
“This gives people two months off paying in February and March, sometimes referred to as ‘free months’.”
And Leeds Council confirms this option is also available: “Council tax is usually calculated for a full year, starting in April and ending in March. When you pay by Direct Debit it is split into monthly payments.
You can choose:
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to split it into 10 monthly payments (April to January) or 12 monthly payments (April to March)
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to make your payments on the 10th, 20th or last day of each month”
The vast majority default to making 10 monthly payments each year and taking two months off.
However, those in arrears, or those who moved in and didn’t set up their bills straight away, might have a bit of backlog to pay off, and in those cases, the bills are sometimes spread into February and March, too.
The average council tax bill for a Band D property in England is £2,171 per year or £217 monthly, paid by Direct Debit in 10 instalments. That means you’ll save an average of £217 a month in the next two months.
And if you have a Band E, F, or G property, you’ll cut your outgoings even further in the next two months, meaning your monthly bills will be much lower than normal in February and March.