The UK government recently announced a new line of measures to help tackle the cost of living crisis plaguing the country. It comes as the cost of energy bills and National Insurance payments are set to rise from April.
Among the announcements made to attempt to ease the pressure of the cost of living in households, the government announced a Council Tax Rebate payment of £150 will be made available. Unfortunately, not everyone will be entitled to the rebate because it will only be available to households that fall under specific council tax banding.
Here's what you need to know.
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Who is eligible for the rebate?
Most households who fall in the council tax bands of A to D in England will be eligible for the £150 payment. They will still be entitled to the payment if they pay less than £150 council tax, receive a single person discount, or do not pay because they receive council tax support.
Around 4.3 million households in England will not be eligible for the rebate because they live in properties banded E to H. You can check your council tax band here.
In order to be eligible for the payment, the property must be occupied as a primary residence - this means empty properties or second homes will be excluded from the rebate. Furthermore, only one payment should be under the core council tax rebate per household, this means there will not be multiple payments for houses with a lot of occupants.
Local councils have already received a warning to look out for fraud claims in relation to the rebate and may execute extra security measures where direct debit details have been changed or newly provided.
Since the initial rebate announcement only covered England, the Welsh government will be providing its own council tax rebate of £150 - the scheme will also be mirrored in Scotland.
How do you apply and when will the rebate be paid?
If you are eligible for the scheme you will not need to apply and should receive the money automatically.
Those who are eligible for the rebate payment should expect the money to land in their accounts on April 1 if they pay their council tax via direct debit. If someone doesn't pay with direct debit then they should contact their local council as soon as possible to find out how they will receive the payment.
Getting the money to council taxpayers without direct debit arrangements is expected to take longer as local authorities will need to attempt to contact them about the rebate scheme and carry out checks, according to the Local Government Association (LGA).
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