Are you paying too much in Council Tax? Do you think your property is in too high a tax band?

*Please note the information in this article may be out of date

If so you can challenge this and claim any overpaid council tax as far back as 1993- could be a nice wind fall for some!

Valuation bands in England and Scotland are based on what your property was worth on 1 April 1991, not what your property is worth today. As you can imagine, many mistakes were made back in 1991 in the rush to value the properties of the entire country, in one go. You may find your property has been placed in an incorrect valuation band. If this is the case there is a way for you to re-claim overpaid Council Tax and even back date this claim as far as 1993, if applicable. Valuation bands in Wales were more recently re-assessed and are based on property values on 1 April 2003.

Firstly, you need to establish if your property is in the correct valuation band. One of the simplest ways is to compare yours to the band your neighbours are in. To do that you can search (using neighbouring postcodes) the Valuation Ofiice Agency (VOA) for properties in England and Wales, or the Scottish Assessors Association (SAA) for properties in Scotland. Or you can have a chat with the neighbours about their tax bands. Back in 2010 a group of 17 neighbours in Solihull re-claimed £49,000 in council tax refunds after having their tax band re-assessed! If you find that your neighbours are in a lower bracket to you then you may be able to make a claim. 

Secondly, you should try and establish just what your property was worth in 1991, if that is possible. A handy way to do this is to use Nationwides House Price Calculator which has records going back to 1991 and before. 

If, after your bit of detective work, you feel you are in too high a tax band you can ask to have it re-assessed. Now, for the word of caution...this would be re-assessment, the outcome of which could mean your Council Tax bill could increase instead of decreasing, if you are deemed to be in too low a tax band. A reassessment could also impact your neighbours tax bands, meaning you all find yourself paying more tax ( and making you pretty unpopular on the street!). The importance of doing your checks and detective work before proceeding with a claim cannot be stressed enough. You should also bare in mind any improvements, such as extensions, to your property which may have increased its value. 

If your claim to have your band reduced is turned down by the VOA or the SAA, you can go on to challenge this decision if you feel you have a case. Many have been successful in getting their bands reduced, just make sure you have enough valid evidence before making a claim. 

For challenging your tax band in England and Wales, and more details and contact information for the VOA, go to this Gov.uk page. For those in Scotland you contact your local SAA assessor.