Martin Lewis shares two methods to doubtlessly decrease your council tax invoice amid rising charges

The money-saving expert shared his advice on Good Morning Britain on two checks that could potentially reduce your Council Tax bill – but stressed the need for caution

Money maestro Martin Lewis has dished out some top tips on Good Morning Britain that could see them slash their annual council tax bill. The cash-saving guru pointed out two simple checks that could see your bill shrink, both now and down the line – but he did give a heads-up to proceed with a bit of caution.

Speaking on the ITV show, he said: “Up to 400,000 people in England and Scotland are in the wrong band, a higher band, and I’ve been looking at how you can challenge this since 2007. Effectively, what you need to do is go onto voa.gov.uk to check your council tax band of an identical property, or if it’s Scotland, saa.gov.uk.”

Lewis didn’t stop there, adding: “If you’re in a higher band, the name is in identical properties, then you need to work out what band you would have been in 1991 if that shows you had a band. Then you need to look at going forward to get your band lower.”

His savvy advice comes as council tax bills in England have rocketed by a whopping £7.3 billion over the past four years, with recent research into tax rate increases laying bare the figures. Birmingham has been hit hardest, with a staggering extra £136.8 million being squeezed out of residents across all eligible properties during this period.

Council tax has gone through the roof this year, with an average hike of 4.9%, and some councils are really feeling the pinch, pushing rates even higher, reports Cambridgeshire Live.

Insurance comparison site Go Compare revealed that a third of England’s councils have hiked up taxes by over 5%. Places like Bradford, which is reeling from a 9.29% surge, and Windsor and Maidenhead with an 8.31% jump, are slapping some of the heftiest increases on their residents, squeezing budgets tighter than ever.

Nathan Blackler, home insurance expert at Go Compare, explained: “With council tax bills rising once again, many households are feeling the strain of ever-increasing living costs. If you’re struggling with rising prices, it’s worth checking whether you’re eligible for any discounts or support schemes where you live. You can also use our council tax calculator to see how much your local rates have changed compared to last year.”

The way they figure out which council tax band you’re in is based on a quick look-see at your property from way back in 1991, so it’s fair to say the system’s a bit past its sell-by date. Chances are, loads of people are coughing up cash for the wrong band.

Back in 2007, Martin Lewis kicked off a campaign to show folks how they could potentially take on their council tax banding. His Check and Challenge method caused quite the stir that year, with plenty of people since using it to save some dosh.

How to check and dispute your council tax band

The Check and Challenge method is a two-step dance, and it’s vital to nail both before deciding to get your council tax banding looked at. The first step is figuring out if your band is higher than your neighbours living in similar or identical pads.

Luckily, this info is easily accessible, so no need for any awkward conversations.

You can find England valuation bands over on gov.uk, meanwhile the Scottish Assessors Association website has got the band for every property in Scotland. All domestic properties in Wales are slotted into one of nine tax bands (bands A to I), based on the value of the house and its land.

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is the crew responsible for valuing properties for Council Tax purposes. They’re the government’s property gurus for Wales and England.

When you’re comparing your band with your neighbours’, make sure the properties are as alike in size and value as possible, and would have been back in ’91. If your neighbours in similar properties are in a lower band than you, then you might have a case.

However, it’s key to tread lightly as you could unintentionally stir up a hornet’s nest. If your band is different from your neighbours’ and your properties are alike, it might be that their band is wrong, not yours.

By appealing, you could potentially lumber them with a heftier bill, risking a good deal of awkwardness.

So, before deciding to throw down the gauntlet, carry out a valuation check. Estimate what your home was worth back in 1991, as this is when the council tax bands were set.

If you bought your house after 1991, you can simply use its price and sale date for this purpose. For those who rent or bought earlier, an estimated price will need to be found. It’s also handy to do this for neighbouring properties.

To swiftly find a price, use a website offering free historical sales price info such as Zoopla or Rightmove. Pop in your street name and it’ll dish out the prices of all properties sold there since 2000.

Identify the most recent sale price of a property similar to yours on your street. Jot down both the price and the sale date.

Armed with this info, you can estimate what your property would’ve been worth in 1991, and determine its band.

And if you’re feeling hard done by with your property’s council tax band – challenge it by asking for a reassessment.

If you’re living in Scotland and think your council tax is off the mark, the SAA’s got your back. Just pop your postcode into their website, pick out your pad from the list, and if the numbers don’t add up, click the “Make a proposal” button and fill in the simple online form.