Households are being encouraged to set up a direct debit for council tax payments to make it quicker and easier to receive a council tax rebate.
The government announced last month (February) that households in tax bands A to D in England will benefit from a £150 council tax rebate – which does not have to be repaid – as part of a package of support to help householders with rising bills.
Act now to get the rebate
Cabinet lead for strategic finance, corporate resources and transformational change, Cllr Chris Jarman, said,
“We’re asking households who don’t already pay council tax by direct debit to save time and do it online before 25th March – that way you will receive the one-off rebate automatically from April onwards – which doesn’t have to paid back – more quickly.
“Those not on council tax direct debit will still receive the rebate but you could have a longer wait as you will need to complete an application form for this, once available.”
Who qualifies
The council tax rebate will be provided to you if:
- you pay for council tax in a band A-D property
- if you would normally pay but the property is exempt as a result of the occupants being a student, under 18 or severely mentally impaired.
The rebate will be paid by the council and you will not be required to pay it back.
If you pay your council tax by direct debit you do not need to do anything. We will arrange for your rebate to be paid automatically. This will be completed when we have set up the process.
How to get the rebate
If you do not pay by direct debit you have two options:
- set up to pay your council tax by direct debit before 25th March 2022. We will then pay your rebate directly back to you. You will need your council tax account number and your bank account details. This can be found on your latest or previous bill.
You can do this at the council tax online page
- complete a rebate application form. We are in the process of setting up the application process. More details will be provided as they become available.
Other support
Other parts of the government package of support includes:
- a £200 discount loan on their energy bill this Autumn for domestic electricity customers – A £200 energy bill discount loan will be applied on all domestic electricity autumn bills. This will automatically be applied by your energy provider. You will pay back the discount loan over five years. It will be split into equal instalments from 2023-24.
- a discretionary scheme for low-income households in band E-H – We are in the process of setting this up. More details will be provided as they become available.
More information about the above is at www.iow.gov.uk/counciltaxenergyrebate
A fuller explanation of how the government is helping with the cost of living is available in their energy bill and cost of living factsheets.
News shared by Isle of Wight council press office, in their own words. Ed
Image: Images Money under CC BY 2.0
