What is Council Tax and who pays it

What is Council Tax?

Introduced in 1993 by the Local Government Finance Act 1992, Council Tax is a system of property taxation that is levied locally on each domestic property in Scotland.

The amount charged on each property is calculated based on its assigned valuation band, from A (lowest) to H (highest), based on its relative property value.

The allocation of the valuation band is not done by the Council itself but by the Tayside Valuation Joint Board, also known as "the Assessor".

Further information can be found  at Tayside Valuation Joint Board - Office of the Assessor & Electoral Registration Officer (tayside-vjb.gov.uk) and at Scottish Assessors - Scottish Assessors Association website (saa.gov.uk).

Councils set the Band D rate for their local authority area, with the charges for properties in other bands being a fixed proportion of that Band D charge. Those proportions apply nationally and are set out in law.

For full details please see Council tax banding and charges.

Who pays it?

The person or persons highest on the list below, often referred to as the Council Tax "hierarchy", is usually responsible for paying:

• the resident owner(s) 
• the resident tenant(s) 
• the resident subtenant(s) 
• the resident(s) (i.e. where no lease is in place) 
• the non-resident tenant/subtenant if nobody is resident in the property
• the non-resident owner if nobody is resident in the property and there is no lease in place

Owners Liability

In addition to being liable under the above hierarchy, there are certain circumstances where the owner, rather than the residents, will be liable for Council Tax, such circumstances include;

• the property is in multiple occupation, for example, a house shared by a number of different households who all pay rent separately
• the people who live in the property are all under the age of 18
• the people who live in the property are all asylum seekers who are not entitled to claim benefits or apply for help with council tax
• the property is a care home, hospital, hostel for homeless people or women's refuge
• the people who live there are members of religious communities whose principal occupation is prayer, contemplation, education or the relief of suffering
• the person who lives there is a minister of religion of any faith who does not own the property but who lives and works there

What is a resident?

A resident for Council Tax purposes is a person who is 18 years or over and occupies the property as their sole or main residence.

A persons sole or main residence for Council Tax purposes is the property where they would normally reside.

Temporary absence from the property, even for a long duration, may not change that persons sole or main residence for Council Tax. Where a person has two properties that they reside at it is for the council to determine their sole or main residence for Council Tax purposes. In doing so the following may be considered;

• Intention to return to a property.
• Time spent at a property.
• Security of tenure over a property.
• Where the matrimonial home is (if applicable).
• Voting registration.

Joint liability to pay Council Tax

Couples who are married or living together as such are responsible, jointly and individually, for paying Council Tax even if their names are not on the bill. Joint owners or tenants are also responsible, jointly and individually, for paying the Council Tax even if their names are not on the bill.

This means that the amount on the bill is not split into shares. We can choose to collect the full amount of the Council Tax bill from anyone who is legally responsible for it. It is then up to the person who pays to get back a share from everyone else.