This small adjustment means that homeowners will end up ‘paying less’ for the bill that arrives from the local authority
People could make a change to how they get their bill (Image: Getty)
People in England could make one of their regular bills ‘feel cheaper’ by requesting a simple change that everyone will have to get used to eventually. Some who have already made the switch claim that it helps “smooth budgeting out” over the whole year.
In England, council tax is a bill that most people pay once they are over 18 and live in a property (owned or rented). Everyone’s contributions help to fund a wide range of local public services provided by your local council, police, fire, and other local authorities.
Martin Lewis recently highlighted how a council tax tip could help people with budgeting in his latest email Money Saving Expert newsletter. In it, he shared that a fan had written to him, and said: “I never knew you could do this until I heard it on Martin’s podcast.
“We changed our Council Tax to pay over 12 months rather than 10. It smooths budgeting out, plus we get 2% cashback from the bank every month for a Council Tax Direct Debit – so now we get it for 12 months rather than 10, which is an extra £10/yr.”
Paying council tax across 10 months is the standard and most normal arrangement in the UK. Even if people have always paid their council tax this way, it could be worth getting used to the 12-month budgeting approach, as it will soon become the norm.
Instead of the current 10 monthly payments (which leave February and March without a bill), homeowners in England will be moved to a plan that requires them to pay the bill every month of the year from April 2027. It comes following a major government shake-up to modernise outdated billing rules, the traditional 10-month payment model will be phased out as the automatic option.
From April 2027, the 12-month standard will automatically apply to anyone who becomes newly liable for council tax or moves into a new property. From April 2028, the default will switch to 12 months for everyone else across England
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The overall amount of council tax you pay throughout the year stays the same, regardless of how you choose to pay. The change is the amount that is debited from your bank account each month.
An example home with an annual council tax bill of £2,000 could manage it in two ways. By staying with the 10-month plan, they would pay £200 per month, except in February and March.
If the same home chose to pay monthly, each of its direct debits to the council would decrease. Each month, the same £2,000 a year property would pay £166.67 (including February and March). The amount owed stays the same, but it just ‘feels less’ each month as it’s spread out further, meaning the council tax monthly bill will seem ‘cheaper’.
Is this system changing in England only?
Because council tax administration is a devolved matter, the rules are managed independently across the different nations of the UK. The upcoming law change will make 12 months the automatic default starting in April 2027 in England only.
Scotland and Wales are keeping the traditional 10-month schedule as their automatic default. However, people living in these countries can still request to switch over to the 12-month split if they’d prefer it.
Can I opt out of this in England?
Households in England who prefer the traditional 10-month schedule with the two-month break will still be able to request it. The UK Government and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have officially confirmed that the upcoming changes only swap what happens automatically if you do nothing.