A former Penrith Councillor has shared some advice for residents as households across Penrith face making the first of 10 monthly council tax payments to Westmorland and Furness Council this month.
Most households pay monthly direct debit between April and January. This year all parts of the council tax for Penrith households have seen an increase along with many other household costs increasing the monthly strain on household budgets.
Former Penrith councillor Jonathan Davies has said “the council tax system is an inherently flawed system implemented in a rush in the 1990’s to replace the ill-fated Poll Tax and is not fit for purpose. The system places a disproportionate burden on some communities paying for resources in others and across the UK there is a substantial disparity in the amounts paid by households in like for like council tax bands. But there are options to reduce the monthly burden of council tax alongside discounts that some may be entitled to claim for council tax. This option is for some reason not widely publicised by councils beyond a line on the back of the council tax bill among the mass of other text, and as a result many don’t realise, they can take advantage of it.”
Households can ease the strain on monthly budgets even if you are not eligible for other council tax reductions by spreading council tax payments over 12 months instead of the default 10 shown on your council tax bill. Altough the same annual total council tax is paid.
In Penrith a Band D property could potentially reduce the monthly payment by almost £40 a month by spreading the payments over 12 months instead of the default total council tax payments spread over 10 months with no payments taken in February and March.
The first payment of each council tax year is in early April and the following 9 months. You can lower you monthly payments for Council Tax by spreading payments over the full 12 months, this covers the same total council tax amount for your property band but lowers the monthly payment amount.
Mr Davies said “This simple adjustment can make a big difference in managing household finances with lower monthly payments spread out over a longer period make budgeting easier and help avoid financial spikes with consistent monthly payments.”
Switching to a 12-month payment plan is easy you can fill out a simple online form with Westmorland and Furness Council via https://goto.penrith.town/Council-tax-instalments-change-to-12-month or contact Westmorland and Furness Council’s local taxation team at Penrith Town Hall on 0300 373 3300.
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