Reclaiming Council Tax – Necessary Things To Follow

By Author: Darren Smith
Total Articles: 7
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The Council Tax System is the system of local taxation levied on all domestic property owners. The council tax is collected by the local authority and is collected to aid pay for the local services such as libraries, police schools as well as other local services. Council tax is excised on the house, flat, bungalow, maisonette, house boats, mobile homes and all rented or owned house. Each property is categorized under eight council tax bands which are coded by letters A to H as per the capital value of 1st April 1991. In England, the Valuation Office Agency or VOA and in Scottish Assessor Association or SAA in Scotland imposes the council taxes on properties.
However, it has been found out since the inception of the law formulated by Local Government Finance Act in 1992, which saw council tax come in being, as many as five million homes fall in the wrong council tax bands and hence the dwellers are paying hefty amount of taxes than the amount they are actually supposed to pay.
When properties were valued in 1991 and were palced under eight council tax bands from A to ...
... H, the bills were so weighed that the homeowners in band H had to pay three times as much as those in band A. The middle band D, which is often used to compare the tax bills across the nation, comprises of homes which are
valued at £68,001 to £88,000. The escalating rise in the price of the house, made it impossible for the citizens to purchase houses in many areas of the country. Thus, in 2005, the government made a plan of revalueing all houses in England.
However, for the people dwelling in houses that are under improper banding can now check and challenge the band and possibly win back the excessive payment they have made since 1993. The dwellers can appeal for reclaiming council tax to Local Listing Officer in England or Local Assessor in Scotland. Appeal can also be made to VOA in case in England and Scottish Assessor Association in case of the homes in Scotland. Online queries can also be made by logging in to Directgov site (voa.gov.uk) of VOA and Local Assessor site (ssaa.gov.uk) of Scottish Assessor Association. After thorough re-assessment of the property value, houses can be re-banded and reclaim on your overpayment can be sought.
While many inquiries can be sorted out instantly, it may take up to two weeks for VOA or SAA to review the original banding. In that case, the authorities can get back with a letter, usually within two months, and inform their verdict. If a house is already listed in band A, which is the band with lowest tax value, VOA will not be able to review the banding or reduce the band further.
Appealing for band re-assessment or reclaiming council tax needs several checks. Re-assessment can not only make your tax band go down from D to C or B, but can move it up as well. So, it must be checked with with the neighbours and perform a valuation check, before appealing re-assessment. It must be also exnured that no extensions or other sort of things which increase your property value are added.
There are number of council tax review companies that have emerged as specialists in property re-banding. When the dwellers find themselves in the wrong tax band, they can seek the guidance of these companies for reclaiming council tax. These firms review the property of these parties and with the required knowledge and legal expertise, challenge wrong banding.
If you feel that you are in the wrong council tax band and think of reclaiming council tax, you can seek assistance of these professional tax review companies for evaluating your property price and check whether you are paying excess council tax.