Welcome To Poole
Related Articles
Martin Lewis is warning millions of Britons that they could have hundreds of pounds taken off their municipal tax bills.
The founder of MoneySavingExpert said discounts range from 25% off per year to paying nothing at all.
The reductions are mainly due to people living alone, those under 18, students and people with low incomes.
Most importantly, you should claim these discounts yourself – your board won’t apply them unless you ask.
Speaking in this week newsletter, Martin said: “Living alone or with under 18s, are you a student or low income? You can benefit from a council tax reduction worth £ 100.
“Depending on who lives inside your rented property, you could benefit from a reduction in your council tax bill – ranging from 25% to a total reduction until it is not taken. taken into account for the purposes of the housing tax “.
See the full list of qualified individuals below.
Single person reduction
(Image: PA)
Being single can be cheaper for several reasons, but especially when it comes to your municipal tax bills.
If you live alone, you benefit from a 25% reduction on your council tax. This also applies if you live alone or if you are the only eligible adult in the property – perhaps because you live with a child or a student.
Discount for severe mental impairment
If a person living on the property has what councils call a “severe mental disability,†they do not have to pay council tax.
This list includes people who have had a stroke or who suffer from a disease such as Parkinson’s disease or severe learning disabilities.
They must be medically proven to have the “impairment”.
If a person with such a condition lives alone, they do not pay tax.
If they live with another adult, there is a 25% reduction on the bill, but if there are two other adults living there, they pay the full.
If a registered person lives with a full-time caregiver, the property benefits from a 50% reduction in council tax.
Discount for students
If a house only has students living in it, it does not pay housing tax.
To be eligible, all residents must take courses of at least one year in length and study at least 21 hours per week.
If a non-student adult moves in, the property must pay 75% council tax – and all residents owe this tax.
Discount for home helpers
There is a 25% discount on the offer for those with home help.
To benefit from it, the caregiver must take care of a person who is not his partner, his spouse or a child for at least 35 hours per week.
The person receiving care must also receive the average or higher rate of the care component of the care allowance for the disabled.
However, if the caregiver is caring for a person with a “severe mental disability†or a child, the reduction is 50%, as both benefit from a 25% reduction.
Other reductions
(Image: Getty Images)
Properties that have been refurbished for a disabled person benefit from a 25% reduction or may waive a council tax bracket.
If you have a low income or are applying for benefits, you may be eligible for a 100% rebate.
However, each council operates its own program and the amount of any rebate depends on factors such as the number of children you have, your income and your circumstances.
If your household receives pension credits , you can also get 100% discount.
To be eligible, you or your partner must have the guaranteed element of the over 65 benefit.
If you get the savings part of the pension credit, you may also be eligible for a reduction, but this will depend on how much you have set aside.
Discounts of 100% are also offered for those who renovate their home to make it habitable, and for people whose home is empty. But again, check with your local authority as different rules apply.
Deductions of 50% are possible on the annexes of grandmas and second homes which are not normally inhabited.
To get a reduction, contact your town hall and ask. The fastest way is to use the contact details on an old municipal tax bill.
It is crucial to reduce your municipal tax bills, as their cost keeps increasing.
In March, the Mirror found that around two-thirds of England’s great councils were will impose a 5% increase in the housing tax from April 1.
Of the 147 English councils that provide social services that we analyzed, 93 anticipated the maximum increase of 4.99%.
Six others predicted an increase of between 4.90% and 4.98%, for a total of 99 which predicted increases of almost 5%.
Only five municipalities – Essex, Lincolnshire, Bury, West Berkshire and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole – have forecast increases of less than 2%.
Across England, the typical municipal tax bill increased by £ 78.31, or 4.3%, in 2021/22, according to the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.
Are you on the right group?
(Image: Getty Images / iStockphoto)
The UK’s outdated municipal tax system means that thousands of people could also be in the wrong tax bracket – and therefore paying too much as a result.
Martin Lewis has previously warned that up to 400,000 households in England and Scotland could be in the wrong council tax bracket and owe money after years of overpayments.
It all comes down to the initial valuation of houses in the UK after the abolition of poll tax in 1993.
More than twenty-five years later, the houses still have not been reassessed.
People still pay on the basis of the “second gear ratings” done back in the day – when appraisers walked past houses second to assign tapes to entire streets.
There are a few basic steps to getting your home re-evaluated.
First, find out what your neighbors are paying – you can do it online at voa.gov.uk.
Second, check out what your house was worth in 1991 – when the bands were first set up.
To do this, take the present value and convert it to the 1991 price using an online calculator.
Here are the bands as fixed at 1991 prices:
- Band A – Up to £ 40,000 included
- B and B – £ 40,001 – £ 52,000
- Band C – £ 52,001 – £ 68,000
- Band D – £ 68,001 – £ 88,000
- Band E – £ 88,001 – £ 120,000
- Band F – £ 120,001 – £ 160,000
- Band G – £ 160,001 – £ 320,000
- Band H – Over £ 320,000
If it falls into a different range than what you are paying, you can request a reassessment.
Only apply if both checks work – because you can only ask for it to be revalued, not lowered, and there is a chance yours will go up.
