Council tax increase: What council tax band are YOU – how to claim MONEY BACK

Council tax bills across the UK are set to increase by 9.97 per cent from April.

From the start of the new 2019/2020 financial year millions of households will have to pay more to their local authority.

The tax increase will affect households differently depending on which tax band they are in.

Britons living in Band D, the most common council tax band, will be hit by a hefty tax hike.

The annual Band D council tax bill is set to rise from £72 to £1,477 in the 2019/2020 tax year.

Council tax increases will hit Britons hard for the second year in a row – last year they went up an average £82 per household.

Bills are going up by an average of 6.5 per cent and 3.9 per cent in Scotland and Wales, respectively.

Northern Ireland has a different system, so this information is only for England, Scotland and Wales.

While Britons will be bracing themselves for the brutal increase, hundreds of thousands of homes may be in the wrong council tax brand to begin with, according to personal finance  advisor Money Saving Expert.

If your home is categorised in the wrong tax band then you could be owed money – here’s what you need to know.

How to check your council tax band

Council tax bands are based on how much your property was worth on:

• 1 April 1991, for England and Scotland

• 1 April 2003, for Wales

Band A is for the lowest value homes, while band H in England and Scotland and band I in Wales is the band for the highest value homes.

A £300,000 house in England or Wales, for instance, would be in band G, but in Scotland it would be in band H.

You can check which council tax band you are in on the Government website here.

Am I entitled to a refund?

Thousands of Britons are in the wrong council tax band because when the Government introduced the council tax system it didn’t get enough details about each UK home, according to Money Saving Expert.

Up to 400,000 British homes are in the incorrect council tax band after they were “valued at a glance”, according to the consumer website.

If you’re in the incorrect band then you could be entitled to thousands of pounds off your council tax bill.

If you suspect you are in the wrong council tax band then you can appeal your bill.

You will first need to write to your council explaining that you think your property has been placed in the wrong council tax band, and you want it to be reviewed.

If your appeal is successful your council will send you a new bill and adjust your monthly payments.

A Money Saving Expert Investigation found that some people living with mental impairment such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinsons were paying too much council tax when they have a legal right to have some or all of it refunded.

If you live on your own and have a severe mental impairment you don’t have to pay council tax and you can claim back any that you have paid while you were living alone.

If you live with an adult with severe mental impairment you are entitled to a 25 per cent council tax discount.

If all the adults in your home have medical conditions which mean they are exempt from paying council tax, then you are entitled to a 25 per cent discount.

You can find out more about challenging your council tax bill here.