Greg Jenkinson, a debt advisor at StepChange, explains what to do when you’re struggling to pay council tax.

What are priority debts?

Council tax arrears can be difficult to deal with, especially as they’re considered priority debts. High priority debts are those arrears that can cause extra hardship or difficulty if they are not dealt with. Common priority debts include:

• council tax
• rent or mortgage
• utility bills
• court fines

Most debt advice organisations will encourage dealing with priority debts such as council tax first as a council can take action to collect outstanding payments. These actions can range from increased payments, all the way up to court action and enforcement officers.

While this may sound intimidating, there are still steps you can take to prevent council tax arrears resulting in further escalation.

How can you reduce council tax arrears?

If you miss a payment, or you’re only able to make a partial payment towards your monthly bill, it’s important to inform the council as soon as possible. Councils can adjust your monthly payments to cover any outstanding arrears.

If you’re finding that your monthly payments are unaffordable, then you can speak to the council to see if they can reduce the payments. You may be eligible for a discount, or you might be able to apply for what’s known as “discretionary relief,” which can be used against your arrears or monthly payments.

They may provide this for a variety of reasons. For example, if your home can’t be lived in due to fire or flood damage, if you don’t have any money left after your usual living costs, or if you have serious ill health, which can include mental health conditions as well.

While it can be intimidating speaking to the council, open communication is almost always the best route forward, as it alerts them of your situation and shows that you’re aware of the arrears.

What actions can the council take for arrears?

Not paying council tax can mean the local authority collects the money you owe through other means, including:

• Taking payments from your wages – this is called an “attachment of earnings” and is a fixed percentage of your take-home pay.
• Taking payments from your benefits – a maximum of 5% of your standard allowance can be deducted from universal credit. A maximum of £3.70 a week can be taken from income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance, income-related employment and support allowance, and pension credit.
• Using enforcement agents – they do this by applying for a liability order.

Summary

If you’re concerned about council tax arrears or unpaid debts, the best thing you can do is seek free advice from official debt advice charities like StepChange, Citizens Advice Bureau, or National Debtline, to name a few.

These charities can help clarify what stage you’re at regarding the debt you’ve accumulated, as well as identifying what the best next steps will be moving forward.

About the author

Greg Jenkinson is a debt advisor at StepChange, a charity dedicated to making debt support available for anyone who needs it.

See also

Understanding priority debts and bills

What happens if you can't pay credit card bills?

Getting help when you can't pay your gas and electric bills

Images

Getty Images

Publication date

7 January 2025

Any opinion expressed in this article is that of the author and the author alone, and does not necessarily represent that of The Gazette.