Freeman on the land and challenges to the legality of council tax

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Who can apply for a Council Tax refund

You can apply for a Council Tax refund if your Council Tax account is in credit.

You may have received a letter from us or seen a banner on your My Account dashboard.

Your Council Tax account might be in credit when:

  • the account has been closed before an instalment is taken out
  • we’ve received too much money or forgotten to cancel a payment
  • you’ve been awarded Council Tax Support or a discount, disregard or an exemption
  • your property band has been reduced

How to apply for a refund

You can request a refund using our online form.

If you don't have a My Account, you need to:

  1. set up a My Account
  2. sign in to My Account and select the My Services tab
  3. add the Council Tax and Housing Benefit service
  4. select Show Details in your Council Tax and Housing Benefit Service
  5. select your Council Tax account
  6. your account summary will open. If your account is in credit, a banner will appear with a link to the Refund form for you to complete

If you already have a My Account set up, you need to:

  1. sign in to My Account and select the My Services tab
  2. add the Council Tax and Housing Benefit service
  3. select Show Details in your Council Tax and Housing Benefit Service
  4. select your Council Tax account
  5. your account summary will open. If your account is in credit, a banner will appear with a link to the Refund form for you to complete

Help setting up your My Account

What we need from you

If you need to provide evidence, please use our general enquiry form to submit copies of your documents.

If more than 1 person is liable for the Council Tax account

We will need:

  • letters stating that the refund can be issued to you from each liable person
  • proof of payments you have made covering the full amount of credit

For example, if the credit is for £400, the person requesting the refund will need to prove they paid £400

If the person liable for the Council Tax account is receiving Council Tax Support

We need the Benefits team to confirm that the Council Tax Support is correct before you can get a refund.

This may take longer to refund than the usual 10 working days.

If the person liable for the Council Tax account has died

A refund will only be issued if the person who has died has a Council Tax account in credit.

The executor requesting the refund will need to provide evidence that:

  • probate has been granted
  • the Council Tax account is closed

More information on what to do with Council Tax when someone dies

How your money is refunded

We will refund your money directly into your bank account.

Make sure you have your bank details when completing the refund form.

We aim to refund your money within 10 working days from the date you apply.