Martin Lewis reveals how to claim share of £141,000,000 in UK council tax refunds

In the latest edition of his Money Saving Expert newsletter, Martin Lewis shared his advice on council tax — and one tip in particular could land you a windfall you had no idea existed.

Earlier this year, an MSE investigation revealed 808,000 UK households are due a council tax refund, with a total of £141 million waiting to be dished out by local authorities.

While councils will try to reimburse you for overpayments, if you move home and they’re unable to get in touch with you, it’s your responsibility to claim the money back.

Martin explained: ‘You’re most likely to be able to claim if you’ve moved out of a council area since 1993 and weren’t paying by Direct Debit.’

This is because, even if they don’t have your forwarding address, local authorities can use your Direct Debit details to pay you. Otherwise, the cash lays in wait until you ask for it.

Wondering if you fit the bill? These are the most common reasons you could be owed a council tax refund:

• : For example, you paid 10 months’ council tax but moved out in six months without providing a forwarding address.
• : This means you could end up paying despite the fact you no longer live in the property.
• In some cases, a property may be rebanded after you moved out, meaning previous taxpayers are refunded for the extra they’ve paid.

However, there are some exceptions where people who have moved within local authorities and/or paid by direct debit will also be owed. 

‘For example, if you lived in a home where there were multiple bill-payers, it might have been harder for the council to establish who should have been refunded,’ says the MSE website.

Your best bet is to check, which should be easy to do in a matter of minutes (although the process does differ depending on your local authority).

Google search ‘[council name] Council Tax refund form’ to find out whether your previous local authority has specific forms available to fill out online. You’ll likely need information like your old Council Tax reference number – which can be found on your bills – but there are no other steps to reclaiming if you go down this route.

If your local authority doesn’t have an online form, this search should still take you to a page explaining how to reclaim council tax overpayments, typically emailing or calling them.

But MSE urges people to see if you fit its criteria above before getting in touch, explaining: We don’t want everyone just calling their council on spec to find out. It’d waste your time and kill their switchboards when many will be needing to speak to their council for essential support amid the cost of living crisis.’ 

Other ways to cut your council tax bill

Whether or not you’re due a council tax overpayment refund, it’s well worth following Martin’s other top tips to potentially reduce your bill.

Firstly, he recommends looking at your tax band (from A to H), as 400,000 homes are thought to be wrongly classified.

You may feel comfortable enough to ask your neighbours for their band to see if yours is wildly different, but you can also look up your postcode via Gov.uk in England or the SAA website in Scotland.

‘If you pass the first check, then you need to calculate whether you should be in a lower band,’ the financial guru continues. ‘As bands are valued still on 1991 prices, you need to estimate what your home was worth in 1991.’

Thankfully, this is relatively simple: just work out the value at any point since then and input the numbers into the MSE calculator. The website also has a chart so you can compare the bands and work out if your property is in the correct one — then challenge it with the council if not.

Next up, Martin talked council tax discounts, which could lead to a drop in your bill or even a backdated refund for overpayments.

The main discounts are for single adult households (who get 25% off), full-time student households (who are exempt from council tax) and home with a live-in carer (who can get up up 50% off).

You may also be eligible for a reduction if you or a household member has a severe mental impairment, are on means-tested benefits such as Universal Credit or Pension Credit, or your property has been adapted for someone with a disability.

‘Don’t let a sense of guilt overly hold you back from claiming when you’re legitimately due,’ added the MSE founder. ‘This is money you’ve paid that you shouldn’t.’

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