Yahoo Finance Millions of households to get £150 council tax rebate
Around 20 million households in England will get £150 off their council tax bill to help with soaring energy prices and the ongoing cost of living crisis.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the saving will be paid in April and covers homes in England in council tax bands A to D. The government says this will cover 80% of households in England.
The rebate to bills will be made directly by local authorities and families will not need to repay it.
There will also be £150m on top of the council tax rebate for local authorities in England to use on a “discretionary” basis.
Read more: Council tax rebate: How to find out if you're eligible for the £150
The money is meant to help lower income households who live in higher council tax band properties and families who are exempt from council tax.
The government has admitted the measure is not perfect as council tax bands were set in 1991. This means that many of those who stand to get a discount, will be relatively wealthy since property prices, on which the bands are set, have increased significantly since then. This is particularly the case in London and the Southeast.
Read more: UK energy price cap to rise 54% to £1,971
The move comes as millions of Britons found out this Thursday that they will pay an extra £693 a year on their energy bills from April, a 54% rise.
“For me to stand here and pretend we don’t have to adjust to paying higher prices would be wrong and dishonest. But what we can do is take the sting out of a significant price rise for millions of families by making sure the increase in prices is smaller initially and spread over time,” Sunak said.
Read more: Rishi Sunak announces £350 for UK households energy bills
Treasury estimates that the council tax discount would cost the government £3.6bn in 2022-23.
Devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are expected to receive around £565m of funding as a result of this council tax energy rebate in England.
Watch: How to save money on a low income
