What is council tax and who pays it?
Council tax is a tax charged on households by local authorities, based on the estimated value of a property and the number of people living in it. Most domestic buildings are subject to council tax.
- There is one charge per dwelling, whether it is a house, bungalow, flat, maisonette, mobile home or houseboat, and whether it is owned or rented
- Each dwelling has been allocated one of eight bands (bands A to H) according to its estimated open market value on 1 April 1991 – These bands are decided by the valuation office
- Your council tax bill shows which band applies to your dwelling
The money raised through council tax is part of the overall amount of money spent in North East Lincolnshire to provide services for local people. Other money comes from central government funds including the Revenue Support Grant and some of the money collected from non-domestic rates (business rates).
The amount of council tax payable is based upon the following:
- The total value of taxable properties in the area (the tax base)
- The amount required to fund the service requirements of North East Lincolnshire Council, Humberside Police and the Humberside Fire Authority
- The amount required to fund the local town and parish councils – Area Parish and Town precepts 2019-20 (PDF)
Enquiries about the parish and town council precepts should be addressed to the relevant Clerk to the Council concerned. You can find links to Parish Council on our Town and Parish Council page.
The tax base is calculated using the following:
- A council tax band D equivalent charge is set by members
- This is then used, in accordance with the property bands determined by the Valuation Office, to work out the charges for the other bands
- So a property in Band A pays 6/9ths the amount for a Band D property and so forth, as shown in the multiplier in the table below
- Every year we publish information on how the band charges are worked out and how the money is spent in North East Lincolnshire.
Valuation band |
Range of values |
Multiplier |
A | Up to and including £40,000 | 6/9 |
B | £40,001 to £52,000 | 7/9 |
C | £52,001 to £68,000 | 8/9 |
D | £68,001 to £88,000 | 9/9 |
E | £88,001 to £120,000 | 11/9 |
F | £120,001 to £160,000 | 13/9 |
G | £160,001 to £320,000 | 15/9 |
H | More than £320,000 | 18/9 |
Police, fire and parish and adult social care precept
The council tax bill includes charges from the Police Commissioner, the fire authority and parish as well as for North East Lincolnshire Council. It also includes a precept for adult social care which can only be spent for that purpose. The table shows the funding raised for each organisation.
2018/19 |
2019/20 |
Per head of population |
|
(£m) | (£m) | (£) | |
8.5 | Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside | 9.7 | 60.82 |
3.5 | Humberside Fire Authority | 3.67 | 23.01 |
0.7 | Parish Precepts | 0.7 | 4.39 |
12.7 | Total | 14.07 | 88.21 |
Who pays council tax?
Normally the people living in the property (the liable persons) will pay the council tax. It must be their sole or main residence and they must be over 18 years of age.
If two or more people have the same interest in the property then they are jointly liable. For example, if they are:
- joint owners
- joint tenants
- married or living together as though married; or
- have a civil partnership
If the property is empty, or it is no-one’s main home, the owner is responsible for paying the bill. The owner is also responsible:
- where the property is occupied by more than one household
- where the residents pay rent separately for different parts of the dwelling; and
- where the households share cooking or washing facilities
GDPR – Privacy Notice
Local Taxation and Benefit collects and processes your personal data for the purpose of administering Local Taxation and Benefit, and will process your personal data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation and other relevant legislation. We will not disclose your personal data to anyone else, unless allowed or required to do so under the General Data Protection Regulation or other relevant legislation. For further details about the processing of your personal data please see our Full Privacy Notice.
Council tax legislation
The administration of council tax follows the legislation set out in the local government finance act 1992 (99/03) and the council tax (amendment and enforcement) regulations 1992. For more information about this legislation and other legislation relating to council tax you can visit www.legislation.gov.uk.
Council Tax Liability and Billing team (telephone and postal enquiries only), Local Taxation and Benefits, Municipal Offices, Town Hall Square, Grimsby, DN31 1HU
Email: counciltax@nelincs.gov.uk
Telephone: 0300 3030164 option 5