Council tax bill - statutory information 2020/21

Guide to Council Tax

Your Council Tax bill shows the total charge for your property, including the charges made by Dorset Council, the Dorset Police & Crime Commissioner, Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Authority, and your town or parish council.

This leaflet forms part of your Council Tax bill and contains important information which may help you to reduce your bill and answer some questions you might have.

Your bill explained

Budget Information 2020/21

The financial information that is required to be supplied with Council Tax bills is published on this website. See the bands and charges information for the Dorset Council area in 2020/21.
If you would like a printed copy of the financial information, please write to us. This will be supplied free of charge.

You can also see more on how Dorset Council will spend its money

Financial information for the Dorset Police & Crime Commissioner and Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Authority can be found on their websites.

Dorset Councilʼs Adult Social Care Precept

For adult social care authorities, Council Tax demand notices show two percentage changes: one for the part of the overall change attributable to the adult social care precept, and one for the part attributable to general expenditure.

Council Tax Valuation Bands

Most dwellings (whether rented or owned and whether lived in or not) will be subject to the Council Tax. There will be one bill per dwelling. Each dwelling has been placed into one of eight bands by the Listing Officer of the Valuation Office Agency according to its open market capital value at 1 April 1991.

All Council Tax valuations are based on the price a dwelling would have fetched if it had been sold on 1 April 1991, subject to certain assumptions. Any increase or fall in a dwelling’s value which results from general changes in the housing market since then will not affect its valuation. The valuation band for your dwelling is shown on your Council Tax bill.

Appeals to the Valuation Office Agency

If you consider the band of your property is incorrect, the grounds for appeal are as follows:

• you are the new owner of the dwelling and no appeal has previously been made by any other person based on the same facts. Any such appeal must be made within six months of you becoming the tax payer
• there has been a material reduction in the value of your property, for example part of it has been demolished
• the Listing Officer has altered the band. For example this may occur when the property is sold and the previous owner has added an extension

Appeals regarding the valuation band should be made to the Valuation Office Agency.
See  Challenge your Council Tax bandor call: 03000 501 501

Appeals can be made free of charge and there is no need to engage an agent. Making an appeal does not allow you to withhold payment of Council Tax. If you are successful you will be entitled to a refund of any overpayment.

Discounts

A full Council Tax bill assumes that there are two or more adults living in a dwelling. If you are the only adult living in a dwelling you will be entitled to a 25% discount. The following people are not counted when calculating the number of adult residents:

• prisoners
• permanent residents in a hospital, nursing home or care home
• full-time students or student nurses
• care workers or carers
• youth training trainees
• members of religious communities
• apprentices
• residents of hostels
• foreign diplomats or members of visiting forces
• school leavers or persons aged 18 or over for whom child benefit is payable
• persons who are severely mentally impaired
• non-British partner/dependant of a student

If all of the adults resident in a dwelling are not counted then a discount of 50% will apply. If all but one of the adults resident in a dwelling are not counted then a discount of 25% will apply.

Second Homes, Empty Properties and Premiums

If a dwelling is a second home i.e. it is furnished and no-one’s sole or main residence, no discount will apply.

Second homes such as job-related accommodation provided by an employer, a pitch occupied by a caravan or a mooring occupied by a boat are excepted. In such cases a 50% discount may apply.

If your dwelling has been unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for less than 1 month a discount of 100% will apply. After the period of 1 month the full Council Tax will be payable fora period of up to 23 months if the dwelling remains vacant. The discount period starts from the date the property first became unoccupied and substantially unfurnished and does not start again if the liable person changes e.g. a change of owner or tenant.

If a dwelling is unoccupied and substantially unfurnished and either:

• requires or is undergoing, or has undergone major repair works to make it habitable; or
• is undergoing, or has undergone structural alteration,

a discount of 50% may apply for up to 12 months from the date the dwelling first became unoccupied and substantially unfurnished and does not start again if the liable person changes e.g. a change of owner or tenant. After 12 months the full Council Tax will become payable.

From 1 April 2019, an additional premium of 100% may apply to a property which has been unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for a continuous period of at least 2 years. The premium was previously 50%.

From 1 April 2020, an additional premium of 200% may apply to a property that has been unoccupied and unfurnished for a period of at least 5 years.

Annexes

If a single property includes more than one dwelling, for example an annexe, a 50% discount may apply where either of the following conditions are met:

• the dwelling is being used by a resident of the other dwelling(s) as part of the sole or main residence; or
• the dwelling is the sole or main residence of a close relative of the person who is liable to pay Council Tax in respect of the other dwelling(s).

The 50% discount can be applied in addition to other discounts.

Discretionary Discounts

In exceptional circumstances, the council may award a discretionary Council Tax discount of up to 100%. Any application (with supporting evidence) must be made in writing to the council.

Exempt Dwellings

Some dwellings are exempt from Council Tax, including properties occupied only by full-time students or school leavers, persons aged under 18 years, persons who are severely mentally impaired, by foreign diplomats, or where elderly or disabled relatives occupy a separate annexe.

Unoccupied caravan pitches or boat moorings are exempt and some empty properties may also be exempt if they:

• are owned by a charity (exempt for up to six months)
• are left empty by someone who has gone into prison, or has moved to receive personal care in a hospital, a nursing or residential care home or elsewhere
• are left empty by someone who has moved in order to provide personal care to another person
• are left empty by students are waiting for probate or letters of administration to be granted (and up to six months after)
• have been repossessed
• are the responsibility of a bankrupt’s trustee
• are empty because their occupation is forbidden by law
• are waiting to be occupied by a minister of religion form part of another dwelling and cannot be let separately i.e. annexes

If you think your property may be exempt you should contact the council. Certain criteria may apply.

People with Disabilities

If you, or someone who lives with you, need an extra room (which could include an extra bathroom or kitchen) or extra space in your dwelling for the use of a wheelchair indoors because of a permanent disability, you may be entitled to a reduced Council Tax bill. A reduced bill would be calculated as if your dwelling had been placed in a band immediately below the one shown in the Valuation List. If your dwelling is in Band A the reduction will be1/9th of the Band D charge.

If your dwelling has already been placed in a lower band this is indicated on your bill. If you consider that you are entitled to a reduction and it is not shown on your bill, please contact the council.

If your dwelling has any special fixtures which have been added for a disabled resident, which reduce the dwelling’s value, and you do not think they have been taken into account in the valuation band, you should contact the Listing Officer (see notes on Appeals to the Valuation Office Agency).

Support for Care Leavers

From 1 April 2020, people under the age of 25 leaving care may qualify for a Council Tax discount. This will be applied automatically to those qualifying persons.

Council Tax Support

Council Tax Support replaced Council Tax Benefit from 1 April 2013.

If you receive a welfare benefit or are on a low income you can apply for a reduction in your bill. This reduction is based on the income and savings of you and your partner if you have one.

Second Adult Reduction: If you do not have a partner or if your partner is disregarded for Council Tax you may be entitled to a reduction if other adults living in your dwelling are on low income.

Apply Today: If you think you are entitled to a reduction, need further information about our Council Tax Support scheme or would like to make a claim online see

Changes in Circumstances: If you are already receiving Council Tax Support, you must advise the Benefits Service of any changes in your circumstances within 21 days of the change. Failure to do so may result in a penalty of £70 or more being added to your Council Tax bill or prosecution.

Tell us immediately if:

• someone moves in or out of your home
• you or any member of your household have a change:
  • to the rent paid
  • of address
  • of income received from any source, including welfare benefits
  • in savings and capital held

Tell us about a change

Appeals to the council

You may appeal to the council if you think:

• you are not liable to pay the Council Tax, for example because you are not the resident or owner
• your property should be exempt or you think you should be entitled to a discount
• you do not agree with the calculation of your Council Tax Support reduction
• the amount shown on your bill is incorrect

Any appeal should be made in writing. The council will consider your case and if you have not been contacted within two months or if no agreement has been reached by this time, you have a further right of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal. Making an appeal or claiming a discount or reduction does not allow you to withhold payment of Council Tax. If you are successful you will be entitled to a refund of any overpayment.

Data Protection

We will use your personal information in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018, mainly for Council Tax administration, collection and enforcement purposes.

It may also be shared legally with other Billing Authorities, the Council’s Electoral Registration Officer and other public sector agencies to prevent and detect fraud and other crime.

We may also share your information with other council departments if this will help you access our services more easily, and help us to promote efficient delivery of services and to recover monies that you owe us.

We are working with Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Authority to help with public fire safety awareness and may share your information with them.

See more about our use of your data and your rights.

Contact us about Council tax 

Contact us about Benefits

If you need the documents in a different format please contact us.