Understanding your council tax bill

Council tax is usually paid over 10 instalments but you can apply to pay over 12 months. We have range of ways to pay and you can request for payments to be made either weekly, fortnightly or monthly to suit your budget.

Council tax is charged each financial year, for April to March. You will receive your council tax bill for the year ahead by the end of March

Example council tax bill

Image
A sample Newcastle City Council council tax bill, showing the location of key information
  1. This will detail who is responsible for paying the bill, and their correspondence address
  2. Key information
  3. This is the council tax band of the property
  4. This is the date your council tax bill was created. Any payments made after this date will not be shown on this bill.
  5. Your council tax reference number is unique to this account, you should always quote this reference number when you contact the Council with any queries regarding council tax.
  6. This is the property address the council tax bill is for.
  7. This is the reason that the bill has been sent.
  8. Detailed here is the annual charge for the property for the financial year shown, it also shows:- The percentage change from previous year’s charges (refer to the council tax booklet for full details). Your contribution towards council services, fire and police services and adult social care precept
  9. The total amount you have to pay, less any discounts, exemptions, reductions or premiums that apply and any payments made towards the bill made before the issue date.
  10. This tells you what to pay and when to pay – it is called your payment plan. If there is nothing to pay we will also tell you here.