Rachel Reeves is reportedly mulling a shake-up of council tax, which could force some households to fork out more. Unconfirmed reports suggest the Chancellor is looking at imposing a surcharge on high-end homes amounting to £600million.
There are also reports that the Government is to revalue more than two million properties in the highest council tax bands F,G, and H over the next few years. A total of 300,000 of the most valuable properties in those bands would then be subject to an additional surcharge.
The Telegraph, which first reported the potential move, said families in band F properties potentially face annual levies amounting to hundreds of pounds in addition to their existing council tax bills, which average £3,293.
There are three things households can do if they want to see about cutting their council tax bills, including council tax reduction, checking your band and reclaiming any overpaid council tax.
Anyone on a low income or claiming benefits could be eligible for a council tax reduction, with reductions up to 100% for some, depending on circumstances.
The level of reduction depends on a number of things, including where you live, your income, how many children or other adults live with you.
If you think you might be eligible, you should contact your local council. You will need to tell the council what you earn as well as any pensions, benefits, tax credits or allowances you get.
Refunds may be available for people whose homes are in a higher council tax band than they should be.
To find out if this might apply, you would need to submit evidence backing up your claim that your home is in the wrong band, such as properties like yours falling into lower bands.
For properties in England and Wales, you should submit your challenge to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA).
You have a legal right to challenge your band if you think it is wrong and either you have been paying council tax on your property for fewer than six months or the VOA has changed your band in the last six months.
You also have a legal right to challenge if there’s been a change which affects the property; you want to remove it from the council tax list or you want to add the property to the council tax list.
A third way you might be able to claw back some of your money involves checking if your account is in credit because you overpaid in the previous year. If so, you can apply for a refund to get it back.
Some councils have an online claims form which you should complete. You can also contact your council by email or phone for details about how to claim.