Council tax charges and who pays
Following our work to recover the Council Tax system and data after the cyberattack of October 2020, we’re now working hard to process the backlog of work that has been received since October 2020.
As we process notifications of updates to residents’ accounts we’ll issue the revised and new Council Tax bills as required. Your bill will include details of payment instalments, and we ask you to make payments in line with these so that we can continue to provide the essential services needed by Hackney’s residents.
We do, however, understand that the delays in providing the updated bills may have impacted on some residents’ ability to make payments. If you would like to request additional instalments please complete an arrangement request form using the online Council Tax arrangement request service and we will review your proposal and contact you to discuss options that we can make available. Alternatively you can contact the team on 020 8356 3154 and we will discuss payment options with you.
We anticipate that most residents will feel that our Council Tax service will have returned to normal by summer 2022. There’ll still be some ongoing work on the more complex cases which we’ll continue to work to resolve.
We thank you in advance for your continued patience while we work to complete the recovery work. To allow us to continue this work as quickly as possible we ask that, where possible, you avoid contacting us to chase up correspondence you’ve sent to us and that you use the contact forms to provide any information you need to send to us: contact us about Council Tax.
On this page:
Who needs to pay council tax?
Normally the person living in the property will pay council tax, providing it is their sole or main residence and they are over 18 years of age. The first person that appears on the list below is responsible for paying council tax:
- an owner-occupier
- a tenant
- a licensee
- a resident (including squatters)
- the owner if the property is empty
More than one person may be liable to pay the bill. For example, if they are joint owners or tenants, or are married or living together as though married, then they are held jointly and severally liable to pay council tax.
If the property is empty, then the owner is liable; however, there are some cases where the owner is always liable:
- houses in multiple occupation, where the residents have separate leases or licences, and only occupy or pay rent for part of the property (eg a bedsit with shared facilities)
- residential care homes or nursing homes
- religious communities, such as monks and nuns
- houses occupied by ministers of religion
- houses occupied by most asylum seekers
Couples in same-sex relationships are treated the same as those in opposite-sex relationships. This may change who’s liable, and entitlement to some discounts or exemptions may change. If you think you are affected by this or have any queries please contact us on 020 8356 3154.
Can I pay less council tax?
Bills can be exempt, or reduced by a discount of up to 50%, or reduced by the equivalent of one band, for the following reasons:
- only one adult residing in the property
- empty dwellings
- property adapted to meet the needs of a disabled person
- students residing in the property
- specific circumstances (known as disregard discounts)
Council tax charges
To maintain the vital services that we provide, we have increased the council tax by 2.99%.
The table below shows you how much the council tax is for 2022/23 for each of the 8 valuation bands.
We have also shown the charges as 100% of the full amount for people required to pay the full amount of the bill and also at 75% or 50% for those people who are entitled to a discount.
If you are on a low income and would like more information please see our council tax reduction scheme.
2022/23 council tax charges and valuation bands
| Band | 100% | 75% | 50% |
| A | 1114.06 | 835.55 | 557.03 |
| B | 1299.74 | 974.81 | 649.87 |
| C | 1485.42 | 1114.07 | 742.71 |
| D | 1671.09 | 1253.32 | 835.55 |
| E | 2042.44 | 1531.83 | 1021.22 |
| F | 2413.80 | 1810.35 | 1206.90 |
| G | 2785.15 | 2088.86 | 1392.58 |
| H | 3342.18 | 2506.64 | 1671.09 |
How your bill is worked out 2022/23
The amount of council tax we set each year is based on the difference between how much we need to spend to provide services and how much income we receive from central government and other income.
For 2022/23 Hackney’s share of the council tax is £1,122.11 per band D property and the GLA’s is £395.59. Added to this is an extra charge of £153.39 for the adult social care precept, which will help fund the rising cost of social care services for older and disabled adults. This means the overall band D charge is £1,671.09.
Your council tax will depend on what the valuation band your home is in. This is based on how much it was worth on 1 April 1991.
The valuation was carried out independently by the listing officer of the Inland Revenue. The proportion of tax payable in each property band is determined by the government.
2022/23 details of how your bill is worked out
| Band | Property value (1991 values) | Hackney Council (basic amount) £ | Adult social care precept £ | GLA £ | Total £ |
| A | 40,000 or less | 748.06 | 102.27 | 263.73 | 1,114.06 |
| B | 40,001-52,000 | 872.76 | 119.30 | 307.68 | 1,299.74 |
| C | 52,001-68,000 | 997.43 | 136.35 | 351.64 | 1,485.42 |
| D | 68,001-88,000 | 1,122.11 | 153.39 | 395.59 | 1,671.09 |
| E | 88,001-120,000 | 1,371.46 | 187.48 | 483.50 | 2,042.44 |
| F | 120,001-160,000 | 1,620.83 | 221.56 | 571.41 | 2,413.80 |
| G | 160,001-320,000 | 1,870.17 | 255.66 | 659.32 | 2,785.15 |
| H | More than 320,000 | 2,244.23 | 306.77 | 791.18 | 3,342.18 |
Council tax contact line
Telephone
Opening times
- Mon to Fri 9am to 5pm
Notes
Save time by reporting a change of address or applying for discounts or exemptions now. If you think your bill is wrong or have any other queries, use our enquiry form.