Why Do I Have No Council Tax Bill?

If you have no council tax bill, you will find help in the following blog post to determine whether this is because you are exempt from council tax payments or have simply missed a payment.

Why Do I Have No Council Tax Bill?

One of the main reasons why you have no council tax bill is that either you as an individual or your property is exempt from council tax payments due to your circumstances. Other key reasons why someone does not have to pay council tax or has not been issued a bill by the local council authorities include the following:

• You are a lodger and pay rent for a room in a house where you share certain living areas with your landlord which makes them responsible for council tax payments.
• You live in a multi-occupant household where different tenants pay for a room each and the council tax bill is due on the landlord.
• You have moved to a new area and have not registered your property with the local council office for council tax bill issuance.
• You are a full-time student and you live alone or you live with a group of full-time students with no non-student sharing the property with you.
• You are younger than 18 years of age and living by yourself or sharing your house with other individuals who are also younger than 18.
• You are providing care to someone else and living with them.
• You have joined the armed forces and are stationed out of your home at times.
• You are in a council tax-free month. Since residents are generally supposed to pay council tax under 10 monthly instalments that run through January to April and the ongoing months are either February or March.

Individuals who are challenged with any of the following circumstances will find themselves exempt from council tax bills:

• the resident moves into a care home or is under hospital and does not live in their own home anymore
• the resident is serving jail time in prison (not for non-payment of council tax bills)
• all the residents are disabled or mentally impaired

Another reason for not getting a council tax bill can be that the property where you live is exempt from council tax payment. For instance, elderly or disabled relatives who live in an annexe to the main property, will not have to pay council tax.

What Should You Do If You Have Council Tax Bill?

If you have no council tax bill due to being exempt for any of these reasons, you will not have to do anything as you are not required to pay council tax:

• you are a lodger
• you pay rent for a room in a multi-occupant household
• you are a full-time student
• you are younger than 18 years of age
• you are living with someone else to provide care for them
• you have joined the armed forces
• you have paid the 10 monthly instalments for the current council tax bill

On the other hand, if you have no council tax bill due to any of the below-listed reasons, you will need to get in touch with your local council office to make sure your council tax payments are up to date:

• you have recently moved to a new house in the same area or a new council district
• you have requested for a 12-month council tax payment to reduce the monthly bill but have not received a council tax bill February or March

What Should You Do If You Have No Council Tax Bill Due To Change Of Address?

If you have no council tax bill to pay due to an address change, you must inform your local council office immediately so that the property that you have moved into can be assessed for council tax payments (if need be), a council tax band assigned and council tax bills issued to your name.

Ideally speaking, one should inform the local councils at least 3 weeks in advance if they are going to change their address especially if they are moving from one council district to another. However, if you have not been able to do so, you must inform your local council office of your new address at the earliest possible.

If you have been claiming a council tax discount due to any personal circumstances, are claiming welfare benefits or are on a low income, you should also inform the local council of these circumstances so that they apply any council tax discount that you may be eligible for.

It generally takes local councils 20 days to furnish a council tax bill once they have been contacted by a new resident.

Conclusion:

The above discussion helps to distinguish between reasons why you have no been issued a council tax bill due to an exemption from those that simply indicates that you have missed a bill that you were supposed to pay. Depending on the situation that applies to you, you should get in touch with the local council office to make sure that you don’t have council tax arrears when you are due for making a payment.

References:

Haven’t received a Council Tax bill

About your annual Council Tax bill

How Council Tax works: Paying your bill – GOV.UK