Council Tax Refunds

Council Tax refunds are created by Local Taxation staff in response to:

• Requests from taxpayers.
• Credits applied to an account e.g. benefit entitlement, a discount or vacation.

In all of the above cases the following process must be undertaken to ensure that refunds are only created where appropriate, that the refund is authorised in line with Council procedures and that the correct amount of refund is produced in all cases.

In most cases, refunds will be processed into the bank account of the Council Taxpayer(s) if we hold the relevant bank details. If no bank details are held, then the refund will be issued in the form of a cheque to the Council taxpayer(s) to the forwarding address as supplied in writing to the Council.

Please note: Refund cheques will not be sent to a known empty property address.

In some circumstances of Joint and Several Liability, it may be necessary that the Council will require written instruction as to the dispersal of a credit. For example in the case of a marital separation. The Council will not become involved in a dispute as to who should receive the credit in such cases and in the absence of a clear instruction from both parties, the credit would be split equally between the liable persons.

There is no requirement for a taxpayer to put a request in writing to the Local Taxation section although this may be required if there is any doubt as to the validity of the account.