| How do I pay my Council Tax? |
You can pay Council Tax by the following methods:
Direct Debit
Simply complete the form enclosed with your bill, or apply online.
You can download the direct debit form here (PDF 81Kb), complete it, return to us, and we'll do the rest!
More information about paying Council Tax by Direct Debit
On this web site
Online payments can be made using your debit or credit card. Have your council tax account number and credit or debit card details ready.
Telephone
Using your debit or credit card, telephone 01484 414818
- between 8.00am and 8.00pm, Monday to Friday.
- between 8.00am and 12 noon, Saturday.
Standing Order
Simply complete the standing order mandate (PDF 24kb) and send it directly to your bank or building society. Remember to make
sure your instalment plan matched the one on your most recent bill.
Post
Send a cheque or postal order to the following address:
Kirklees Revenues & Benefits Cashiers Service
Select-a-post 6
Civic Centre I
Huddersfield
HD1 2XD
Cash or cheque
At any of our Cash and Information Offices or some Neighbourhood housing offices. Make cheques payable to 'Kirklees Council' and write your council tax account number on the back.
Post office
You can pay at any UK Post Office using your plastic payment card. To get a plastic payment card, phone us on 01484 414900.
Paypoint
You can pay your council tax in cash only, using your plastic payment card at any shop displaying the paypoint sign.
To find your nearest shop visit www.paypoint.co.uk. If you want a plastic payment card then call us on 01484 414900.
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| How much do I owe? |
You can now check your council tax balance on-line council tax account enquiry
To use this service, you will need to have your council tax account number and your property reference to hand.
You can get these from your original council tax bill. If you do not have this information, you will need to contact us.
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| I owe council tax from previous years. Are these included on my bill? |
Any previous arrears that have not been subject to recovery action in court will appear on your bill as a balance brought forward. These will not be included in the instalment amounts on your annual bill. If you want to have these arrears included with the instalments on your current account, please contact us. We will recalculate your bill and instalment plan, and send you a new bill.
Any previous arrears that have been subject to recovery action in court will be recovered separately to the amounts showing on your new bill. You should keep to any repayment arrangements that have been previously agreed on these arrears.
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| Can I change the date when my payments are due? |
Yes. We offer a number of payment dates. These are on the 5th, 12th, 19th and 28th of every month.
If you are not in arrears with your council tax you can rearrange your payments dates by completing the Instalment Change form.
If you are paying your council tax by Direct Debit then you need to complete a new Direct Debit Mandate. You can download the direct debit form here (PDF 81Kb).
If your council tax account is in arrears, then you will need to contact us.
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| Why have I received a reminder, second reminder or final notice? |
We will send you a reminder or final notice if our records show that you are behind with your council tax payments.
If you don't pay your council tax as detailed on your bill we will take recovery action.
- If you miss one instalment, we will send you a reminder.
- If you pay the amount shown on your reminder within 7 days, and keep your future payments up to date, we will take no further action.
- If you don't pay the amount shown on your reminder within 7 days, we will send you a summons.
- If you pay the amount shown on the reminder within 7 days, but you pay future instalments late, or you don't pay them at all, we will send you a second reminder.
- If you pay the amount shown on your second reminder within 7 days, and keep future payments up to date, we will take no further action.
- If you don't pay the amount shown on your second reminder within 7 days, we will send you a summons.
- If you pay the amount shown on your second reminder within 7 days, but you pay future instalments late, or you don't pay them at all, we will send you a final notice. The final notice gives you 7 days to pay the full balance due for the year. It is not enough just to bring your instalments up to date.
- If you don't pay the full balance within 7 days we will send you a summons.
Please note that paying within the month will not always avoid recovery action. It is important you make payment on the due dates shown on your bill.
Use our online example if you need help to understand your council tax reminder.
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| How can I be sure that my Council Tax is paid on time in future? |
‘Pay by direct debit – the easy way to pay!
You can download the direct debit form here (PDF 81Kb), complete it, return to us, and we'll do the rest!
More information about paying Council Tax by Direct Debit
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| Why have you sent me a summons? |
You have not paid the amount shown on your reminder, second reminder or final notice we sent you. You have therefore lost the right to pay your bill by instalments and we have sent you a summons for the balance outstanding on your account for the year.
Use our online example if you need help to understand your summons.
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| Why have you charged me costs? |
The costs are to cover the extra expenses we have been faced with for sending you reminders and applying to the Magistrates' Court for a summons for your outstanding account.
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| What will happen if I don't pay the amount on the summons? |
We will apply to the Magistrates' Court for a liability order, and add costs for this to your account.
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| What is a liability order? |
A liability order gives us powers to collect your debt by any of the following methods:
- Requesting financial information from you about your household's income
- Instructing bailiffs to visit your property with the intention of seizing your goods and for those goods to be sold at public auction to pay off your outstanding debt
- Deducting money directly from your earnings
- Deducting money from your income support or job seekers allowance
- Starting bankruptcy proceedings in the County Court. This will seriously affect your ability to obtain credit or a mortgage
Use our online example if you need help to understand your liability order.
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| What if I still don't pay? |
We can apply to the Magistrates' Court for you to be committed to prison for a maximum of 90 days. If we have to do this we will send you a committal summons. We will also send you an explanation leaflet so you know what to do next.
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| I can't pay in full, but can afford to pay something every week or month, can I do this? |
Yes, if you are unable pay an amount we ask you to pay at any time, please contact us immediately. We are always willing to listen, and after considering your financial circumstances, will try to come to a mutually acceptable payment arrangement.
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| What if I can't pay? |
If you are having difficulty paying your council tax, contact us immediately. We will review your situation and attempt to make a suitable arrangement to avoid any further action or costs being incurred.
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| Why have I got a Council Tax attachment of earnings? |
Once we have obtained a Liability Order in the Magistrates Court for your outstanding council tax, we have various methods of recovery available, one of which is to make deductions directly from your earnings.
You have to provide financial information when when we send you a copy of the Liablity Order. If you don't pay the amount on your liability order in full, or fail make a suitable payment arrangement with us, we will set up an Attachment of Earnings Order once we know your employment details. We don't need to consult with you before setting up an Attachment to Earnings.
If a suitable arrangement has not been made with the Council, or the balance outstanding has not been paid in full, it is likely that once employer details are known an Attachment of Earnings Order will be set up.
If you would like any further information please contact us.
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| Why is money being deducted from my Income Support or Jobseekers Allowance? |
Once we have obtained a Liability Order in the Magistrates Court for your outstanding council tax, we have various methods of recovery available, one of which is to make deductions directly from your income support or job seekers allowance.
You have to provide financial information when we send you a copy of the Liablity Order. If you don't pay the amount on your liability order in full, or fail make a suitable payment arrangement with us, we will set up deductions once we know your income details. We don't need to consult with you before setting up deductions.
If you would like any further information please contact us.
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| Does the council follow a set procedure to recover council tax? |
We have a recovery policy (PDF 266Kb) which outlines the level of service you can expect from us; from sending you a council tax bill, to our enforcement officer's code of conduct.
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| Who do I tell when I have moved address? |
Please contact the Revenues and Benefits Service.
View contact details
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| What is the process for council tax appeals? |
You may appeal if:
- you think you shouldn't be responsible for paying council tax, for example, because you are not the resident or owner,
- because your property is exempt,
- we have made a mistake when we calculated your bill.
If you want to appeal on these grounds, you must tell us in writing, and we will review your account. You can use our council tax notice of objection form (PDF 13kb) to do this.
If you make an appeal and you are not satisfied that a proper decision has been reached, or you are not told of a decision within two months of making your appeal, you can then appeal to a Valuation Tribunal or the Listing Officer.
Making an appeal does not allow you to stop paying your council tax bill in the meantime. If you stop making payments, we may take recovery action against you and add costs to your bill. If your appeal is successful you will be entitled to a refund of any overpaid tax.
For more information on the council tax appeals process, visit the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions website.
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| For more information contact: |
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