Council tax when is it due

We cannot show weekly or fortnightly instalments on your bill. However, you can make payments whenever you wish as long as each of your instalments is paid in full by the date it is due. If you pay by direct debit, you have a choice of paying on the 1st, 10th or 20th of each month. Otherwise, your Council Tax instalments are always due on the first day of each month. This means that if you get paid at the end of the month, you should make sure you keep back the money to pay the April instalment from your March wages, for example.

Paying by direct debit gives you more flexibility, but if you pay by any other method, you should make sure that payment is made by the first day of each month. Council Tax is usually payable over ten monthly instalments if the bill is issued for the full financial year or the number of whole months left in the financial year less one if issued during the financial year.

Customers can request to pay their Council Tax over the whole 12 months of the financial year up to and including March. We cannot discuss another person's account or individual circumstances, but there are a number of factors which you need to take into account. A standard Council Tax bill is payable over 10 months from April to January, usually on the first of each month other dates are available by Direct Debit include the 10 th , 20 th and 28 th.

However, this does not suit everyone and many people choose to spread their bill out over 12 months. To do this, please contact us. There is no qualifying criteria, this is done on request and is available to everyone. This change will remain on your account until you ask us to change it — so next year your bill will be automatically set over 12 months. All of our bills are sent out with monthly instalments, however you have the option of choosing to pay weekly if this suits you.

All you need to do is ensure that your weekly amounts add up to the monthly amount due on or before the day the bill is due. Many people prefer to manage their money this way. If you are struggling to manage your bill or your payment date does not suit you please contact us as soon as you can as we will be happy to help you manage your bill.

If you pay by Direct Debit, this will continue each year until your Direct Debit stops either by you choosing to stop it or by it being returned to us. There is no need to set up a new Direct Debit each year. Paying by Direct Debit is by far the easiest way to pay and can be set up in minutes online or over the phone. Once set up there is no need to tell your bank about changes in the amounts due.

We will always tell you in advance the date and amount to be taken, and you are fully protected from errors by an indemnity scheme, known as the Direct Debit Guarantee. You can also find out more about what Direct Debit is and how it works on the Direct Debit website. Council Tax is normally paid in ten monthly instalments on 1 April and on the first day of each month until 1 January. Alternatively, you can request to pay on the 15th or 25th of each month. If you pay by Direct Debit you can currently choose to make payments on either the 1st, 10th or 21st day of the month.

You also have the right to pay in 12 monthly instalments. You can ask for this by email, phone or by writing to us.

Your payment dates are shown on the front of your Council Tax bill. If you do not keep to the dates, we may cancel your right to pay by instalments. We would then take action to collect all of the year's Council Tax that you hadn't already paid.

If you are having difficulty making payments on the correct dates, please get in touch with us straight away. Find out more about cookies. Home » Money, tax and benefits » Council tax Paying your council tax Show page links for this section Your council tax Getting your bill online Your council tax bill explained.

When we send you details of your council tax, we will tell you: how much you must pay each month the dates on which each payment is due Your annual bill will usually show the first payment is due on 10 April, and that other payments are due each month for 10 months until 10 January.

Benefits of paying by direct debit A direct debit is simple to set-up and helps you because: you stay in control and have a money back guarantee it saves you time and money — no more queues, cheques or stamps payments are made automatically and payment dates will not be missed the payment leaves your bank account on the same date each month so you never have to remember to pay If the date of your direct debit falls on a Saturday or a Sunday in any month, your payment will not be taken until the following Monday.