From Herefordshire Council:
£150 Council Tax rebate
As part of the government’s initiative to help households with rising energy costs, they have announced a one-off £150 Council Tax rebate for certain households.
Who will qualify?
- If you are a liable Council Tax payer in band A to D occupying the property on 1 April 2022
- If you are a liable Council Tax payer occupying the property on 1 April 2022 and are in band E but you are receiving disabled relief
- The property is exempt but solely occupied by students or school leavers, under 18s, severely mentally impaired or is an annexe occupied with dependant relatives
- If you receive Council Tax Reduction (even if you have no Council Tax to pay) and are in a band A to D (or E with disabled relief), you will still be entitled to the payment
Who will not qualify?
- Second homes
- Empty properties
- Exempt properties not listed in the qualifying section
If you don’t know which band your property is in, you can find it on your latest Council Tax bill or use the Valuation Office website to check.
How will I receive the payment?
Residents who pay their Council Tax by direct debit, will receive their energy rebate first. Once the first Council Tax payment for 2022/23 is paid, we will use those details to process the payment straight into your bank account.
We are still awaiting the software to enable these payments to be made so we cannot confirm the date the payments will be made at present, but we do not expect that it will be before late April at the earliest. Please do not chase us for these payments – we will update this page with the information when known.
Payment will be made more quickly to those paying by direct debit.
If you already pay your Council Tax by direct debit, you do not need to do anything.
If you don’t already pay Council Tax by direct debit, you can sign up below. This means we will then have your details ready for when we start making energy rebate payments.
Set up Council Tax direct debit
If you are eligible and don’t pay your Council Tax by direct debit, we are finalising options on how to get this rebate to you as soon as possible. We will be contacting all households with these options and how you can apply when they are decided, but this will take longer due to the number of households we will need to contact. We ask for your patience with this and not to contact us chasing the options.
By opting to receive your new Council Tax bill electronically, we will be able to contact you easier and quicker by email and you will be saving paper. You will need your Council Tax reference to hand.
Be scam aware
Please be aware of scams – Herefordshire Council will not request bank details from you over the telephone so please do not provide this information to any calls you may receive.
Any correspondence that is sent from Herefordshire Council regarding this Council Tax rebate will be sent from our official Council Tax email address which is counciltax@herefordshire.gov.uk
When will I receive the rebate?
We are working hard to finalise the details of this rebate for you and this page will be updated when decisions are made. Please do not chase us for this payment or to ask about payment options if they have not been published on here, as this just slows us down. We will be in touch with you as soon as we can.
Paying your bill
The rebate does not mean you don’t need to pay your Council Tax bill – you must continue to pay your Council Tax bill by the amounts and on the dates shown on your bill. If you are struggling to pay, please see Council Tax discretionary hardship payments.
What if I am not eligible?
If you are not entitled to the £150 rebate based on the above criteria, we will have a discretionary fund that you may qualify for. Details of the criteria for the discretionary scheme will be agreed on 26 May 2022 and published here when finalised.
Council Tax bands
If you think your property Council Tax band needs reviewing, you will need to contact the Valuation Office, using the links below:
From the UK Government:
Higher than expected global energy and goods prices following the pandemic have already led to an unavoidable increase in the cost of living across the world. The government understands the pressures people are facing and has put a package of support in place worth over £22 billion in 2022-23, to help with the cost of energy bills and to ensure people keep more of their money.
As part of its targeted response to rising energy bills, the government has introduced a £150 council tax rebate. This will mean that council tax costs will not rise for the majority of people, including those on the lowest incomes. This is alongside a £200 reduction in energy bills from this October.
Find more information on the government’s support.
1. What is the council tax rebate?
The council tax rebate will provide a payment of £150 to households living in council tax bands A – D. Payments will be made from April 2022 and will not need to be paid back.
2. Will I be eligible for the council tax rebate?
Households are eligible where, on 1 April 2022, they are liable for council tax on a property which is in council tax bands A-D and which they live in as their main home. This includes those who receive Local Council Tax Support, even if their council tax bill for the year is less than £150.
Where the occupants of a property in bands A – D are exempt from council tax on 1 April 2022, they will also be eligible if the property falls in one of the following classes of exemption: Class N (students – other than HMOs for council tax purposes), Class S (under 18s), Class U (people with a severe mental impairment), Class W (annexes occupied by a dependent relative)
3. How can I apply for the council tax rebate?
If you live in an eligible property and you pay your council tax by direct debit, your local council will make the payment directly to your bank account, starting from April 2022. You do not need to do anything in the meantime.
If you live in an eligible property and you do not pay your council tax by direct debit, your local council will contact you from April to arrange a method for paying the rebate. You do not need to do anything in the meantime.
Claims for the rebate can be processed up until 30 September 2022.
4. How do I know what council tax band I am in?
If you are not sure which council tax band your property is in, you can check by visiting: https://www.gov.uk/council-tax-bands
5. Who is my local council?
If you are not sure who your local council is, you can check by visiting: https://www.gov.uk/find-local-council
6. Should I have received the rebate as a discount on my council tax bill?
The rebate will be provided as a separate payment, rather than as part of your council tax bill.
This allows the support to be provided to households more quickly, rather than the benefit being spread as a discount across the usual 10 or 12 council tax bill instalments during 2022-23. It also means that households that do not pay council tax – for example, if they are exempt or have nil liability – are not disadvantaged.
Where a household is eligible for the rebate and their local council does not already hold payment details as a result of a direct debit instruction, they may offer the option to receive the payment as a council tax account credit.
7. Do I have to pay the £150 back?
No. The £150 council tax rebate does not have to be paid back.
8. What support can I access if I am not eligible for the council tax rebate?
The government has provided all councils in England with funding to provide discretionary support to any household that is in financial need, regardless of council tax band. Each council will develop and publicise eligibility criteria and the claims process for this funding.
9. Who will receive the rebate where an eligible property has multiple residents?
One £150 payment will be made per eligible household (defined as a person or group of people living in a property that attracts a separate council tax bill).
If your household is eligible and you usually pay your council tax by direct debit, payment will be made to the direct debit bank account.
If your household is eligible and you do not pay your council tax by direct debit, you will be invited to nominate a method to receive payment on behalf of the household.
10. Someone else usually pays my council tax on my behalf – will they receive the payment?
No. The rebate is only available to the occupants of an eligible property (even if the council tax bill is usually paid by someone else). If you live in an eligible property and someone else usually pays your council tax bill, your council will contact you to arrange a method for paying your rebate.
11. I live in a House of Multiple Occupation (HMO) and my landlord is liable for council tax. Will I still be eligible for the rebate?
Where the owner of a property is liable for the council tax (for example in a House in Multiple Occupation or residential care home), no-one will be eligible for the rebate in relation to that property. If you are not the liable council tax payer but are impacted by rising energy costs, you may be able to access support from your council’s discretionary fund.
12. Can I receive the rebate if I have no recourse to public funds?
Yes. The council tax rebate (as part of the Energy Rebate Scheme 2022) is excluded from being considered a public fund under paragraph 6.2(i) of the Immigration Rules. This means that it is available to people who have no recourse to public funds, other than those who do not have leave to enter or remain in the UK and fall within one of the cohorts listed under Schedule 3 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
