Thousands of council taxpayers in South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse will soon receive a £150.00 council tax ‘rebate’ to help with rising energy bills.
The government has announced that most households in council tax bands A-D will be eligible for the rebate however, contrary to some reports, the ‘rebate’ will not be taken off people’s council tax bills when they are issued.
South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils are putting arrangements in place to make a separate payment to households as soon as possible. Here’s how the payments will be made:
- If a household pays their council tax by direct debit, they should be able to receive the £150.00 directly into their bank account. The councils are hoping to start making these payments by the end of April.
- If a household is not on direct debit, it will take longer to make these payments as the councils will need to write to them to confirm their bank details.
To ensure the councils can carry out this work as quickly as possible, they are asking people not to contact them to chase the ‘rebate’ payment.
To receive the £150.00 payment as quickly as possible, residents can still sign up to pay their bill by direct debit – for more information on how to do this, visit southoxon.gov.uk/counciltax or whitehorsedc.gov.uk/counciltax.
Limited funding will also be made available for households in need who would not otherwise be eligible for this energy rebate. This will be a local discretionary scheme and details will be made available on the council’s website in due course.
If you are struggling to pay your council tax bill please visit southoxon.gov.uk/counciltax to find out about the support available, or call 0345 302 2313.
For advice if you are struggling to pay other bills please visit Citizens Advice website https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/
