Benefits & Council Tax

Council Tax

Council Tax is a local tax set by councils to help pay for local services.

Council Tax helps pay for services we all rely on like roads, schools, public transport, waste disposal and libraries. It also pays for services fewer people need but are vital to our communities. This might be services which keep children safe, or the elderly in safe care, or to provide special education.

There is one Council Tax bill for each domestic dwelling. The dwelling could be:

a house
bungalow
flat
maisonette
mobile home
or houseboat.

You can see how we calculate your Council Tax in the leaflets in the related documents section of this web page.

Who pays Council Tax?

Council Tax is billed whether the house is owned or rented, and applies to anyone over 18.

There is a 25% discount if only one person living in the house is an adult, and a 50% discount if no-one living in the property is an adult. You can find out who is classed as an adult for Council Tax on the Gov.UK website.

You can pay your Council Tax online through our eBilling and ePayments system.

Working out your Council Tax bill

To work out how much Council Tax you will need to pay you will need to know:

the valuation band for your home. Each dwelling is placed on a valuation list in one of eight valuation bands, ranging from A to H. Check with the Valuation Office Agency for your address
how much we charge for that band
whether you get a discount or exemption on the bill.

You can find out more about what your Council Tax pays for and how much it is by band and area on What your Council Tax pays for page.

Registering for Council Tax or moving house

If you are moving to Ashfield or moving house within the district and need to let us know about a change of address you can do this online on our register to pay Council Tax page.

Council Tax support

Council Tax support can help towards the cost of your Council Tax charge if you are on a low income or in receipt of other benefits. You can claim if you are working and your earnings are low.

Council Tax Support Fund

Households receiving Council Tax Support during the 2023 to 2024 financial year will automatically receive a reduction on their Council Tax bill of up to £75.00.

In December 2022 the Government announced £100 million of additional funding for local authorities to support vulnerable households with their council tax increases. The Government expects local authorities to use the funding allocation to reduce bills for current working age and pension age claimants of Council Tax Support by a minimum of £25. We have funding available to increase this amount of support to £75.00. Where the remaining Council Tax charge is under this amount, the eligible payment will only reduce the balance to zero.

Anyone qualifying for the grant will get it automatically and will receive it on their Council Tax bill. The grant shows on the bill as ‘Council Tax Support Fund’.

Deceased persons

You can report the death of a person using our online form. This is so we can update Council Tax and Housing Benefit records. You must complete this even if you are using the Tell Us Once service.

Notification of a deceased person